56th Tony Awards


The 56th Annual Tony Awards ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall on June 2, 2002 and broadcast by CBS. "The First Ten" awards ceremony was telecast on PBS television. The event was co-hosted by Bernadette Peters and Gregory Hines.

The ceremony

The show opened with a tribute to Richard Rodgers, featuring a medley of his songs performed by Marvin Hamlisch, Harry Connick Jr., Michele Lee, Mos Def, Lea Salonga, Peter Gallagher, John Raitt, Bernadette Peters, Gregory Hines, and the company of Oklahoma! A Broadway/New York song medley was performed by Bernadette Peters and Gregory Hines.
Presentations from nominated musicals:
The First Ten awards were presented prior to the full ceremony and broadcast on PBS. The awards presented were: Best Direction of a Play, Direction of a Musical, Book of a Musical, Original Score, Choreography, Costume Design, Lighting Design and Scenic Design. There were also interviews and "rehearsal and performance clips from the nominated shows."
The broadcast won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program; the director was Glenn Weiss.

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold
Best PlayBest Musical

  • Thoroughly Modern Millie
  • * Mamma Mia!
  • * Sweet Smell of Success
  • * Urinetown
    • Best Revival of a PlayBest Revival of a Musical
  • Private Lives
  • * The Crucible
  • * Morning's at Seven
  • * Noises Off
  • Into the Woods
  • * Oklahoma!
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a PlayBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
  • Alan Bates – Fortune's Fool as Vassily Semyonitch Kuzovkin
  • * Billy Crudup – The Elephant Man as John Merrick
  • * Liam Neeson – The Crucible as John Proctor
  • * Alan Rickman – Private Lives as Elyot Chase
  • * Jeffrey Wright – Topdog/Underdog as Lincoln
  • Lindsay Duncan – Private Lives as Amanda Prynne
  • * Kate Burton – Hedda Gabler as Hedda Gabler
  • * Laura Linney – The Crucible as Elizabeth Proctor
  • * Helen Mirren – The Dance of Death as Alice
  • * Mercedes Ruehl – The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? as Stevie
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
  • John Lithgow – Sweet Smell of Success as J.J. Hunsecker
  • * Gavin Creel – Thoroughly Modern Millie as Jimmy Smith
  • * John McMartin – Into the Woods as Narrator/Mysterious Man
  • * Patrick Wilson – Oklahoma! as Curly
  • * John Cullum – Urinetown as Caldwell B. Cladwell
  • Sutton Foster – Thoroughly Modern Millie as Millie Dillmount
  • * Louise Pitre – Mamma Mia! as Donna Sheridan
  • * Vanessa L. Williams – Into the Woods as The Witch
  • * Nancy Opel – Urinetown as Penelope Pennywise
  • * Jennifer Laura Thompson – Urinetown as Hope Cladwell
    • Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a PlayBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
  • Frank Langella – Fortune's Fool as Flegont Alexandrovitch Tropatchov
  • * Brian Murray – The Crucible as Deputy-Governor Danforth
  • * William Biff McGuire – Morning's at Seven as Theodore Swanson
  • * Sam Robards – The Man Who Had All the Luck as Gustav Eberson
  • * Stephen Tobolowsky – Morning's at Seven as Homer Bolton
  • Katie Finneran – Noises Off as Brooke Ashton
  • * Kate Burton – The Elephant Man as Pinhead/Mrs. Kendal
  • * Elizabeth Franz – Morning's at Seven as Aaronetta Gibbs
  • * Estelle Parsons – Morning's at Seven as Cora Swanson
  • * Frances Sternhagen – Morning's at Seven as Ida Bolton
    • Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a MusicalBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
  • Shuler Hensley – Oklahoma! as Jud Fry
  • * Gregg Edelman – Into the Woods as The Wolf/Cinderella's Prince
  • * Brian d'Arcy James – Sweet Smell of Success as Sidney Falco
  • * Marc Kudisch – Thoroughly Modern Millie as Trevor Graydon
  • * Norbert Leo Butz – Thou Shalt Not as Camille Raquin
  • Harriet Harris – Thoroughly Modern Millie as Ms. Meers
  • * Andrea Martin – Oklahoma! as Aunt Eller
  • * Judy Kaye – Mamma Mia! as Rosie Mulligan
  • * Laura Benanti – Into the Woods as Cinderella
  • * Spencer Kayden – Urinetown as Little Sally
    • Best Book of a MusicalBest Original Score Written for the Theatre
  • Greg Kotis – Urinetown
  • * Catherine Johnson – Mamma Mia!
  • * John Guare – Sweet Smell of Success
  • * Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan – Thoroughly Modern Millie
  • Urinetown – Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis
  • * Sweet Smell of Success – Marvin Hamlisch and Craig Carnelia
  • * Thoroughly Modern Millie – Jeanine Tesori and Dick Scanlan
  • * Thou Shalt Not – Harry Connick, Jr.
    • Best Scenic DesignBest Costume Design
  • Tim Hatley – Private Lives
  • * Daniel Ostling – Metamorphoses
  • * Douglas W. Schmidt – Into the Woods
  • * John Lee Beatty – Morning's at Seven
  • Martin Pakledinaz – Thoroughly Modern Millie
  • * Jenny Beavan – Private Lives
  • * Susan Hilferty – Into the Woods
  • * Jane Greenwood – Morning's at Seven
    • Best Lighting DesignBest Orchestrations
  • Brian MacDevitt – Into the Woods
  • * David Hersey – Oklahoma!
  • * Natasha Katz – Sweet Smell of Success
  • * Paul Gallo – The Crucible
  • Doug Besterman and Ralph Burns– Thoroughly Modern Millie
  • * Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Martin Koch – Mamma Mia!
  • * William David Brohn – Sweet Smell of Success
  • * Bruce Coughlin – Urinetown
    • Best Direction of a PlayBest Direction of a Musical
  • Mary Zimmerman – Metamorphoses
  • * Howard Davies – Private Lives
  • * Richard Eyre – The Crucible
  • * Daniel Sullivan – Morning's at Seven
  • John Rando – Urinetown
  • * James Lapine – Into the Woods
  • * Michael Mayer – Thoroughly Modern Millie
  • * Trevor Nunn – Oklahoma!
    • Best ChoreographyBest Special Theatrical Event
  • Rob Ashford – Thoroughly Modern Millie'
  • * John Carrafa – Urinetown
  • * John Carrafa – Into the Woods
  • * Susan Stroman – Oklahoma!
  • Elaine Stritch at Liberty
  • * Bea Arthur on Broadway
  • * Barbara Cook in Mostly Sondheim
  • * Sexaholix.. A Love Story''

    • Special awards

    Source: TheaterMania
    These productions had multiple nominations:
    The following productions received multiple awards.