Tony Awards
The Tony Awards, known as the Antonette Perry Awards, were established by the American Theater Association in memory of Ms. Antonette Perry, one of the founders of the association. . Perry was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1888. In 1906, at the age of 18, she made her stage debut and quickly became one of the most famous actresses on Broadway at the time. In addition, Perry was an influential stage producer and director. In 1917, she and several female theater workers founded the "Drama Women Wartime Relief Society" and launched a series of benefit performances and charity sales to support the victims of World War I. In the early 1940s, the Relief Society was renamed the American Theater Association. As one of the main leaders of the association, Perry actively promoted the art of stage drama, promoted the establishment of theaters, drama schools, etc., and also cultivated a large number of Broadway stars. . It is said that in order to promote the development of Broadway stage plays, she spent her own money to support newcomers and new plays. By the time of her death in 1946, she actually owed a huge debt of US$800,000. For this reason, after her death, the American Theater Association Board of Directors decided to establish an award in her name to recognize and encourage outstanding achievements in Broadway theater performances every year.
On April 6, 1947, the first Tony Awards were unveiled at the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, hosted by Brooke Pemberton, Perry’s friend and partner and president of the American Theater Association. host. The six-member committee, the decision-making body at that time, hired 15 experts to select the winners through secret voting. Since then, the Tony Awards, along with Broadway's artistic prestige, aesthetic status and box office revenue, have become the focus of global stage art.
Trophies, awards and momentum
According to records, the winners of the first two Tony Awards did not have trophies. What they received was a certificate and a box of cigars plus a cigar. Prizes such as wallets are often won by multiple winners at the same time. Moreover, the Tony Awards before 1955 did not implement a system of announcing the nomination list in advance, but directly announced the selection results. The early Tony Awards were often held in hotels. In addition to the award ceremony, the organizers also arranged dinners, dances and even guessing games, which looked more like a party than today. It was only in 1949 that the American Society of Scenic Designers helped the Tony Awards organize a trophy design competition, and Herman Rossi's design finally won, and the Tony Awards trophy was created today. The front of the trophy features masks from Greek tragedy and comedy, while the reverse features a relief portrait of Ms. Perry. The early Tony Awards were broadcast nationwide on radio. In 1956, the Tony Awards were officially broadcast by television stations. Today, it is one of the most popular annual TV broadcasts that attracts much attention. After each Tony Awards is presented, major local media are flooded with large advertisements for the winning plays. Its momentum No less than the advertising before the release of Hollywood blockbusters.
The 1947 Tony Awards established eight awards, including individual awards such as Best Actor and Actor, Supporting Actor and Actor, Best Director and Composer. As the times progress, Tony Award projects are added and deleted year by year, and their names are revised. There are currently 21 official Tony Awards, in addition to the Best Play, Director, Leading Actor, Supporting Actor, Recommended Play, and Design Awards (the set, costume, and lighting awards are divided between drama and music). (New and old works of the play *** compete together). The remaining 11 awards are all in the category of musicals, including Best Musical, Best Classic Musical Revival, Best Actor, Leading Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress in a Musical. Best Direction of a Musical, Best Script of a Musical, Best Lyrics, Best Arrangement and Best Choreography. In the early years of the Tony Awards, there was also an award for best conductor and a separate award for composition. The award for lyric writing was combined with the award for screenplay. Later, the Conductor Award was cancelled, composition and lyrics were merged into Best Lyrics, and in 1997, Best Arranger was added.
Perfect business operation mechanism
Today’s Tony Awards have formed a complete set of perfect business operation mechanism. According to the official website of the Tony Awards, the Tony Awards are now jointly owned by the American Theater Association and the American Theater Producers Alliance, and are operated by the "Tony Awards Products Company".
Although the Tony Awards are prestigious, their scope of awards is actually quite limited. Only specific shows performed at the Broadway Theater on Manhattan Island in New York City are eligible. The so-called specific programs mainly include general musicals, musicals, dramas, talk shows, etc. However, there are some pure dance performances (such as the popular "Eternal Tango" in previous years) or some comprehensive shows (such as the 1989 collection of decades of classic creations by famous choreographer and director Jerome Robbins). "Broadway Nights" and other programs), the qualification determination will be decided by the American Theater Association at a separate meeting. In addition, in terms of theater qualifications, the Tony Awards stipulate that the number of seats in these theaters must exceed the standards set by the American Theater Association, which is determined each year depending on the situation. For example, in 2002-2003, it must reach more than 500 seats before it can be considered a "Broadway production." Despite this, the series of great plays staged in only 30 to 40 theaters every year still dominate the attention of most of the world's theater population. In particular, musicals and dance dramas, the soul of Broadway, have attracted many theater actors and audiences from Asia, Europe and other places to come here to watch and appreciate it. The list of Tony Award winners in the musical category has therefore become a "wind vane" for music fans and theater fans from all over the world to rush to see famous plays and buy famous music CDs.
Selection Procedure
In terms of selection, the 1947 Tony Awards judges were served by members of the American Theater Association Board of Directors, who represented theater management, performers and technical departments. In 1954, the jury membership was extended to other professionals who were not members of the Dramatic Society. Today, this system has been further expanded. In addition to the members of the American Theater Association board of directors, the judges also come from the American Theater Actors Guild, the Playwrights Guild, the Stage Directors and Dancers Guild, the Scenic Designers Union, the Theater Agents and Managers Union, etc. The current number is about 700.
In addition to the jury, the Tony Awards also have a nomination committee, which is composed of 30 Broadway professionals hired by the Tony Awards Management Committee, each with a three-year term. These people are tasked with watching every Broadway show and meeting on the Sunday afternoon before the nomination deadline to discuss the nominations. To ensure the fairness of the nominations, the Tony Awards committee also hired an accounting firm to serve as an external audit.
Glory and Concern
The Tony Awards have been in development for nearly 60 years. Studying its award-winning plays over the years, one can find that it is nothing less than the development history of a modern musical. From the best musical "Kiss Me, Kate" when the official awards were given in 1949, to "South Pacific" which swept all musical theater awards in 1950, to the famous Disney masterpieces "The Lion King" and "The Lion King" in the 1990s. Gold Medal Producer", to the triumphant "Long Hair" in 2003, the ups and downs of the artistic development of Broadway musicals are clearly visible in my mind. The brilliance of classical works such as "My Fair Lady" and "Fiddler on the House" in the 1950s and 1960s, and the phenomenon of a hundred schools of thought contending in the theater world in the 1970s, were all confirmed by the Tony Award list. As for the total vacancies in the three awards for Best Actor, Actor and Choreographer in a Musical from 1984 to 1985, it reflects from one aspect the aggressive attack of British musical productions on Broadway at that time, as well as the depression of domestic musical creation in the United States at that time. Since the 1990s, Broadway has been under increasing pressure on the box office, and the creative atmosphere of the entire musical theater has gradually become conservative and retro. This can be proven by the fact that many musical theater awards at the Tony Awards since 1994 have been taken away by re-launched classic plays.