William Gibson (November 13, 1914 – November 25, 2008) was an American playwright and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Play for The Miracle Worker in 1959, which he later adapted for a film version in 1962.
57-482: Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, and producer. He was a Tony Award winner, and was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Director , as well as a BAFTA Award , a Golden Globe , two Primetime Emmys . As a member of the New Hollywood movement , Penn directed several critically-acclaimed films dealing with countercultural issues of
114-682: A Special Tony Award , the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre , and the Isabelle Stevenson Award . The awards were founded by theatre producer and director Brock Pemberton and are named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry , an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing. The trophy consists of a spinnable medallion, with faces portraying an adaptation of
171-587: A Tony Award for directing the stage production, written by William Gibson , also starring Bancroft and Duke, and he had directed Bancroft's Broadway debut in playwright Gibson's first Broadway production, Two for the Seesaw . Penn began working on The Train in France in June and August 1963 when star Burt Lancaster had Penn fired after three days of Penn's filming and called on John Frankenheimer to take over
228-790: A Tony Award , and an Akira Kurosawa Award from the San Francisco International Film Festival . Penn was born in 1922, to a Russian Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Sonia (Greenberg), a nurse, and Harry (Tzvi) William Penn, a watchmaker, both natives of then Novoaleksandrovsk, Russia, now Zarasai , Lithuania. He was the younger brother of Irving Penn , the fashion, portrait and still life photographer. During his early years, he moved in with his mother after she divorced his father. Some time after, he came back to his sickly father, leading him to run his father's watch repair shop. At 19, he
285-534: A Tony Award , recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre . The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Manhattan . The ceremony is usually held in June. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for regional theatre . Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given as well, including
342-551: A Tony. The name stuck." Nevertheless, the awards were sometimes referred to as the "Perry Awards" in their early years. The 1st Tony Awards was held on April 6, 1947, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. The first prizes were "a scroll, cigarette lighter and articles of jewelry such as 14-carat gold compacts and bracelets for the women, and money clips for the men". ATW co-founder Louise Heims Beck
399-468: A bit more significant... By adding height, now someone can grip the Tony, raise it over their head in triumph and not worry about keeping their grip. Believe me, you can tell the difference. For the specific Tony Awards presented to a Broadway production, awards are given to the author and up to two of the producers free of charge. All other members of the above-the-title producing team are eligible to purchase
456-476: A chance to win the important awards of Best Play or Best Musical (or Best Score or Best Book for musicals). On the other hand, some people feel that allowing plays and musicals that have been frequently produced to be eligible as "new" gives them an unfair advantage because they will have benefited from additional development time as well as additional familiarity with the Tony voters. The Tony Awards Administration Committee has twenty-four members: ten designated by
513-514: A lifetime honor to all above-the-title producers, to ones who had been active in the previous 10 years. This action disenfranchised scores of Tony voters, including Gail Berman , Harve Brosten , Dick Button , Tony Lo Bianco , and Raymond Serra ). To be eligible for Tony Award consideration, a production must have officially opened on Broadway by the eligibility date that the Management Committee establishes each year. For example,
570-506: A number that changes slightly from year to year. The number was decreased in 2009 when the first-night critics were excluded as voters. That decision was changed, and members of the New York Drama Critics' Circle were invited to be Tony voters beginning in the 2010–2011 season. The eligible Tony voters include the board of directors and designated members of the advisory committee of the American Theatre Wing, members of
627-547: A person who has won all four is said to have won the EGOT . The Tony Awards are the U.S. equivalent of the United Kingdom 's Laurence Olivier Awards and France 's Molière Awards . Kimberly Akimbo Previous Best Play Leopoldstadt The Outsiders Best Play Stereophonic As of 2014 , there were 26 categories of awards, in addition to several special awards. Starting with 11 awards in 1947,
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#1732779536649684-406: A ramshackle, eccentric story of a horse thief ( Jack Nicholson ) facing off with an eccentric bounty hunter (played by Marlon Brando ). In the 1980s, Penn's career began to lose its momentum with critics and audiences. Four Friends (1981) was a traumatic look back at the 1960s. Target (1985) was a mainstream thriller reuniting the director with Gene Hackman , and Dead of Winter (1987)
741-461: A record as the longest-running one-woman play in Broadway history on January 2, 2005. 1984 marked the debut of Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure , a dark fantasy about a sickly little girl who's whisked away on a quest to evade death, featuring the titular doll from popular children's stories, and songs by Sesame Street ' s Joe Raposo . The show traveled to Russia, where it was a smash-hit
798-479: A riff which stops time; the book for the musical version of Clifford Odets ' Golden Boy (1964), which earned him yet another Tony nomination; A Mass for the Dead (1968), an autobiographical family chronicle; A Cry of Players (1968), a speculative account of the life of young William Shakespeare (with Anne Bancroft starring for Gibson, this time as Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway ); American Primitive (1969),
855-455: A story of a large-scale littering incident that had happened in the town two years prior. He contacted Arlo Guthrie , received permission to adapt his song " Alice's Restaurant Massacree " into a film, and secured Guthrie's participation as well as several other Stockbridge town residents while filming in many of the same locations where the events took place. The film Alice's Restaurant was released in 1969. Guthrie later stated in 2023 that he
912-405: A thriller following events in a small corrupt Southern town on the day an escaped convict, played by Robert Redford , returns. Penn was excluded from the post-production process, which was instead overseen by producer Sam Spiegel . However, the film was still praised by critics, with Dave Kehr later calling it one of Penn's "most personal and feverishly creative works". Also that year, he directed
969-579: A verse play adapted from the letters of John and Abigail Adams, premiered at Williamstown Theatre Festival, directed by Frank Langella and starring Anne Bancroft; Goodly Creatures (1980), about Puritan dissident Anne Hutchinson ; and Monday After the Miracle (1982), a continuation of the Helen Keller story. His ill-received Golda (1977), a work about Golda Meir became so popular in its revised version, titled Golda's Balcony (2003), that it set
1026-601: A white man (played by Dustin Hoffman ) who gets adopted into the Cheyenne tribe. In 1973 Penn provided a segment for a promotional film for the Olympics titled Visions of Eight along with several other major directors such as John Schlesinger and Miloš Forman . His next film was Night Moves (1975) about a private detective (played by Gene Hackman ) on the trail of a runaway. Next came The Missouri Breaks (1976),
1083-496: Is named after Antoinette Perry , nicknamed Tony, an actress, director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, who died in 1946. As her official biography at the Tony Awards website states, "At [ Warner Bros. story editor] Jacob Wilk's suggestion, [Pemberton] proposed an award in her honor for distinguished stage acting and technical achievement. At the initial event in 1947, as he handed out an award, he called it
1140-668: Is not "determined… to be a 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire", as determined by the Administration Committee (per Section (2g) of the Rules and Regulations). The rule about "classic" productions was instituted by the Tony Award Administration Committee in 2002, and stated (in summary) "A play or musical that is determined ... to be a 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire shall not be eligible for an award in
1197-572: Is selected by the Tony Awards Administration Committee. Nominators serve three-year terms and are asked to see every new Broadway production. The Nominating Committee for the 2012–13 Broadway season (named in June 2012) had 42 members; the Nominating Committee for the 2014–2015 season has 50 members and was appointed in June 2014. There are approximately 868 eligible Tony Award voters (as of 2014),
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#17327795366491254-423: The 1962 film version . His other notable films included the neo-noir Night Moves (1975) and the revisionist Western The Missouri Breaks (1976). In the 1990s, he returned to stage and television direction and production, including an executive producer role for the crime series Law & Order . By his death in 2010, Penn was the recipient of several honorary accolades, including an Honorary Golden Bear ,
1311-546: The Tony Award for Best Play after he adapted it from his original 1957 telefilm script. He adapted the work again for the 1962 film version , receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Arthur Penn directed both the stage and film versions. His other works include Dinny and the Witches (1948, revised 1961), in which a jazz musician incurs the wrath of three Shakespearean witches by blowing
1368-502: The sound design awards in 2014. In 2014, a petition calling for the return of the Sound Design categories received more than 30,000 signatures. Addressing their previous concerns over Tony voters in the category, it was announced that upon the awards' return for the 2017–2018 season, they would be decided by a subset of voters based on their expertise. Some advocates of gender equality and non-binary people have criticized
1425-473: The "love on the run" subgenre in the wake of Bonnie and Clyde, peaking with Badlands (1973; in which Penn received acknowledgement in the credits). Beatty had given him 10% of the potential profits of the film before production started and the success of the film earned Penn over $ 2 million. At the time he had completed Bonnie and Clyde , Penn was residing in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, when he heard
1482-555: The American Theatre Wing, ten by The Broadway League, and one each by the Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. This committee, among other duties, determines eligibility for nominations in all awards categories. The Tony Awards Nominating Committee makes the nominations for the various categories. This rotating group of theatre professionals
1539-611: The Best Play or Best Musical Category but may be eligible in that appropriate Best Revival category." Shows transferred from Off-Broadway or the West End are eligible as "new", as are productions based closely on films. This rule has been the subject of some controversy, as some shows, such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Violet , have been ruled ineligible for the "new" category, meaning that their authors did not have
1596-429: The Broadway theatre community..." The producers "accept the situation ... because just as much as actually winning a Tony, a performance that lands well with the viewing public can translate into big box-office sales." Producer Robyn Goodman noted that, if the presentation at the ceremony shows well and the show wins a Tony, "you're going to spike at the box office". The awards met further criticism when they eliminated
1653-431: The Seesaw in 1958, a critically acclaimed two-character play, which starred Henry Fonda and, in her own Broadway debut, Anne Bancroft . It was directed by Arthur Penn . Gibson published a chronicle of the vicissitudes of rewriting for the sake of this production with The Seesaw Log , a nonfiction book. His most famous play is The Miracle Worker (1959), the story of Helen Keller 's childhood education, which won him
1710-538: The Tony Awards to be the Oscars of live theatre, critics have suggested that the Tony Awards are primarily a promotional vehicle for a small number of large production companies and theatre owners in New York City . In a 2014 Playbill article, Robert Simonson wrote that "Who gets to perform on the Tony Awards broadcast, what they get to perform, and for how long, have long been politically charged questions in
1767-459: The Tony show sold almost all its advertising slots shortly after CBS announced it would present the three hours. 'It draws upscale premium viewers who are attractive to upscale premium advertisers,' Mr. Sussman said..." The viewership has declined from the early years of its broadcast history (for example, the number of viewers in 1974 was 20 million; in 1999, 9.2 million) but has settled into between six and eight million viewers for most of
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1824-543: The awards. Audience size for the telecast is generally well below that of the Academy Awards shows, but the program reaches an affluent audience, which is prized by advertisers. According to a June 2003 article in The New York Times : "What the Tony broadcast does have, say CBS officials, is an all-important demographic: rich and smart. Jack Sussman, CBS's senior vice president in charge of specials, said
1881-670: The comedy and tragedy masks, mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel. The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document "Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards", which applies for that season only. The Tony Awards are the New York theatre industry's equivalent to the Emmy Awards for television, the Grammy Awards for music, and the Academy Awards (Oscars) for film, and
1938-501: The cut-off date for eligibility the 2013–2014 season was April 24, 2014. The season for Tony Award eligibility is defined in the Rules and Regulations. In 2020, the 74th Annual Tony Awards were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 21, 2020, it was announced that the 74th Annual Tony Awards would take place digitally later in 2020. A Broadway theatre is defined as having 500 or more seats, among other requirements. While
1995-422: The decade of the 2000s. In contrast, the 2009 Oscar telecast had 36.3 million viewers. The Tony Award medallion was designed by art director Herman Rosse and is a mix of mostly brass and a little bronze , with a nickel plating on the outside; a black acrylic glass base, and the nickel-plated pewter swivel. The face of the medallion portrays an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks. Originally,
2052-567: The film. In 1965 Penn directed Mickey One . Heavily influenced by the French New Wave , it was the dreamlike story of a standup comedian (played by Warren Beatty ) on the run from sinister, ambiguous forces. In 2010, Penn commented: "You know, you could not have gone through the Second World War with all that nonsense with Russia being an ally and then being the big black monster. It was an absurd time. The McCarthy period
2109-572: The first nonbinary actors to be nominated for Tony Awards. Both would go on to win in their respective categories. Fellow nonbinary performer Justin David Sullivan withdrew from Tony consideration due to the gendered categories. William Gibson (playwright) Gibson graduated from the City College of New York in 1938. He was of Irish, French, German, Dutch, Russian, and Greek ancestry. Gibson made his Broadway debut with Two for
2166-538: The following year under the title Rag Dolly , and then it closed on Broadway in 1986 with only 15 previews and 5 performances. Thanks to bootleg recordings, the show went on to garner a cult reputation on the internet. In 1973, Gibson published A Season in Heaven , an account of his studies with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Punta Umbria and La Antilla, Spain. In 1954, Gibson published the novel The Cobweb , set in
2223-641: The governing boards of Actors' Equity Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, United Scenic Artists, and the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, members of the Theatrical Council of the Casting Society of America and voting members of The Broadway League (in 2000, what was then The League of American Theaters and Producers changed membership eligibility and Tony voting status from
2280-440: The late 1960s and 1970s, notably the drama The Chase (1966), the biographical crime film Bonnie and Clyde (1967), the comedy Alice's Restaurant (1969), and the revisionist Western Little Big Man (1970). Penn was nominated for three Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play , winning in 1959 for The Miracle Worker , a play based on the childhood of Helen Keller . He received his first Oscar nomination for directing
2337-411: The names and number of categories have changed over the years. Some examples: the category Best Book of a Musical was originally called "Best Author (Musical)." The category of Best Costume Design was one of the original awards. For two years, in 1960 and 1961, this category was split into Best Costume Designer (Dramatic) and Best Costume Designer (Musical). It then went to a single category, but in 2005 it
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2394-427: The physical award. Sums collected are designed to help defray the cost of the Tony Awards ceremony itself. An award cost $ 400 as of at least 2000, $ 750 as of at least 2009, and, as of 2013, had been $ 2,500 "for several years", according to Tony Award Productions. Source: Tony Awards Official Site, Rules For the purposes of the award, a new play or musical is one that has not previously been produced on Broadway and
2451-622: The production of Mickey One , saying in a 2010 interview, "Alger got married here in my apartment. And so I became more of a student of the Hiss period than I knew what to do with, frankly". Penn died from congestive heart failure at his home in Manhattan on September 28, 2010, the day after his 88th birthday. Metadata Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre , more commonly known as
2508-562: The reverse side had a relief profile of Antoinette Perry; this later was changed to contain the winner's name, award category, production and year. The medallion has been mounted on a black base since 1967. A larger base was introduced and first presented in the 2010 award ceremony. That base is slightly taller – 5 inches (13 cm), up from 3 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (8.3 cm) – and heavier – 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 pounds (1.6 kg), up from 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 pounds (680 grams). This change
2565-414: The rules define a Broadway theatre in terms of its size, not its geographical location, the list of Broadway theatres is determined solely by the Tony Awards Administration Committee. As of the 2016–2017 season, the list consisted solely of 41 theaters: 40 located in the vicinity of Times Square in New York City and Lincoln Center 's Vivian Beaumont Theater . While the theatre-going public may consider
2622-620: The separation of male and female acting categories in the Tony Awards, Academy Awards, and Emmy Awards. Though some commentators worry that gender discrimination would cause men to dominate unsegregated categories, other categories are unsegregated. The Grammy Awards went gender-neutral in 2012, while the Daytime Emmy Awards introduced a single Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series category in 2019 to replace their two gender-specific younger actor and actress categories. In 2023, J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell became
2679-471: The stage version of the thriller Wait Until Dark starring Lee Remick and Robert Duvall . He reunited with Warren Beatty for the gangster film Bonnie and Clyde (1967). The film went on to become a worldwide phenomenon. It was strongly influenced by the French New Wave and itself went on to make a huge impression on a younger generation of filmmakers. Indeed, there was a strong resurgence in
2736-554: Was a featured commentator in the documentary Fully Awake about the college. After making a name for himself as a director of quality television dramas, Penn made his feature debut with The Left Handed Gun (1958) for Warner Brothers . A retelling of the Billy the Kid legend, it was distinguished by Paul Newman 's portrayal of the outlaw as a psychologically troubled youth (the role was originally intended for James Dean ). The production
2793-401: Was a horror/thriller. Subsequently, Penn returned to work in television, including as an executive producer for the crime series Law & Order . Penn maintained an affiliation with Yale University, occasionally teaching classes there. In 1955, he married actress Peggy Maurer. They had two children: son Matthew Penn and daughter, Molly Penn. Penn became friends with Alger Hiss during
2850-409: Was angered by the film, believing Penn and his co-writer had come to a fundamentally wrong conclusion about whether or not hippie values were still relevant, and had walked out of the film's premiere; Alice Brock and Richard Robbins, who were also portrayed in the film, were similarly offended. Penn followed up Alice's Restaurant in 1970 with Little Big Man , a "shaggy dog" account of the life of
2907-571: Was completed in only 23 days, but Warner Brothers reedited the film against his wishes with a new ending he disapproved of. The film failed upon release in North America, but was well received in Europe. Penn's second film was The Miracle Worker (1962), the story of Anne Sullivan 's struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate. It garnered two Academy Awards for its leads Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke . Penn had won
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#17327795366492964-512: Was divided again. For the category of Best Director of a Play, a single category was for directors of plays and musicals prior to 1960. A newly established non-competitive award, The Isabelle Stevenson Award , was given for the first time at the awards ceremony in 2009. The award is for an individual who has made a "substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations." The category of Best Special Theatrical Event
3021-893: Was drafted into the United States Army during World War II (1943–1946), serving as an infantryman in the Battle of the Bulge . While stationed in Britain, he became interested in theater. He started to direct and take part in shows being put on for the soldiers around England at the time. As Penn grew up, he became increasingly interested in film, especially after seeing the Orson Welles film Citizen Kane . He later attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and
3078-590: Was implemented to make the award "feel more substantial" and easier to handle at the moment the award is presented to the winners, according to Howard Sherman, the executive director of the American Theatre Wing: We know the physical scale of the Oscars , Emmys and Grammys . While we're not attempting to keep up with the Joneses , we felt this is a significant award, and it could feel and look
3135-478: Was responsible for over seeing the organization of the first awards. It was not until the third awards ceremony in 1949 that the first Tony medallion was given to award winners. Since 1967, the award ceremony has been broadcast on U.S. national television and includes songs from the nominated musicals, and occasionally has included video clips of, or presentations about, nominated plays. The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League jointly present and administer
3192-500: Was retired as of the 2009–2010 season. The categories of Best Sound Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Musical were retired as of the 2014–2015 season. On April 24, 2017, the Tony Awards administration committee announced that the Sound Design Award would be reintroduced for the 2017–2018 season. The award was founded in 1947 by a committee of the American Theatre Wing (ATW) headed by Brock Pemberton. The award
3249-400: Was ridiculous and humiliating, deeply humiliating. When I finally did 'Mickey One', it was in repudiation of the kind of fear that overtook free people to the point where they were telling on each other and afraid to speak out. It just astonished me, really astonished me. I mean, I was a vet, so it was nothing like what we thought we were fighting for." Penn's next film was The Chase (1966)
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