1983 Tony Awards results (37th) – Winners & nominees
Introducing the winners of the Tony Awards—the highest honor in American musical theatre—for 1983.
This page lists the winners and nominees of the 37th Tony Awards, held on June 5, 1983. The 1983 Tony Award for Best Musical went to Cats.
Best musical
Winner:
Nominees:
- Blues in the Night
- Merlin
- My One and Only
Best play
Winner:
Nominees:
- Angels Fall
- ‘Night, Mother
- Plenty
Best book of a musical
Winner:
Nominees:
- Betty Comden, Adolph Green (A Doll’s Life)
- Richard Levinson, William Link (Merlin)
- Peter Stone, Timothy S. Mayer (My One and Only)
Best original score
Winner:
- Andrew Lloyd Webber, T. S. Eliot (Cats)
Nominees:
- Larry Grossman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green (A Doll’s Life)
- Elmer Bernstein, Don Black (Merlin)
- Gene de Paul, Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn; lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
Best revival
Winner:
Nominees:
- All’s Well That Ends Well
- A View From the Bridge
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Best performance by a leading actor in a play
Winner:
- Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy)
Nominees:
- Jeffrey DeMunn (K2)
- Edward Herrmann (Plenty)
- Tony Lo Bianco (A View from the Bridge)
Best performance by a leading actress in a play
Winner:
Nominees:
- Kathy Bates (‘Night, Mother)
- Kate Nelligan (Plenty)
- Anne Pitoniak (‘Night, Mother)
Best performance by a leading actor in a musical
Winner:
- Tommy Tune (My One and Only)
Nominees:
- Al Green (Your Arm’s Too Short to Box with God)
- George Hearn (A Doll’s Life)
- Michael V. Smartt (Porgy and Bess)
Best performance by a leading actress in a musical
Winner:
- Natalia Makarova (On Your Toes)
Nominees:
- Lonette McKee (Show Boat)
- Chita Rivera (Merlin)
- Twiggy (My One and Only)
Best performance by a featured actor in a play
Winner:
- Matthew Broderick (Brighton Beach Memoirs)
Nominees:
- Zeljko Ivanek (Brighton Beach Memoirs)
- George N. Martin (Plenty)
- Stephen Moore (All’s Well That Ends Well)
Best performance by a featured actress in a play
Winner:
Nominees:
- Elizabeth Franz (Brighton Beach Memoirs)
- Roxanne Hart (Passion)
- Margaret Tyzack (All’s Well That Ends Well)
Best performance by a featured actor in a musical
Winner:
- Charles Honi Coles (My One and Only)
Nominees:
- Harry Groener (Cats)
- Stephen Hanan (Cats)
- Lara Teeter (On Your Toes)
Best performance by a featured actress in a musical
Winner:
Nominees:
- Christine Andreas (On Your Toes)
- Karla Burns (Show Boat)
- Denny Dillon (My One and Only)
Best scenic design in a play
Winner:
Nominees:
- John Gunter (All’s Well That Ends Well)
- David Mitchell (Foxfire)
- John Napier (Cats)
Best costume design in a play
Winner:
Nominees:
- Lindy Hemming (All’s Well That Ends Well)
- Rita Ryack (My One and Only)
- Patricia Zipprodt (Alice in Wonderland)
Best lighting design in a play
Winner:
Nominees:
- Ken Billington (Foxfire)
- Robert Bryan (All’s Well That Ends Well)
- Allen Lee Hughes (K2)
Best direction of a play
Winner:
- Gene Saks (Brighton Beach Memoirs)
Nominees:
- Marshall W. Mason (Angels Fall)
- Tom Moore (‘Night, Mother)
- Trevor Nunn (All’s Well That Ends Well)
Best direction of a musical
Winner:
Nominees:
- Michael Kahn (Show Boat)
- Ivan Reitman (Merlin)
- Tommy Tune, Thommie Walsh (My One and Only)
Best choreography
Winner:
- Tommy Tune, Thommie Walsh (My One and Only)
Nominees:
- George Faison (Porgy and Bess)
- Gillian Lynne (Cats)
- Donald Saddler (On Your Toes)
Regional theatre Tony Award
- Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association
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