Template:Short description
Template:Infobox award
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical or play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be eligible, a score must be written specifically for the theatre and must be original; compilations of non-theatrical music or compilations of earlier theatrical music are not eligible for consideration.
History
The award has undergone a number of minor changes. In 1947, 1950, 1951, and 1962, the award went to the composer only. Otherwise, the award has gone to the composer and lyricist for their combined contributions, except for 1971 when the two awards were split (although Stephen Sondheim won both, for Company).
The only tie in this category occurred in 1993, when Fred Ebb & John Kander (Kiss of the Spider Woman) and Pete Townshend (The Who's Tommy) shared the award.
In only ten years have non-musical plays been nominated for Tony Awards in this category: Much Ado About Nothing in 1973; The Good Doctor in 1974; The Song of Jacob Zulu in 1993; Twelfth Night in 1999; Enron and Fences in 2010; Peter and the Starcatcher and One Man, Two Guvnors in 2012; Angels in America in 2018; To Kill a Mockingbird in 2019; A Christmas Carol, The Inheritance, The Rose Tattoo, Slave Play, and The Sound Inside in 2020; and Stereophonic in 2024. Because the Broadway season of 2019-2020 was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only four musicals were eligible for Tony Awards; three were jukebox musicals and the fourth was The Lightning Thief, the only musical of the season with original music. The Lightning Thief was not nominated for any Tony Awards, meaning that every nominee in this category in 2020 was a play rather than a musical.
In 2013, Cyndi Lauper became the first woman to win the award solo for Kinky Boots. In 2015, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori became the first all-woman team to win the award for Fun Home.<ref>'Fun Home' songwriters become 1st winning female team Yahoo News</ref>
Toby Marlow is the youngest person to win the award; he was 27 when he won in tandem with Lucy Moss for Six. Adolph Green is the oldest person to win the award; he was 76 when he won for The Will Rogers Follies. If T. S. Eliot were alive when he won for Cats, he would have been 94. Eliot is one of two people to receive the award posthumously, the other being Jonathan Larson, who won for Rent. He would have been 36.
Winners and nominees
Template:Legend
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
| Year
|
Production (Musical or Play)
|
Music
|
Lyrics
|
1990 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| City of Angels
|
Cy Coleman
|
David Zippel
|
| Aspects of Love
|
Andrew Lloyd Webber
|
Don Black & Charles Hart
|
| Grand Hotel
|
Chet Forrest, Bob Wright & Maury Yeston
|
| Meet Me in St. Louis
|
Ralph Blane & Hugh Martin
|
1991 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| The Will Rogers Follies
|
Cy Coleman
|
Betty Comden & Adolph Green
|
| Miss Saigon
|
Claude-Michel Schönberg
|
Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby Jr.
|
| Once on This Island
|
Stephen Flaherty
|
Lynn Ahrens
|
| The Secret Garden
|
Lucy Simon
|
Marsha Norman
|
1992 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Falsettos
|
William Finn
|
| Jelly's Last Jam
|
Luther Henderson & Jelly Roll Morton
|
Susan Birkenhead
|
| Metro
|
Janusz Stokłosa
|
Agata, Maryna Miklaszewska & Mary Bracken Phillips
|
| Nick & Nora
|
Charles Strouse
|
Richard Maltby Jr.
|
1993 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Kiss of the Spider Woman
|
John Kander
|
Fred Ebb
|
| The Who's Tommy
|
Pete Townshend
|
| Anna Karenina
|
Daniel Levine
|
Peter Kellogg
|
| The Song of Jacob Zulu
|
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
|
Ladysmith Black Mambazo & Tug Yourgrau
|
1994 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Passion
|
Stephen Sondheim
|
| Beauty and the Beast
|
Alan Menken
|
Howard Ashman & Tim Rice
|
| Cyrano: The Musical
|
Ad van Dijk
|
Sheldon Harnick, Peter Reeves & Koen van Dijk
|
1995 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Sunset Boulevard
|
Andrew Lloyd Webber
|
Don Black & Christopher Hampton
|
1996 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Rent
|
Jonathan Larson
|
| Big: the musical
|
David Shire
|
Richard Maltby Jr.
|
| Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk
|
Ann Duquesnay, Zane Mark & Daryl Waters
|
Duquesnay, Reg E. Gaines & George C. Wolfe
|
| State Fair
|
Richard Rodgers
|
Oscar Hammerstein II
|
1997 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Titanic
|
Maury Yeston
|
| Juan Darién
|
Elliot Goldenthal
|
| The Life
|
Cy Coleman
|
Ira Gasman
|
| Steel Pier
|
John Kander
|
Fred Ebb
|
1998 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Ragtime
|
Stephen Flaherty
|
Lynn Ahrens
|
| The Capeman
|
Paul Simon
|
Simon & Derek Walcott
|
| The Lion King
|
Elton John, Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin & Hans Zimmer
|
Tim Rice, M., Mancina, Rifkin & Julie Taymor
|
| Side Show
|
Henry Krieger
|
Bill Russell
|
1999 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Parade
|
Jason Robert Brown
|
| The Civil War
|
Frank Wildhorn
|
Jack Murphy
|
| Footloose
|
Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, Tom Snow & Jim Steinman
|
Carmen, Hagar, Loggins, Dean Pitchford & Steinman
|
| Twelfth Night
|
Jeanine Tesori
|
Template:N/a
|
2000s
| Year
|
Musical
|
Music
|
Lyrics
|
2000 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Aida
|
Elton John
|
Tim Rice
|
| James Joyce's The Dead
|
Shaun Davey
|
Davey & Richard Nelson
|
| Marie Christine
|
Michael John LaChiusa
|
| The Wild Party
|
2001 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| The Producers
|
Mel Brooks
|
| A Class Act
|
Edward Kleban
|
| The Full Monty
|
David Yazbek
|
| Jane Eyre
|
Paul Gordon
|
John Caird & Gordon
|
2002 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Urinetown
|
Mark Hollmann
|
Hollmann & Greg Kotis
|
| Sweet Smell of Success
|
Marvin Hamlisch
|
Craig Carnelia
|
| Thoroughly Modern Millie
|
Jeanine Tesori
|
Dick Scanlan
|
| Thou Shalt Not
|
Harry Connick Jr.
|
2003 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Hairspray
|
Marc Shaiman
|
Shaiman & Scott Wittman
|
| Amour
|
Michel Legrand
|
Jeremy Sams & Didier Van Cauwelaert
|
| Urban Cowboy
|
Danny Arena, Clint Black, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Jason Robert Brown, Roger Brown, Carl L. Byrd, Pevin Byrd-Munoz, Jerry Chesnut, Tommy Conners, Tom Crain, Charlie Daniels, Taz DiGregorio, Ronnie Dunn, Fred Edwards, Skip Ewing, Wayland Holyfield, Bob Lee House, Marcus Hummon, Sara Light, Lauren Lucas, Martie Maguire, Wanda Mallette, Jim Marshall, Bob Morrison, James Hayden Nicholas, Luke Reed, Patti Ryan, Jerry Silverstein & Bob Stillman
|
| A Year with Frog and Toad
|
Robert Reale
|
Willie Reale
|
2004 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Avenue Q
|
Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx
|
| Caroline, or Change
|
Jeanine Tesori
|
Tony Kushner
|
| Taboo
|
Boy George
|
| Wicked
|
Stephen Schwartz
|
2005 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| The Light in the Piazza
|
Adam Guettel
|
| Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
|
David Yazbek
|
| Spamalot
|
John Du Prez & Eric Idle
|
Idle
|
| The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
|
William Finn
|
2006 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| The Drowsy Chaperone
|
Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison
|
| The Color Purple
|
Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell & Allee Willis
|
| The Wedding Singer
|
Matthew Sklar
|
Chad Beguelin
|
| The Woman in White
|
Andrew Lloyd Webber
|
David Zippel
|
2007 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Spring Awakening
|
Duncan Sheik
|
Steven Sater
|
| Curtains
|
John Kander
|
Fred Ebb, Kander & Rupert Holmes
|
| Grey Gardens
|
Scott Frankel
|
Michael Korie
|
| Legally Blonde
|
Nell Benjamin & Larry O'Keefe
|
2008 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| In the Heights
|
Lin-Manuel Miranda
|
| Cry-Baby
|
David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger
|
| The Little Mermaid
|
Alan Menken
|
Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater
|
| Passing Strange
|
Heidi Rodewald & Stew
|
Stew
|
2009 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Next to Normal
|
Tom Kitt
|
Brian Yorkey
|
| Billy Elliot the Musical
|
Elton John
|
Lee Hall
|
| Shrek the Musical
|
Jeanine Tesori
|
David Lindsay-Abaire
|
| 9 to 5
|
Dolly Parton
|
2010s
| Year
|
Production (Musical or Play)
|
Music
|
Lyrics
|
2010 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Memphis
|
David Bryan
|
Bryan & Joe DiPietro
|
| The Addams Family
|
Andrew Lippa
|
| Enron
|
Adam Cork
|
Lucy Prebble
|
| Fences
|
Branford Marsalis
|
Template:N/a
|
2011 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| The Book of Mormon
|
Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone
|
| The Scottsboro Boys
|
John Kander
|
Fred Ebb
|
| Sister Act
|
Alan Menken
|
Glenn Slater
|
| Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
|
David Yazbek
|
2012 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Newsies
|
Alan Menken
|
Jack Feldman
|
| Bonnie & Clyde
|
Frank Wildhorn
|
Don Black
|
| One Man, Two Guvnors
|
Grant Olding
|
| Peter and the Starcatcher
|
Wayne Barker
|
Rick Elice
|
2013 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Kinky Boots
|
Cyndi Lauper
|
| A Christmas Story: The Musical
|
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
|
| Hands on a Hardbody
|
Trey Anastasio & Amanda Green
|
Green
|
| Matilda the Musical
|
Tim Minchin
|
2014 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| The Bridges of Madison County
|
Jason Robert Brown
|
| Aladdin
|
Alan Menken
|
Howard Ashman, Tim Rice & Chad Beguelin
|
| A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
|
Steven Lutvak
|
Robert L. Freedman & Lutvak
|
| If/Then
|
Tom Kitt
|
Brian Yorkey
|
2015 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Fun Home
|
Jeanine Tesori
|
Lisa Kron
|
| The Last Ship
|
Sting
|
| Something Rotten!
|
Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick
|
| The Visit
|
John Kander
|
Fred Ebb
|
2016 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Hamilton
|
Lin-Manuel Miranda
|
| Bright Star
|
Edie Brickell
|
Brickell & Steve Martin
|
| School of Rock
|
Andrew Lloyd Webber
|
Glenn Slater
|
| Waitress
|
Sara Bareilles
|
2017 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Dear Evan Hansen
|
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
|
| Come from Away
|
David Hein & Irene Sankoff
|
| Groundhog Day
|
Tim Minchin
|
| Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
|
Dave Malloy
|
2018 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| The Band's Visit
|
David Yazbek
|
| Angels in America
|
Adrian Sutton
|
Template:N/a
|
| Frozen
|
Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez
|
| Mean Girls
|
Jeff Richmond
|
Nell Benjamin
|
| SpongeBob SquarePants
|
Yolanda Adams, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Domani, Alex Ebert, The Flaming Lips, Rob Hyman, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Lil'C, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T's, Joe Perry, They Might Be Giants, T.I. & Steven Tyler
|
2019 Template:Small <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
| Hadestown
|
Anaïs Mitchell
|
| Be More Chill
|
Joe Iconis
|
| Beetlejuice
|
Eddie Perfect
|
| The Prom
|
Matthew Sklar
|
Chad Beguelin
|
| To Kill a Mockingbird
|
Adam Guettel
|
Template:N/a
|
| Tootsie
|
David Yazbek
|
2020s
Multiple wins
Template:Col-begin
Template:Col-2
- 6 Wins
- 3 Wins
Template:Col-2
- 2 Wins
Template:Col-end
Multiple nominations
Template:Col-begin
Template:Col-2
- 11 Nominations
- 10 Nominations
- 9 Nominations
- 7 Nominations
- 6 Nominations
- 5 Nominations
- 4 Nominations
- 3 Nominations
Template:Col-2
- 2 Nominations
Template:Col-end
Female winners
Only nine women have won this award, six of whom won without male writing partners, and for eleven shows:
See also
References
Template:Reflist
External links
Template:TonyAward MusicalScore
Template:TonyAwardsbyYear