53rd Tony Awards explained

53rd Tony Awards
Date:	June 6, 1999
Location:	Gershwin Theatre, New York City, New York
Network:	CBS
Previous:	52nd
Main:	Tony Awards
Next:	54th

The 53rd Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS from the Gershwin Theatre on June 6, 1999. "The First Ten" awards ceremony was telecast on PBS television.^[1] The show did not have a formal host.

Eligibility

Shows that opened on Broadway during the 1998–1999 season before April 30, 1999 are eligible.

Original plays

Original musicals

Band in Berlin
The Civil War
Footloose
Fosse
The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm
It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues
Marlene
Parade
Swan Lake

Play revivals

Death of a Salesman
Electra
Fool Moon
The Iceman Cometh
The Lion in Winter
Night Must Fall
Ring Round the Moon
Twelfth Night

Musical revivals

The ceremony

The opening number was "There's No Business Like Show Business", sung by Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat.^[1]

Presenters

David Hare
William Hurt
Swoosie Kurtz
Angela Lansbury
Audra McDonald
Terrence McNally
Sarah Jessica Parker
David Hyde Pierce
Chita Rivera
Jason Robards
Christian Slater
Kevin Spacey
Scott Wolf

The musicals represented were:

The Civil War ("Freedom's Child" - Lawrence Clayton and Company)
Peter Pan ("I'm Flying" - Cathy Rigby and children)
Parade ("This Is Not Over Yet"/"The Old Red Hills of Home" - Carolee Carmello, Brent Carver and Company)
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown ("My New Philosophy"/"Happiness" - Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Rapp and Company)
Fosse ("Sing Sing Sing" - Company)
Little Me ("Boom Boom" - Martin Short and Company)
Annie Get Your Gun ("I Got the Sun in the Morning"/"Hoedown"/"Old-Fashioned Wedding" - Tom Wopat, Bernadette Peters and Company)^[2]

The telecast included a special presentation (a "collage of moments") featuring performers from several of the productions nominated as Best Play and Best Revival of a Play.^[1]

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold^[1]

Best Play	Best Musical
Side Man – Warren Leight Closer – Patrick Marber The Lonesome West – Martin McDonagh Not About Nightingales – Tennessee Williams	*Fosse* The Civil War It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues Parade
Best Revival of a Play	Best Revival of a Musical
Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller Electra – Sophocles The Iceman Cometh – Eugene O'Neill Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare	*Annie Get Your Gun* Little Me Peter Pan You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
*Brian Dennehy – Death of a Salesman* as Willy Loman** Brían F. O'Byrne – The Lonesome West as Valene Connor Corin Redgrave – Not About Nightingales as Bert "Boss" Whalen Kevin Spacey – The Iceman Cometh as Theodore Hickman	*Judi Dench – Amy's View* as Esme Allen** Stockard Channing – The Lion in Winter as Eleanor of Aquitaine Marian Seldes – Ring Round the Moon as Madame Desmermortes Zoë Wanamaker – Electra as Electra
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
*Martin Short – Little Me* as Noble Eggleston and Various Characters** Brent Carver – Parade as Leo Frank Adam Cooper – Swan Lake as The Swan Tom Wopat – Annie Get Your Gun as Frank Butler	*Bernadette Peters – Annie Get Your Gun* as Annie Oakley** Carolee Carmello – Parade as Lucille Frank Dee Hoty – Footloose as Vi Moore Siân Phillips – Marlene as Marlene Dietrich
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
*Frank Wood – Side Man* as Gene** Kevin Anderson – Death of a Salesman as Biff Finbar Lynch – Not About Nightingales as Jim Allison Howard Witt – Death of a Salesman as Charley	*Elizabeth Franz – Death of a Salesman* as Linda** Claire Bloom – Electra as Clytemnestra Samantha Bond – Amy's View as Amy Thomas Dawn Bradfield – The Lonesome West as Girleen Kelleher
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
*Roger Bart – You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown* as Snoopy** Desmond Richardson – Fosse as Various Characters Ron Taylor – It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues as Various Characters Scott Wise – Fosse as Various Characters	*Kristin Chenoweth – You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown* as Sally Brown** Gretha Boston – It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues as Various Characters Valarie Pettiford – Fosse as Various Characters Mary Testa – On the Town as Madame Maude P. Dilly
Best Book of a Musical	Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Alfred Uhry – Parade Charles Bevel, Lita Gaithers, Randal Myler, Ron Taylor and Dan Wheetman – It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues Pam Gems – Marlene Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie – Footloose	Parade – Jason Robert Brown (music and lyrics) Footloose – Tom Snow (music), Dean Pitchford (lyrics), Kenny Loggins, Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar and Jim Steinman (music and lyrics) The Civil War – Frank Wildhorn (music) and Jack Murphy (lyrics) Twelfth Night – Jeanine Tesori (music)
Best Scenic Design	Best Costume Design
Richard Hoover – Not About Nightingales Bob Crowley – The Iceman Cometh Bob Crowley – Twelfth Night Ricardo Hernandez – Parade	Lez Brotherston – Swan Lake Santo Loquasto – Fosse John David Ridge – Ring Round the Moon Catherine Zuber – Twelfth Night
Best Lighting Design	Best Orchestrations
Andrew Bridge – Fosse Mark Henderson – The Iceman Cometh Natasha Katz – Twelfth Night Chris Parry – Not About Nightingales	Ralph Burns and Douglas Besterman – Fosse David Cullen – Swan Lake Don Sebesky – Parade Harold Wheeler – Little Me
Best Direction of a Play	Best Direction of a Musical
Robert Falls – Death of a Salesman Howard Davies – The Iceman Cometh Garry Hynes – The Lonesome West Trevor Nunn – Not About Nightingales	Matthew Bourne – Swan Lake Richard Maltby, Jr. and Ann Reinking – Fosse Michael Mayer – You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown Harold Prince – Parade
Best Choreography
Matthew Bourne – Swan Lake Patricia Birch – Parade Rob Marshall – Little Me A. C. Ciulla – Footloose

Special awards

The following non-completive awards were presented:

Regional Theater Tony Award
- Crossroads Theatre (New Brunswick, New Jersey)
Special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award
- Arthur Miller
Special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award
- Isabelle Stevenson
Special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award
- Uta Hagen
Special Tony Award For a Live Theatrical Presentation
- Fool Moon (Bill Irwin and David Shiner)^[3]