The 55th Annual Tony Awards was held at Radio City Music Hall on June 3, 2001 and broadcast by CBS. "The First Ten" awards ceremony was telecast on PBS television . The event was co-hosted by Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. The Producers won 12 awards (every award it was eligible to win), breaking the 37-year-old record set by Hello, Dolly! to become the most awarded show in Tony Awards history.^{[ citation needed]} Mel Brooks's win made him the eighth person to become an EGOT.

Eligibility

Shows that opened on Broadway during the 2000–01 season before May 3, 2001 are eligible.

The ceremony

Presenters: Joan Allen, Dick Cavett, Kristin Chenoweth, Glenn Close, Dame Edna, Edie Falco, Kathleen Freeman, Gina Gershon, Heather Headley, Cherry Jones, Jane Krakowski, Marc Kudisch, Eric McCormack, Audra McDonald, Reba McEntire, Donna McKechnie, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bernadette Peters, Natasha Richardson, Doris Roberts, Gary Sinise, Lily Tomlin, Henry Winkler, and three "Broadway Babies" (Meredith Patterson, Bryn Bowling, and Carol Bentley). ^[2]

The musicals that performed were: ^{[2] [3]}

• A Class Act ("Follow Your Star"/"Better"/"Self Portrait"—Nancy Anderson, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Donna Bullock, Randy Graff, David Hibbard, Lonny Price, Patrick Quinn, Sara Ramirez);
• Bells Are Ringing ("I'm Going Back" -- Faith Prince);
• 42nd Street ("42nd Street" -- David Elder, Kate Levering and company);
• Follies ("I'm Still Here" -- Polly Bergen with Louis Zorich, Jessica Leigh Brown, Colleen Dunn, Amy Heggins, and Wendy Waring);
• The Full Monty ("Let It Go"—John Ellison Conlee, Jason Danieley, André De Shields, Kathleen Freeman, Romain Fruge, Marcus Neville, Patrick Wilson, Thomas Fiss, and company);
• Jane Eyre ("Sirens" -- Marla Schaffel and James Barbour);
• The Producers, the new Mel Brooks Musical ("Along Came Bialy" -- Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Matthew Broderick, Cady Huffman, Nathan Lane, Brad Oscar, and company); and
• The Rocky Horror Show (" Time Warp" -- Dick Cavett, Lea Delaria, Jerrod Emick, Kristen Lee Kelly, Alice Ripley, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Tom Hewitt, Raul Esparza, Sebastian LaCause, and company).

Plays were also presented: ^{[2] [3]}

• The Invention of Love, introduced by playwright Tom Stoppard. Montage with voice-over by Richard Easton.
• King Hedley II, introduced by playwright August Wilson. Excerpt performed by Viola Davis and Brian Stokes Mitchell.
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, introduced by Joan Allen. Excerpt performed by Gary Sinise, Amy Morton, Tim Sampson, Bruce McCarty, Jeanine Morick, and Afram Bill Williams.
• Proof, introduced by playwright David Auburn. Scene with Mary-Louise Parker and Ben Shenkman.
• The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, introduced by playwright Charles Busch. Scene with Linda Lavin, Tony Roberts, and Michele Lee.

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold

Source: BroadwayWorld ^[4]

Special awards

Regional Theatre Award

• Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago, Illinois

Special Theatrical Event

• Blast!

Special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award

• Paul Gemignani

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre

• Betty Corwin and the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
• New Dramatists
• Theatre World

Multiple nominations and awards

See also

• Drama Desk Awards
• 2001 Laurence Olivier Awards – equivalent awards for West End theatre productions
• Obie Award
• New York Drama Critics' Circle
• Theatre World Award
• Lucille Lortel Awards

References

External links

• Official Site Tony Awards