The 71st Annual Tony Awards were held on June 11, 2017, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2016–17 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast live by CBS.Viagas, Robert. "Breaking News: Tony Awards Will Return to Radio City Music Hall", Playbill, January 12, 2017 Kevin Spacey served as host.McPhee, Ryan. "Kevin Spacey Will Host the 2017 Tony Awards" Playbill, April 18, 2017
The musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 led the nominations with 12, while the play with the most nominations was A Doll's House, Part 2, with eight. At the ceremony, Dear Evan Hansen won six awards, including Best Musical, becoming the production with the most wins of the season. 23-year-old Ben Platt, who played the title character, became the youngest solo winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. 21-year-old Eva Noblezada received her first nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her Broadway debut as Kim in Miss Saigon, becoming one of the youngest nominees in Best Actress in a Musical category. The Bette Midler-led revival of Hello, Dolly! won four awards, and The Great Comet won two. The productions of plays Indecent, The Little Foxes, and Oslo each won two awards.
The ceremony received mixed reviews, with many criticizing the performance of Spacey as host. Due to the sexual misconduct allegations against Spacey, the producers announced that it would not be submitted for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. However, the show did receive a nomination for Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special.
Eligibility Shows that opened on Broadway during the 2016–2017 season before April 27, 2017, were eligible for consideration.
Original plays A Doll's House, Part 2 The Encounter Heisenberg Indecent Oh, Hello Oslo The Play That Goes Wrong The Present Significant Other Sweat
Original musicals Amélie Anastasia Bandstand A Bronx Tale Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Come from Away Dear Evan Hansen Groundhog Day Holiday Inn In Transit Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Paramour War Paint
Play revivals The Cherry Orchard The Front Page The Glass Menagerie Jitney Les Liaisons Dangereuses The Little Foxes Present Laughter The Price Six Degrees of Separation
Musical revivals Cats Falsettos Hello, Dolly! Miss Saigon Sunset Boulevard
Notes Though the revival of Sunday in the Park with George would be technically eligible for the year's Tony Awards season, its producers elected to withdraw the show in advance from Tony consideration.Wontorek, Paul. "Exclusive: Jake Gyllenhaal, Annaleigh Ashford & Sunday in the Park with George Won't Compete in 2017 Tony Awards Race", Broadway.com, February 3, 2017
Awards events Nominations The Tony Award nominations were announced on May 2, 2017, by Jane Krakowski and Christopher Jackson."Calendar" , TonyAwards.com, December 13, 2016
The musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 garnered 12 nominations, becoming the most-nominated show of the season. The revival of Hello, Dolly! earned 10 nominations, the musical Dear Evan Hansen earned nine, and the new play A Doll's House, Part 2 earned eight. New musicals Come from Away and Groundhog Day each earned seven nominations, as did the new play Oslo.Kelley, Seth. "Tony Nominations Announced: Full List of 2017 Nominees", Variety, May 2, 2017, accessed June 11, 2017
Other events The annual Meet the Nominees Press Reception took place on May 3, 2017, at the Sofitel New York Hotel. The annual Nominees Luncheon took place on May 23, 2017, at the Rainbow Room. A cocktail party was held on June 5, 2017, at the Sofitel New York Hotel to celebrate the season's Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre and Special Award recipients.
Ceremony Presenters The ceremony's presenters included:
Rachel Bloom – backstage presenter Scarlett Johansson – presented Best Featured Actor in a Play Ron Duguay – introduced Come from Away Scott Bakula and Sutton Foster – presented Best Featured Actor in a Musical Lea Salonga and Jon Jon Briones – introduced Miss Saigon Tom Sturridge and Olivia Wilde – presented Best Featured Actress in a Play Whoopi Goldberg – introduced Falsettos Cynthia Erivo and John Legend – presented Best Original Score Anna Kendrick – introduced Dear Evan Hansen Sally Field – special presentation on the Tonys history David Oyelowo and Sarah Paulson – presented Best Actor in a Play Kevin Spacey (as Johnny Carson) – introduced Groundhog Day Tommy Tune – introduced Hello, Dolly! Bette Midler – presented Best Actress in a Play Patina Miller and Sara Bareilles – presented Best Featured Actress in a Musical Nick Kroll and John Mulaney – introduced The Rockettes performance Allison Janney and Christopher Jackson – presented Best Direction of a Play and Best Direction of a Musical Uma Thurman – introduced War Paint Josh Gad – presented Excellence in Theatre Education Award Orlando Bloom – presented Best Revival of a Play Keegan-Michael Key – introduced Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 John Lithgow – presented Best Play Jill Biden – introduced Bandstand Jonathan Groff and Brian d'Arcy James – presenters of the Creative Arts winners Stephen Colbert – presented Best Revival of a Musical Mark Hamill – presenter of the In Memoriam tribute Tina Fey – presented Best Actor in a Musical Glenn Close – presented Best Actress in a Musical Lin-Manuel Miranda – presented Best Musical (with help from Frank and Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) from House of Cards)
Performances The following shows and performers performed on the ceremony's telecast:
"Broadway Bound" – Kevin Spacey "Welcome to the Rock" – Come from Away "I'd Give My Life for You" / "Exodus" – Miss Saigon "A Day in Falsettoland" – Falsettos "Waving Through a Window" – Dear Evan Hansen "Seeing You" – Groundhog Day "Penny in My Pocket" – Hello, Dolly! "Theme from New York, New York" – Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., and The Rockettes "Face to Face" – War Paint "Dust and Ashes" / "The Abduction" – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 "Nobody" – Bandstand "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" – Justin Guarini, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Okieriete Onaodowan, David Abeles, and Chuck Cooper "The Curtain Falls" – Kevin Spacey and Patti LuPone
Non-competitive awards The 2017 Tony Honors for Excellence were awarded to general managers Nina Lannan and Alan Wasser.Clement, Olivia. "Nina Lannan and Alan Wasser Will Receive 2017 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre", Playbill, April 20, 2017 Actor James Earl Jones received the season's Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. The 2017 Isabelle Stevenson Award was awarded to Baayork Lee, "for her commitment to future generations of artists through her work with the National Asian Artists Project and theatre education programs around the world."Gans, Andrew. "Baayork Lee Named Recipient of 2017 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award", Playbill, April 25, 2017 A special Tony Award for Sound Design was awarded to Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin for The Encounter, following the removal of the competitive sound design awards in 2014. The season's Excellence in Theatre Education Award was awarded to drama teacher Rachel Harry of Hood River Valley High School in Hood River, OR.
Winners and nominees Sources: Playbill; The New York Times Best Play ‡ Best Musical ‡ Oslo – J. T. Rogers A Doll's House, Part 2 – Lucas Hnath Indecent – Paula Vogel Sweat – Lynn Nottage Dear Evan Hansen Come from Away Groundhog Day Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812Best Revival of a Play ‡Best Revival of a Musical ‡ Jitney The Little Foxes Present Laughter Six Degrees of Separation Hello, Dolly! Falsettos Miss SaigonBest Actor in a PlayBest Actress in a Play Kevin Kline – Present Laughter as Garry Essendine Denis Arndt – Heisenberg as Alex Priest Chris Cooper – A Doll's House, Part 2 as Torvald Helmer Corey Hawkins – Six Degrees of Separation as Paul Jefferson Mays – Oslo as Terje Rød-Larsen Laurie Metcalf – A Doll's House, Part 2 as Nora Jorgensen Cate Blanchett – The Present as Anna Petrovna Jennifer Ehle – Oslo as Mona Juul Sally Field – The Glass Menagerie as Amanda Wingfield Laura Linney – The Little Foxes as Regina Hubbard GiddensBest Actor in a MusicalBest Actress in a Musical Ben Platt – Dear Evan Hansen as Evan Hansen Christian Borle – Falsettos as Marvin Josh Groban – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 as Pierre Bezukhov Andy Karl – Groundhog Day as Phil Connors David Hyde Pierce – Hello, Dolly! as Horace Vandergelder Bette Midler – Hello, Dolly! as Dolly Gallagher Levi Denée Benton – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 as Natasha Rostova Christine Ebersole – War Paint as Elizabeth Arden Patti LuPone – War Paint as Helena Rubinstein Eva Noblezada – Miss Saigon as KimBest Featured Actor in a PlayBest Featured Actress in a Play Michael Aronov – Oslo as Uri Savir Danny DeVito – The Price as Gregory Solomon Nathan Lane – The Front Page as Walter Burns Richard Thomas – The Little Foxes as Horace Giddens John Douglas Thompson – Jitney as Becker Cynthia Nixon – The Little Foxes as Birdie Hubbard Johanna Day – Sweat as Tracey Jayne Houdyshell – A Doll's House, Part 2 as Anne-Marie Condola Rashad – A Doll's House, Part 2 as Emmy Helmer Michelle Wilson – Sweat as CynthiaBest Featured Actor in a MusicalBest Featured Actress in a Musical Gavin Creel – Hello, Dolly! as Cornelius Hackl Mike Faist – Dear Evan Hansen as Connor Murphy Andrew Rannells – Falsettos as Whizzer Brown Lucas Steele – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 as Anatole Kuragin Brandon Uranowitz – Falsettos as Mendel Rachel Bay Jones – Dear Evan Hansen as Heidi Hansen Kate Baldwin – Hello, Dolly! as Irene Molloy Stephanie J. Block – Falsettos as Trina Jenn Colella – Come from Away as Annette, Beverley Bass, and others Mary Beth Peil – Anastasia as Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna Best Book of a MusicalBest Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre Steven Levenson – Dear Evan Hansen Dave Malloy – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Danny Rubin – Groundhog Day Irene Sankoff and David Hein – Come from Away Benj Pasek and Justin Paul – Dear Evan Hansen Dave Malloy – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Tim Minchin – Groundhog Day Irene Sankoff and David Hein – Come from AwayBest Scenic Design of a PlayBest Scenic Design of a Musical Nigel Hook – The Play That Goes Wrong David Gallo – Jitney Douglas W. Schmidt – The Front Page Michael Yeargan – Oslo Mimi Lien – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Rob Howell – Groundhog Day David Korins – War Paint Santo Loquasto – Hello, Dolly!Best Costume Design of a PlayBest Costume Design of a Musical Jane Greenwood – The Little Foxes ∞ Susan Hilferty – Present Laughter Toni-Leslie James – Jitney David Zinn – A Doll's House, Part 2 Santo Loquasto – Hello, Dolly! Linda Cho – Anastasia Paloma Young – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Catherine Zuber – War PaintBest Lighting Design of a PlayBest Lighting Design of a Musical Christopher Akerlind – Indecent Jane Cox – Jitney Donald Holder – Oslo Jennifer Tipton – A Doll's House, Part 2 Bradley King – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Howell Binkley – Come from Away Natasha Katz – Hello, Dolly! Japhy Weideman – Dear Evan HansenBest Direction of a PlayBest Direction of a Musical Rebecca Taichman – Indecent Sam Gold – A Doll's House, Part 2 Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Jitney Bartlett Sher – Oslo Daniel Sullivan – The Little Foxes Christopher Ashley – Come from Away Rachel Chavkin – Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Michael Greif – Dear Evan Hansen Matthew Warchus – Groundhog Day Jerry Zaks – Hello, Dolly!Best ChoreographyBest Orchestrations Andy Blankenbuehler – Bandstand Peter Darling and Ellen Kane – Groundhog Day Kelly Devine – Come from Away Denis Jones – Holiday Inn