54th Tony Awards

Infobox Tony Awards
name = 54th


imagesize = 220px
caption = Official poster for the 54th annual Tony Awards
date = June 4 2000
venue = Radio City Music Hall, New York City, New York
host = Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane (special guest)
network = CBS
last = 53rd
next = 55th

The 54th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 4, 2000; "The First Ten" awards ceremony was telecast on PBS television. The event was hosted by Rosie O’Donnell, with special guest Nathan Lane. O'Donnell has hosted a total of three times--1997, 1998, and 2000.

The opening number was "A Tony Opening", with Rosie O’Donnell, Jane Krakowski, Jesse L. Martin, and Megan Mullally. Musicals represented were: Contact ; Kiss Me, Kate; Jesus Christ Superstar; The Music Man; The Wild Party (LaChiusa); Swing!; and James Joyce's The Dead.

Michael Blakemore is the only director to win Tony Awards as Best Director of a Play and Best Director of a Musical in the same year. He won this year for "Copenhagen" (play) and "Kiss Me, Kate" (musical).

Winners and nominees

"Winners are in bold"

Production

Best Play----
*"Copenhagen" by Michael FraynNominees:
*"Dirty Blonde" by Claudia Shear
*"The Ride Down Mt. Morgan" by Arthur Miller
*"True West" by Sam Shepard

Best Musical----
*"Contact"Nominees:
*"James Joyce's The Dead"
*"Swing!"
*"The Wild Party"

Best Revival of a Play----
*"The Real Thing"Nominees:
*"Amadeus"
*"A Moon for the Misbegotten"
*"The Price"

Best Revival of a Musical----
*"Kiss Me, Kate"Nominees:
*"Jesus Christ Superstar"
*"The Music Man
*"Tango Argentino"

Performance

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play----
*Stephen Dillane for "The Real Thing "Nominees:
*Gabriel Byrne
*Philip Seymour Hoffman
*John C. Reilly
*David Suchet

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play----
*Jennifer Ehle for "The Real Thing"Nominees:
*Jayne Atkinson
*Rosemary Harris
*Cherry Jones
*Claudia Shear

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical----
*Brian Stokes Mitchell for "Kiss Me, Kate"Nominees:
*Craig Bierko
*George Hearn
*Mandy Patinkin
*Christopher Walken

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical----
*Heather Headley for "Aida"Nominees:
*Toni Collette
*Rebecca Luker
*Marin Mazzie
*Audra McDonald

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play----
*Roy DotriceNominees:
*Kevin Chamberlin
*Daniel Davis
*Derek Smith
*Bob Stillman

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play----
*Blair BrownNominees:
*Frances Conroy
*Amy Ryan
*Helen Stenborg
*Sarah Woodward

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical----
*Boyd GainesNominees:
*Michael Berresse
*Stephen Spinella
*Lee Wilkof
*Michael Mulheren

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical----
*Karen ZiembaNominees:
*Laura Benanti
*Ann Hampton Callaway
*Eartha Kitt
*Deborah Yates

Craft

Best Direction of a Play----
*Michael Blakemore for "CopenhagenNominees:
*James Lapine
*David Leveaux
*Matthew Warchus

Best Direction of a Musical----
*Michael Blakemore for "Kiss Me, Kate"Nominees:
*Susan Stroman ("The Music Man")
*Susan Stroman ("Contact")
*Lynne Taylor-Corbett

Best Choreography----
*Susan Stroman ("Contact")Nominees:
*Kathleen Marshall
*Susan Stroman
*Lynne Taylor-Corbett

Best Book of a Musical----
*Richard Nelson for "James Joyce's The Dead"Nominees:
*John Weidman
*Michael John LaChiusa ("Marie Christine")
*Michael John LaChiusa & George C. Wolfe ("The Wild Party")

Best Original Score Written for the Theatre----
*Aida Music & Lyrics by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice. Nominees:
*"James Joyce's The Dead"
*"Marie Christine" (Music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa)
*"The Wild Party" (Music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa)

Best Orchestrations----
*Don SebeskyNominees:
*Doug Besterman
*Jonathan Tunick
*Harold Wheeler

Best Scenic Design----
*Bob Crowley (Aida)Nominees:
*Thomas Lynch
*Robin Wagner
*Tony Walton

Tony Award for Best Costume Design----
*Martin PakledinazNominees:
*Bob Crowley
*Constance Hoffman
*William Ivey Long

Tony Award for Best Lighting ----
*Natasha Katz (Aida)Nominees:
*Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer (The Wild Party)
*Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer (Marie Christine)
*Peter Kaczorowski

pecial Awards

Regional Theatre Award:*The Utah Shakespearean FestivalSpecial Lifetime Achievement Tony Award:*T. Edward Hambleton

Special Tony Award For a Live Theatrical Presentation:*Dame Edna: The Royal TourTony Honors for Excellence in Theatre:*Eileen Heckart:*Sylvia Herscher:*City Center Encores!

External links

* [http://www.tonyawards.com Official Site Tony Awards]