Tony Award for Best Original Score

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 in that year. The score consists of music and 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.

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)".

Awards and nominations

1940s

* 1947: "Street Scene" by Kurt Weill (music)
* 1949: "Kiss Me, Kate" by Cole Porter (music & lyrics)

1950s

* 1950: "South Pacific" by Richard Rodgers (music) (Oscar Hammerstein II won in the Best Libretto category)
* 1951: "Call Me Madam" by Irving Berlin (music & lyrics)
* 1952-1959 "No award"

1960s

* 1960: "no award"
* 1961: "no award"

* 1962: "No Strings" by Richard Rodgers (music and lyrics)
** "Kwamina" by Richard Adler (music)
** "Milk and Honey" by Jerry Herman (music)
** "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" by Frank Loesser (music)

* 1963: "Oliver!" by Lionel Bart (music & lyrics)
** "Stop the World - I Want to Get Off" by Anthony Newley (music) and Leslie Bricusse (lyrics)
** "Little Me" by Cy Coleman (music) and Carolyn Leigh (lyrics)
** "Bravo Giovanni" by Milton Schafer (music) and Ronny Graham

* 1964: "Hello, Dolly!" by Jerry Herman (music & lyrics)
** "High Spirits" by Hugh Martin (music & lyrics) and Timothy Gray (music & lyrics)
** "110 in the Shade" by Harvey Schmidt (music) and Tom Jones (lyrics)
** "Funny Girl" by Jule Styne (music) and Bob Merrill (lyrics)

* 1965: "Fiddler on the Roof" by Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics)
** "The Roar of the Greasepaint-the Smell of the Crowd" by Anthony Newley (music) and Leslie Bricusse (lyrics)
** "Half a Sixpence" by David Heneker (music & lyrics)
** "Do I Hear a Waltz?" by Richard Rodgers (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics)

* 1966: "Man of la Mancha" by Mitch Leigh (music) and Joe Darion (lyrics)
** "Sweet Charity" by Cy Coleman (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics)
** "Mame" by Jerry Herman (music & lyrics)
** "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" by Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics)

* 1967: "Cabaret" by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
** "The Apple Tree" by Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics)
** "Walking Happy" by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics)
** "I Do! I Do!" by Harvey Schmidt (music) and Tom Jones (lyrics)

* 1968: "Hallelujah, Baby!" by Jule Styne (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Adolph Green (lyrics)
** "How Now Dow Jones" by Elmer Bernstein (music) and Carolyn Leigh (lyrics)
** "Illya Darling" by Manos Hadjidakis (music) and Joe Darion (lyrics)
** "The Happy Time" by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)

* 1969: "no award"

1970s

* 1970: "no award"
* 1971 Music:: "Company" by Stephen Sondheim
** "The Rothschilds" by Jerry Bock
** "The Me Nobody Knows" by Gary William Friedman
* 1971 Lyrics:: "Company" by Stephen Sondheim
** "The Rothschilds" by Sheldon Harnick
** "The Me Nobody Knows" by Will Holt
* 1972: "Follies" by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
** "Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death" by Melvin Van Peebles (music & lyrics)
** "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics)
** "Two Gentlemen of Verona" by Galt MacDermot (music) and John Guare (lyrics)

* 1973: "A Little Night Music" by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
**Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope by Micki Grant (music & lyrics)
**Pippin by Stephen Schwartz (music & lyrics)

* 1974: "Gigi" by Frederick Loewe (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics)
** "The Good Doctor" by Peter Link (music) and Neil Simon (lyrics)
** "Raisin" by Judd Woldin (music) and Robert Brittan (lyrics)
** "Seesaw" by Cy Coleman (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics)

* 1975: "The Wiz" by Charlie Smalls (music & lyrics)
** "Letter for Queen Victoria" by Alan Lloyd (music & lyrics)
** "Shenandoah" by Gary Geld (music) and Peter Udell (lyrics)
** "The Lieutenant" by Gene Curty (music & lyrics), Nitra Scharfman (music & lyrics) and Chuck Strand (music & lyrics)

* 1976: "A Chorus Line" by Marvin Hamlisch (music) and Edward Kleban (lyrics)
** "Chicago" by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
** "Pacific Overtures" by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
** "Treemonisha" by Scott Joplin

* 1977: "Annie" by Charles Strouse (music) and Martin Charnin (lyrics)
** "Godspell" by Stephen Schwartz (music & lyrics)
** "I Love My Wife" by Cy Coleman (music) and Michael Stewart (lyrics)
** "Happy End" by Kurt Weill (music), Bertolt Brecht (lyrics) and Michael Feingold (adaptation)

* 1978: "On The Twentieth Century" by Cy Coleman (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Adolph Green (lyrics)
** "The Act" by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
** "Runaways" by Elizabeth Swados (music & lyrics)
** "Working" by Craig Carnelia (music & lyrics), Stephen Schwartz (music & lyrics), Micki Grant (music & lyrics), Mary Rodgers (music & lyrics), James Taylor (music & lyrics) and Susan Birkenhead (music & lyrics)

* 1979: "Sweeney Todd" by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
** "Carmelina" by Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics
** "Eubie!" by Eubie Blake (music), Noble Sissle (lyrics), Andy Razafe (lyrics), F.E. Miller (lyrics), Johnny Brandon (lyrics) and Jim Europe (lyrics)
** "The Grand Tour" by Jerry Herman (music & lyrics)

1980s

* 1980: "Evita" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics)
** "A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine" by Frank Lazarus (music) and Dick Vosburgh (lyrics)
** "Barnum" by Cy Coleman (music) and Michael Stewart (lyrics)
** "Sugar Babies" by Arthur Malvin (music & lyrics)
* 1981: "Woman of the Year" by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
** "Charlie and Algernon" by Charles Strouse (music) and David Rogers
** "Copperfield" by Al Kasha (music & lyrics) and Joel Hirschhorn (music & lyrics)
** "Shakespeare's Cabaret" by Lance Mulcahy (music)
* 1982: "Nine" by Maury Yeston (music & lyrics)
** "Dreamgirls" by Henry Krieger (music) and Tom Eyen (lyrics)
** "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics)
** "Merrily We Roll Along" by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
* 1983: "Cats" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and T. S. Eliot (lyrics)
** "A Doll's Life" by Larry Grossman (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Adolph Green (lyrics)
** "Merlin" by Elmer Bernstein (music) and Don Black (lyrics)
** "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" by Gene de Paul (music), Al Kasha (music & lyrics), Joel Hirschhorn (music & lyrics), and Johnny Mercer (lyrics)
* 1984: "La Cage aux Folles" by Jerry Herman (music & lyrics)
** "Baby" by David Shire (music) and Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics)
** "The Rink" by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
** "Sunday in the Park with George" by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
* 1985: "Big River" by Roger Miller (music & lyrics)
** "Grind" by Larry Grossman (music) and Ellen Fitzhugh (lyrics)
** "Quilters" by Barbara Damashek (music & lyrics)
* 1986: "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" by Rupert Holmes (music & lyrics)
** "The News" by Paul Schierhorn (music & lyrics)
** "Song and Dance" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Don Black (lyrics), and Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics)
** "Wind in the Willows" by William Perry (music) and Roger McGough (lyrics)
* 1987: "Les Misérables" by Claude-Michel Schonberg (music) and Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics)
** "Me and My Girl" by Noel Gay (music), L. Arthur Rose (lyrics), and Douglas Furber (lyrics)
** "Rags" by Charles Strouse (music) and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics)
** "Starlight Express" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Richard Stilgoe (lyrics)
* 1988: "Into the Woods" by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
** "The Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Charles Hart (lyrics), and Richard Stilgoe (lyrics)
** "Romance/Romance" by Keith Herrmann (music) and Barry Harman (lyrics)
** "Sarafina!" by Mbongeni Ngema (music & lyrics) and Hugh Masakela (music & lyrics)
* 1989: "no award"

1990s

* 1990: "City of Angels" by Cy Coleman (music) and David Zippel (lyrics)
** "Aspects of Love" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Don Black (lyrics), and Charles Hart (lyrics)
** "Grand Hotel the Musical" by Robert Wright (music & lyrics), George Forrest (music & lyrics), and Maury Yeston (music & lyrics)
** "Meet Me in St. Louis" by Hugh Martin (music & lyrics) and Ralph Blane (music & lyrics)
* 1991: "The Will Rogers Follies" by Cy Coleman (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Adolph Green (lyrics)
** "Once on This Island" by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics)
** "Miss Saigon" by Claude-Michel Schonberg (music), Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics), and Alain Boublil (lyrics)
** "The Secret Garden" by Lucy Simon (music) and Marsha Norman (music)
* 1992: "Falsettos" by William Finn (music & lyrics)
** "Jelly's Last Jam by Jelly Roll Morton (music), Luther Henderson (music), and Susan Birkenhead (lyrics)
** "Metro" by Janusz Stoklosa (music), Agata Miklaszewska (lyrics), Maryna Miklaszewska (lyrics), and Mary Bracken Phillips (lyrics)
** "Nick & Nora" by Charles Strouse (music) and Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics)
* 1993 TIE: "Kiss of the Spider Woman" by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics) AND: "Tommy" by Pete Townshend (music & lyrics)
** "Anna Karenina" by Daniel Levine (music) and Peter Kellogg (lyrics)
** "The Song of Jacob Zulu" by Ladysmith Black Mambazo (music & lyrics) and Tug Yourgrau (lyrics)
* 1994: "Passion" by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
** "Beauty and the Beast" by Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman (lyrics), and Tim Rice (lyrics)
** "" by Ad van Dijk (music), Koen van Dijk (lyrics), Peter Reeves (lyrics), and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics)
* 1995: "Sunset Boulevard" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Don Black (lyrics), and Christopher Hampton (lyrics)
**No other nominees
* 1996: "Rent" by Jonathan Larson (music & lyrics)
** "Big by David Shire (music) and Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics)
** "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk" by Daryl Waters (music), Zane Mark (music), Ann Duquesnay (music & lyrics), George C. Wolfe (lyrics), and Reg E. Gaines (lyrics)
** "State Fair" by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics)
* 1997: "Titanic" by Maury Yeston (music & lyrics)
** "Juan Darien" by Elliot Goldenthal (music & lyrics)
** "The Life" by Cy Coleman (music) and Ira Gasman (lyrics)
** "Steel Pier" by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
* 1998: "Ragtime" by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics)
** "The Capeman" by Paul Simon (musical) and Derek Walcott (lyrics)
** "The Lion King" by Elton John (music), Tim Rice (lyrics), Hans Zimmer (music), Lebo M (music & lyrics), Mark Mancina (music & lyrics), Jay Rifkin (music & lyrics), Julie Taymor (lyrics)
** "Side Show" by Henry Krieger (music) and Bill Russell (lyrics)
* 1999: "Parade" by Jason Robert Brown (music & lyrics)
** "The Civil War" by Frank Wildhorn (music) and Jack Murphy (lyrics)
** "Footloose" by Tom Snow (music), Dean Pitchford (lyrics), Kenny Loggins (music & lyrics), Eric Carmen (music & lyrics), Sammy Hagar (music & lyrics), Jim Steinman (music & lyrics)
** "Twelfth Night" by Jeanine Tesori (music)

2000s

* 2000: "Aida" by Elton John (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics)
** "James Joyce's The Dead" by Shaun Davey (music & lyrics), Richard Nelson (lyrics)
** "Marie Christine" by Michael John LaChiusa (music & lyrics)
** "The Wild Party" by Michael John LaChiusa (music & lyrics)

* 2001: "The Producers" by Mel Brooks (music & lyrics)
** "A Class Act" by Edward Kleban (music & lyrics)
** "The Full Monty" by David Yazbek (music & lyrics)
** "Jane Eyre" by Paul Gordon (music & lyrics) and John Caird (lyrics)

* 2002: "Urinetown" by Mark Hollmann (music & lyrics) and Greg Kotis (lyrics)
** "Sweet Smell of Success" by Marvin Hamlisch (music) and Craig Carnelia (lyrics)
** "Thoroughly Modern Millie" by Jeanine Tesori (music) and Dick Scanlan (lyrics)
** "Thou Shalt Not" by Harry Connick, Jr. (music & lyrics)

* 2003: "Hairspray" by Marc Shaiman (music & lyrics) and Scott Wittman (lyrics)
**"Amour" by Michel Legrand (music), Didier van Cauwelaert (original French lyrics), Jeremy Sams (English lyrics)
** "Urban Cowboy" by various composers
** "A Year with Frog and Toad" by Robert Reale (music) and Willie Reale (lyrics)

* 2004: "Avenue Q" by Robert Lopez (music & lyrics) and Jeff Marx (music & lyrics)
** "Caroline, or Change" by Jeanine Tesori (music) and Tony Kushner (lyrics)
** "Taboo" by Boy George (music & lyrics)
** "Wicked" by Stephen Schwartz (music & lyrics)

* 2005: "The Light in the Piazza" by Adam Guettel (music & lyrics)
** "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" by David Yazbek (music & lyrics)
** "Monty Python's Spamalot" by John Du Prez (music) and Eric Idle (music & lyrics)
** "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" by William Finn (music & lyrics)

* 2006: "The Drowsy Chaperone" by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (music & lyrics)
** "The Color Purple" by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray (music & lyrics)
** "The Wedding Singer" by Matthew Sklar (music) and Chad Beguelin (lyrics)
** "The Woman in White" by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) David Zippel (lyrics)

* 2007: "Spring Awakening" by Duncan Sheik (music) and Steven Sater (lyrics)
** "Curtains" by John Kander (music and lyrics), Fred Ebb (lyrics) and Rupert Holmes (lyrics)
** "Grey Gardens" by Scott Frankel (music) and Michael Korie (lyrics)
** "" by Laurence O'Keefe (music and lyrics) and Nell Benjamin (music and lyrics)

* 2008: "In the Heights" by Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics)
** "Cry-Baby" by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger (music and lyrics)
** "The Little Mermaid" by Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman (lyrics) and Glenn Slater (lyrics)
** "Passing Strange" by Stew (music and lyrics) and Heidi Rodewald (music)

Multiple winners

7 wins: Stephen Sondheim
3 wins: Betty Comden, Adolph Green, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Cy Coleman, Andrew Lloyd Webber
2 wins: Richard Rodgers, Jerry Herman, Maury Yeston, Tim Rice

External links

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