39th Tony Awards

The 39th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS television on June 2, 1985, from the Shubert Theatre. Instead of a formal host, there was a group of performers/presenters. Some paid tribute to the songs of Jule Styne, Cy Coleman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, with these composers ending the broadcast by playing songs from their respective new shows. Mary Martin introduced the Special Award for Yul Brynner.

39th Tony Awards
Date	June 2, 1985
Location	Shubert Theatre, New York City, New York
Television/radio coverage
Network	CBS

The ceremony

For the first time in the history of the Tonys, awards were not presented for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, or Best Choreography. According to The New York Times, "Theater historians and Tony administrators say they cannot recall an instance when one category was dropped from the awards, much less three." According to the Associated Press, "The award for best actress, musical was eliminated this season because there was only one eligible candidate," and "The nominating committee declined to give nominations [in those categories] because they did not consider any of the performances or choreography outstanding or excellent."

Musicals represented:

• Big River ("Muddy Water"/" River in the Rain"- Daniel Jenkins, Ron Richardson and Company)
• Grind ("This Must Be the Place" - Ben Vereen and Company)
• Leader of the Pack ("I Wanna Love Him So Bad/Do Wah Diddy" - Company)

Presenters and Performers: Danny Aiello, Susan Anton, Hinton Battle, Deborah Bauers, Deborah Burrell, Terry Burrell, Jim Dale, Loretta Devine, Jackie Gleason, Julie Harris, Rex Harrison, George Hearn, Van Johnson, Raul Julia, Rosetta LeNoire, Mary Martin, Millicent Martin, Maureen McGovern, Rita Moreno, Mike Nichols, Stefanie Powers, Juliet Prowse, Tony Randall, Lee Roy Reams, Lynn Redgrave, Chita Rivera, Wanda Richert, Tony Roberts, Rex Smith, Leslie Uggams, Dick Van Dyke, Ben Vereen, Tom Wopat

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold

Source: InfoPlease

Best Play	Best Musical
Biloxi Blues – Neil Simon As Is – William M. Hoffman Hurlyburly – David Rabe Ma Rainey's Black Bottom – August Wilson	Big River Grind Leader of the Pack Quilters
Best Revival	Best Book of a Musical
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg Cyrano de Bergerac Much Ado About Nothing Strange Interlude	William Hauptman – Big River Fay Kanin – Grind Michael Stewart – Harrigan 'N Hart Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek – Quilters
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Derek Jacobi – Much Ado About Nothing as Benedick Jim Dale – A Day in the Death of Joe Egg as Bri Jonathan Hogan – As Is as Rich John Lithgow – Requiem for a Heavyweight as Harlan "Mountain" McClintock	Stockard Channing – A Day in the Death of Joe Egg as Sheila Sinéad Cusack – Much Ado About Nothing as Beatrice Rosemary Harris – Pack of Lies as Barbara Jackson Glenda Jackson – Strange Interlude as Nina Leeds
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Barry Miller – Biloxi Blues as Arnold Epstein Charles S. Dutton – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as Levee William Hurt – Hurlyburly as Eddie Edward Petherbridge – Strange Interlude as Charles Marsden	Judith Ivey – Hurlyburly as Bonnie Joanna Gleason – A Day in the Death of Joe Egg as Pam Theresa Merritt – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as Ma Rainey Sigourney Weaver – Hurlyburly as Darlene
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Ron Richardson – Big River as Jim René Auberjonois – Big River as The Duke Daniel H. Jenkins – Big River as Huckleberry Finn Kurt Knudson – Take Me Along as Sid Davis	Leilani Jones – Grind as Satin Evalyn Baron – Quilters as Daughter of the Frontier Mary Beth Peil – The King and I as Anna Leonowens Lenka Peterson – Quilters as Sarah
Best Direction of a Play	Best Direction of a Musical
Gene Saks – Biloxi Blues Keith Hack – Strange Interlude Terry Hands – Much Ado About Nothing Marshall W. Mason – As Is	Des McAnuff – Big River Barbara Damashek – Quilters Mitch Leigh – The King and I Harold Prince – Grind
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre	Best Scenic Design
Big River – Roger Miller (music and lyrics) Grind – Larry Grossman (music) and Ellen Fitzhugh (lyrics) Quilters – Barbara Damashek (music and lyrics)	Heidi Landesman – Big River Clarke Dunham – Grind Ralph Koltai – Much Ado About Nothing Voytek and Michael Levine – Strange Interlude
Best Costume Design	Best Lighting Design
Florence Klotz – Grind Patricia McGourty – Big River Alexander Reid – Cyrano de Bergerac Alexander Reid – Much Ado About Nothing	Richard Riddell – Big River Terry Hands – Cyrano de Bergerac Terry Hands – Much Ado About Nothing Allen Lee Hughes – Strange Interlude

Special awards

• Regional Theatre Award - Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, Illinois
• Yul Brynner honoring his 4,525 performances in The King and I
• New York State Council on the Arts

Multiple nominations and awards

These productions had multiple nominations:

• 10 nominations: Big River
• 7 nominations: Grind and Much Ado About Nothing
• 6 nominations: Quilters and Strange Interlude
• 4 nominations: A Day in the Death of Joe Egg and Hurlyburly
• 3 nominations: As Is, Biloxi Blues, Cyrano de Bergerac, The King and I and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

The following productions received multiple awards.

• 7 wins: Big River
• 3 wins: Biloxi Blues
• 2 wins: A Day in the Death of Joe Egg and Grind

See also

• Drama Desk Awards
• 1985 Laurence Olivier Awards – equivalent awards for West End theatre productions
• Obie Award
• New York Drama Critics' Circle
• Theatre World Award
• Lucille Lortel Awards

External links

• Tony Awards official site