Tony Award / Best musical libretto
The author of a musical libretto is honored with the Tony Award for the best musical libretto . The libretto (English book ) comprises the spoken, unsung text of a musical . The librettist is responsible therefore for the overall plot and the dramatic construction of a musical, as opposed to the songwriter, which only the sung texts (Engl. Lyrics ) writes. (An earlier, occasionally used term for this category was Best Author of a Musical ("Best Author of a Musical") ).
Only musicals with a certain narrative framework can be nominated in this category; Revues without a continuous plot are excluded. Resumptions of older musicals may only be nominated if a new libretto has been written for the new production.
The Tony Award for the best musical libretto so far went to:
1947-1949
- 1949 Kiss Me, Kate by Samuel Spewack and Bella Spewack
1950-1959
- 1950 South Pacific by Oscar Hammerstein and Joshua Logan
- 1951 Guys and Dolls by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
- 1952 no award given
- 1953 no award given
- 1954 no award given
- 1955 no award given
- 1956 no award given
- 1957 no award given
- 1958 no award given
- 1950 no award given
1960-1969
- 1960 no award given
- 1961 no award given
- 1962 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying by Abe Burrows , Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert
- 1963 The old Romans of Bert Shevelove and Larry Gelbart had a great time
- 1964 Hello, Dolly! by Michael Stewart
- 1965 Anatevka by Joseph Stein
- 1966 no award given
- 1967 no award given
- 1968 no award given
- 1969 no award given
1970-1979
- 1970 no award given
- 1971 Company of George Furth
- 1972 Two Gentlemen of Verona by John Guare and Mel Shapiro
- 1973 A Little Night Music by Hugh Wheeler
- 1974 Candide by Hugh Wheeler
- 1975 Shenandoah by James Lee Barrett , Peter Udell and Phillip Rose
- 1976 A Chorus Line by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante
- 1977 Annie by Thomas Meehan
- 1978 On The Twentieth Century by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
- 1979 Sweeney Todd by Hugh Wheeler
1980-1989
- 1980 Evita by Tim Rice
- 1981 Woman of the Year by Peter Stone
- 1982 Dreamgirls by Tom Eyen
- 1983 Cats by TS Eliot
- 1984 La Cage aux Folles by Harvey Fierstein
- 1985 Big River by William Hauptman
- 1986 The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes
- 1987 Les Misérables by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
- 1988 Into the Woods by James Lapine
- 1989 No award given
1990-1999
- 1990 City of Angels by Larry Gelbart
- 1991 The Secret Garden by Marsha Norman
- 1992 falsettos by William Finn and James Lapine
- 1993 Kiss of the Spider Woman by Terrence McNally
- 1994 passion of James Lapine
- 1995 Sunset Boulevard by Don Black and Christopher Hampton
- 1996 Rented by Jonathan Larson and John LaChiusa
- 1997 Titanic by Peter Stone
- 1998 Ragtime by Terrence McNally
- 1999 Parade of Alfred Uhry
2000-2009
- 2000 James Joyce's The Dead by Richard Nelson
- 2001 The Producers of Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
- 2002 Pinkelstadt by Greg Kotis
- 2003 Hairspray by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan
- 2004 Avenue Q by Jeff Whitty
- 2005 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Rachel Sheinkin
- 2006 The Drowsy Chaperone by Bob Martin and Don McKellar
- 2007 Spring Awaking from Steven Sater
- 2008 Passing Strange by Stew
- 2009 Billy Elliot of Lee Hall
Since 2010
- 2010 Memphis by Joe DiPietro
- 2011 The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker , Robert Lopez and Matt Stone
- 2012 Once by Enda Walsh
- 2013 Matilda by Dennis Kelly
- 2014 A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder by Robert L. Freedman
- 2015 Fun Home by Lisa Kron