40th Tony Awards

The 40th Annual Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 1, 1986 at the Minskoff Theatre and was broadcast by CBS television.

The ceremony

The opening number was "Wanna Sing A Show Tune". The special number was "Forty Years of Broadway Show Music", which included songs from musicals including, among others, Annie, Big River, Finian's Rainbow, Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux Folles, and Sweet Charity. The finale was the company singing "Give My Regards to Broadway".

There were also vignettes from past Tony Award winning plays.Nemy, Enid. "Five Tonys Are Won By 'Drood'", The New York Times, June 2, 2986, p.C13

The presenters and performers were: Debbie Allen, Susan Anton, Bea Arthur, Nell Carter, Agnes De Mille, Jose Ferrer, Sandy Duncan, Phyllis Frelich, Helen Hayes, Michael Kidd, Jack Lemmon, Cleo Laine, John V. Lindsay, Dorothy Loudon, Hal Linden, Bernadette Peters, Karen Morrow, Stefanie Powers, Juliet Prowse, Tony Randall, Ann Reinking, Lee Roy Reams, Lee Remick, Chita Rivera, Alfonso Ribeiro, Rex Smith, John Rubinstein, Marlo Thomas, Leslie Uggams, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterson, Ben Vereen, Tom Wopat.

Musicals that performed were Big Deal ("Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar" - Company); Song & Dance ("Unexpected Song" - Bernadette Peters); Tango Argentino (Dance Excerpts - Company); and The Mystery of Edwin Drood...
Read More