Tony Award for Best Original Score - Definition and Overview

The Tony Award for Best Original Score is awarded to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score is comprised 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 tfor consideration.

List of Winners and Nominees

• 1949 Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter (music & lyrics)
• 1950 South Pacific by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein (lyrics)
• 1951 Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser (music & lyrics)
• 1952 No award given
• 1953 Wonderful Town by Leonard Bernstein (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Adolph Green (lyrics)
• 1954 Kismet by Alexander Borodin
• 1955 The Pajama Game by Richard Adler (music & lyrics) and Jerry Ross (music & lyrics)
• 1956 Damn Yankees by Richard Adler (music & lyrics) and Jerry Ross (music & lyrics)
• 1957 My Fair Lady by Frederick Loewe (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics)
• 1958 The Music Man by Meredith Willson (music & lyrics)
• 1959 Redhead by Albert Hague (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics)
• 1960 TIE Fiorello by Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) AND The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein (lyrics)
• 1961 No award given
• 1962 No Strings by Richard Rodgers (music & lyrics)
• 1963 Oliver by Lionel Bart (music & lyrics)
• 1964 Hello, Dolly! by Jerry Herman (music & lyrics)
• 1965 Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics)
• 1966 Man of la Mancha by Mitch Leigh (music) and Joe Darion (lyrics)
• 1967 Cabaret by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
• 1968 Hallelujah, Baby! by Jule Styne (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Adolph Green (lyrics)
• 1969 No award given
• 1970 No award given
• 1971 Music: Company by Stephen Sondheim
• 1971 Lyrics: Company by Stephen Sondheim
• 1972 Follies by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
• 1973 A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
• 1974 Gigi by Frederick Loewe (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics)
• 1975 The Wiz by Charlie Smalls (music & lyrics)
• 1976 A Chorus Line by Marvin Hamlisch (music) and Edward Kleban (lyrics)
• 1977 Annie by Charles Strouse (music) and Martin Charnin (lyrics)
• 1978 On The Twentieth Century by Cy Coleman (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Adolph Green (lyrics)
• 1979 Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
• 1980 Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics)
• 1981 Woman of the Year by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
• 1982 Nine by Maury Yeston (music & lyrics)
• 1983 Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and T. S. Eliot (lyrics)
• 1984 La Cage aux Folles by Jerry Herman (music & lyrics)
• 1985 Big River by Roger Miller (music & lyrics)
• 1986 The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes (music & lyrics)
• 1987 Les Miserables by Claude-Michel Schonberg (music) and Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics)
• 1988 Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
• 1989 Not awarded

• 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 Blaine (music & lyrics)

• 1991 The Will Rogers Follies by Cy Coleman (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Alfred 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 and 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)
  • Cyrano the Musical 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 (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 (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)

• 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 Hollman (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)

Other Information

In 1971 separate awards were given for music and lyrics. Stephen Sondheim won both awards for his score to Follies. The score award has never been split in any other year.