Tony Award for Best Original Score

Tony Award for Best Original Score
Awarded for	Best Original Score
Location	United States New York City
Presented by	American Theatre Wing The Broadway League
Currently held by	Shaina Taub for Suffs (2024)
Website	TonyAwards.com

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 or play in that year. The score consists of music and/or 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).

The only tie in this category occurred in 1993, when Fred Ebb & John Kander (Kiss of the Spider Woman) and Pete Townshend (The Who's Tommy) shared the award.

In only ten years have non-musical plays been nominated for Tony Awards in this category: Much Ado About Nothing in 1973; The Good Doctor in 1974; The Song of Jacob Zulu in 1993; Twelfth Night in 1999; Enron and Fences in 2010; Peter and the Starcatcher and One Man, Two Guvnors in 2012; Angels in America in 2018; To Kill a Mockingbird in 2019; A Christmas Carol, The Inheritance, The Rose Tattoo, Slave Play, and The Sound Inside in 2020; and Stereophonic in 2024. Because the Broadway season of 2019-2020 was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only four musicals were eligible for Tony Awards; three were jukebox musicals and the fourth was The Lightning Thief, the only musical of the season with original music. The Lightning Thief was not nominated for any Tony Awards, meaning that every nominee in this category in 2020 was a play rather than a musical.

In 2013, Cyndi Lauper became the first woman to win the award solo for Kinky Boots. In 2015, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori became the first all-woman team to win the award for Fun Home.^[1]

Toby Marlow is the youngest person to win the award; he was 27 when he won in tandem with Lucy Moss for Six. Adolph Green is the oldest person to win the award; he was 76 when he won for The Will Rogers Follies. If T. S. Eliot were alive when he won for Cats, he would have been 94. Eliot is one of two people to receive the award posthumously, the other being Jonathan Larson, who won for Rent. He would have been 36.

Year	Musical	Music	Lyrics
1947 (1st)
	Street Scene	Kurt Weill	Langston Hughes
1949 (3rd)
	Kiss Me, Kate	Cole Porter

Year	Musical	Music	Lyrics
1950 (4th)
	South Pacific	Richard Rodgers	Oscar Hammerstein II
1951 (5th)
	Call Me Madam	Irving Berlin

Year	Musical	Music	Lyrics
1962 (16th) [2]
	No Strings	Richard Rodgers
	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Frank Loesser
	Kwamina	Richard Adler
	Milk and Honey	Jerry Herman
1963 (17th) [3]
	Oliver!	Lionel Bart
	Bravo Giovanni	Milton Schafer	Ronny Graham
	Little Me	Cy Coleman	Carolyn Leigh
	Stop the World – I Want to Get Off	Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley
1964 (18th) [4]
	Hello, Dolly!	Jerry Herman
	Funny Girl	Jule Styne	Bob Merrill
	High Spirits	Timothy Gray & Hugh Martin
	110 in the Shade	Harvey Schmidt	Tom Jones
1965 (19th) [5]
	Fiddler on the Roof	Jerry Bock	Sheldon Harnick
	Do I Hear a Waltz?	Richard Rodgers	Stephen Sondheim
	Half a Sixpence	David Heneker
	The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd	Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley
1966 (20th) [6]
	Man of La Mancha	Mitch Leigh	Joe Darion
	Mame	Jerry Herman
	On a Clear Day You Can See Forever	Burton Lane	Alan Jay Lerner
	Sweet Charity	Cy Coleman	Dorothy Fields
1967 (21st) [7]
	Cabaret	John Kander	Fred Ebb
	The Apple Tree	Jerry Bock	Sheldon Harnick
	I Do! I Do!	Harvey Schmidt	Tom Jones
	Walking Happy	Jimmy Van Heusen	Sammy Cahn
1968 (22nd) [8]
	Hallelujah, Baby!	Jule Styne	Betty Comden & Adolph Green
	The Happy Time	John Kander	Fred Ebb
	How Now, Dow Jones	Elmer Bernstein	Carolyn Leigh
	Illya Darling	Manos Hatzidakis	Joe Darion

Year	Production (Musical or Play)	Music	Lyrics
1971 (25th) [9]
	Company	Stephen Sondheim
	The Me Nobody Knows	Gary William Friedman	Will Holt
	The Rothschilds	Jerry Bock	Sheldon Harnick
1972 (26th) [10]
	Follies	Stephen Sondheim
	Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death	Melvin Van Peebles
	Jesus Christ Superstar	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Tim Rice
	Two Gentlemen of Verona	Galt MacDermot	John Guare
1973 (27th) [11]
	A Little Night Music	Stephen Sondheim
	Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope	Micki Grant
	Much Ado About Nothing	Peter Link	—
	Pippin	Stephen Schwartz
1974 (28th) [12]
	Gigi	Frederick Loewe	Alan Jay Lerner
	The Good Doctor	Peter Link	Neil Simon
	Raisin	Judd Woldin	Robert Brittan
	Seesaw	Cy Coleman	Dorothy Fields
1975 (29th) [13]
	The Wiz	Charlie Smalls
	A Letter for Queen Victoria	Alan Lloyd
	The Lieutenant	Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman & Chuck Strand
	Shenandoah	Gary Geld	Peter Udell
1976 (30th) [14]
	A Chorus Line	Marvin Hamlisch	Edward Kleban
	Chicago	John Kander	Fred Ebb
	Pacific Overtures	Stephen Sondheim
	Treemonisha	Scott Joplin
1977 (31st) [15]
	Annie	Charles Strouse	Martin Charnin
	Godspell	Stephen Schwartz
	Happy End	Kurt Weill	Bertolt Brecht & Michael Feingold
	I Love My Wife	Cy Coleman	Michael Stewart
1978 (32nd) [16]
	On the Twentieth Century	Cy Coleman	Betty Comden & Adolph Green
	The Act	John Kander	Fred Ebb
	Runaways	Elizabeth Swados
	Working	Susan Birkenhead, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Stephen Schwartz & James Taylor
1979 (33rd) [17]
	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	Stephen Sondheim
	Carmelina	Burton Lane	Alan Jay Lerner
	Eubie!	Eubie Blake	Johnny Brandon, Jim Europe, F. E. Miller, Andy Razafe & Noble Sissle
	The Grand Tour	Jerry Herman

Year	Production (Musical or Play)	Music	Lyrics
1980 (34th) [18]
	Evita	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Tim Rice
	A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine	Frank Lazarus	Dick Vosburgh
	Barnum	Cy Coleman	Michael Stewart
	Sugar Babies	Artie Malvin
1981 (35th) [19]
	Woman of the Year	John Kander	Fred Ebb
	Charlie and Algernon	Charles Strouse	David Rogers
	Copperfield	Joel Hirschhorn & Al Kasha
	Shakespeare's Cabaret	Lance Mulcahy	—
1982 (36th) [20]
	Nine	Maury Yeston
	Dreamgirls	Henry Krieger	Tom Eyen
	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Tim Rice
	Merrily We Roll Along	Stephen Sondheim
1983 (37th) [21]
	Cats	Andrew Lloyd Webber	T. S. Eliot
	A Doll's Life	Larry Grossman	Betty Comden & Adolph Green
	Merlin	Elmer Bernstein	Don Black
	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	Gene de Paul, Joel Hirschhorn & Al Kasha	Hirschhorn, Kasha & Johnny Mercer
1984 (38th) [22]
	La Cage aux Folles	Jerry Herman
	Baby	David Shire	Richard Maltby Jr.
	The Rink	John Kander	Fred Ebb
	Sunday in the Park with George	Stephen Sondheim
1985 (39th)
	Big River	Roger Miller
	Grind	Larry Grossman	Ellen Fitzhugh
	Quilters	Barbara Damashek
1986 (40th) [23]
	The Mystery of Edwin Drood	Rupert Holmes
	The News	Paul Schierhorn
	Song and Dance	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Don Black & Richard Maltby Jr.
	Wind in the Willows	William P. Perry	Roger McGough
1987 (41st) [24]
	Les Misérables	Claude-Michel Schönberg	Herbert Kretzmer & Alain Boublil
	Me and My Girl	Noel Gay	Douglas Furber & L. Arthur Rose
	Rags	Charles Strouse	Stephen Schwartz
	Starlight Express	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Richard Stilgoe
1988 (42nd) [25]
	Into the Woods	Stephen Sondheim
	The Phantom of the Opera	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Charles Hart & Richard Stilgoe
	Romance/Romance	Keith Herrmann	Barry Harman
	Sarafina!	Hugh Masekela & Mbongeni Ngema

Year	Production (Musical or Play)	Music	Lyrics
1990 (44th) [26]
	City of Angels	Cy Coleman	David Zippel
	Aspects of Love	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Don Black & Charles Hart
	Grand Hotel	Chet Forrest, Bob Wright & Maury Yeston
	Meet Me in St. Louis	Ralph Blane & Hugh Martin
1991 (45th) [27]
	The Will Rogers Follies	Cy Coleman	Betty Comden & Adolph Green
	Miss Saigon	Claude-Michel Schönberg	Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby Jr.
	Once on This Island	Stephen Flaherty	Lynn Ahrens
	The Secret Garden	Lucy Simon	Marsha Norman
1992 (46th) [28]
	Falsettos	William Finn
	Jelly's Last Jam	Luther Henderson & Jelly Roll Morton	Susan Birkenhead
	Metro	Janusz Stokłosa	Agata, Maryna Miklaszewska & Mary Bracken Phillips
	Nick & Nora	Charles Strouse	Richard Maltby Jr.
1993 (47th) [29]
	Kiss of the Spider Woman	John Kander	Fred Ebb
	The Who's Tommy	Pete Townshend
	Anna Karenina	Daniel Levine	Peter Kellogg
	The Song of Jacob Zulu	Ladysmith Black Mambazo	Ladysmith Black Mambazo & Tug Yourgrau
1994 (48th) [30]
	Passion	Stephen Sondheim
	Beauty and the Beast	Alan Menken	Howard Ashman & Tim Rice
	Cyrano: The Musical	Ad van Dijk	Sheldon Harnick, Peter Reeves & Koen van Dijk
1995 (49th) [31]
	Sunset Boulevard	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Don Black & Christopher Hampton
1996 (50th) [32]
	Rent	Jonathan Larson
	Big: the musical	David Shire	Richard Maltby Jr.
	Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk	Ann Duquesnay, Zane Mark & Daryl Waters	Duquesnay, Reg E. Gaines & George C. Wolfe
	State Fair	Richard Rodgers	Oscar Hammerstein II
1997 (51st) [33]
	Titanic	Maury Yeston
	Juan Darién	Elliot Goldenthal
	The Life	Cy Coleman	Ira Gasman
	Steel Pier	John Kander	Fred Ebb
1998 (52nd) [34]
	Ragtime	Stephen Flaherty	Lynn Ahrens
	The Capeman	Paul Simon	Simon & Derek Walcott
	The Lion King	Elton John, Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin & Hans Zimmer	Tim Rice, M., Mancina, Rifkin & Julie Taymor
	Side Show	Henry Krieger	Bill Russell
1999 (53rd) [35]
	Parade	Jason Robert Brown
	The Civil War	Frank Wildhorn	Jack Murphy
	Footloose	Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, Tom Snow & Jim Steinman	Carmen, Hagar, Loggins, Dean Pitchford & Steinman
	Twelfth Night	Jeanine Tesori	—

Year	Musical	Music	Lyrics
2000 (54th) [36]
	Aida	Elton John	Tim Rice
	James Joyce's The Dead	Shaun Davey	Davey & Richard Nelson
	Marie Christine	Michael John LaChiusa
	The Wild Party
2001 (55th) [37]
	The Producers	Mel Brooks
	A Class Act	Edward Kleban
	The Full Monty	David Yazbek
	Jane Eyre	Paul Gordon	John Caird & Gordon
2002 (56th) [38]
	Urinetown	Mark Hollmann	Hollmann & Greg Kotis
	Sweet Smell of Success	Marvin Hamlisch	Craig Carnelia
	Thoroughly Modern Millie	Jeanine Tesori	Dick Scanlan
	Thou Shalt Not	Harry Connick Jr.
2003 (57th) [39]
	Hairspray	Marc Shaiman	Shaiman & Scott Wittman
	Amour	Michel Legrand	Jeremy Sams & Didier Van Cauwelaert
	Urban Cowboy	Danny Arena, Clint Black, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Jason Robert Brown, Roger Brown, Carl L. Byrd, Pevin Byrd-Munoz, Jerry Chesnut, Tommy Conners, Tom Crain, Charlie Daniels, Taz DiGregorio, Ronnie Dunn, Fred Edwards, Skip Ewing, Wayland Holyfield, Bob Lee House, Marcus Hummon, Sara Light, Lauren Lucas, Martie Maguire, Wanda Mallette, Jim Marshall, Bob Morrison, James Hayden Nicholas, Luke Reed, Patti Ryan, Jerry Silverstein & Bob Stillman
	A Year with Frog and Toad	Robert Reale	Willie Reale
2004 (58th) [40]
	Avenue Q	Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx
	Caroline, or Change	Jeanine Tesori	Tony Kushner
	Taboo	Boy George
	Wicked	Stephen Schwartz
2005 (59th) [41]
	The Light in the Piazza	Adam Guettel
	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	David Yazbek
	Spamalot	John Du Prez & Eric Idle	Idle
	The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee	William Finn
2006 (60th) [42]
	The Drowsy Chaperone	Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison
	The Color Purple	Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell & Allee Willis
	The Wedding Singer	Matthew Sklar	Chad Beguelin
	The Woman in White	Andrew Lloyd Webber	David Zippel
2007 (61st) [43]
	Spring Awakening	Duncan Sheik	Steven Sater
	Curtains	John Kander	Fred Ebb, Kander & Rupert Holmes
	Grey Gardens	Scott Frankel	Michael Korie
	Legally Blonde	Nell Benjamin & Larry O'Keefe
2008 (62nd) [44]
	In the Heights	Lin-Manuel Miranda
	Cry-Baby	David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger
	The Little Mermaid	Alan Menken	Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater
	Passing Strange	Heidi Rodewald & Stew	Stew
2009 (63rd) [45]
	Next to Normal	Tom Kitt	Brian Yorkey
	Billy Elliot the Musical	Elton John	Lee Hall
	Shrek the Musical	Jeanine Tesori	David Lindsay-Abaire
	9 to 5	Dolly Parton

Year	Production (Musical or Play)	Music	Lyrics
2010 (64th) [46]
	Memphis	David Bryan	Bryan & Joe DiPietro
	The Addams Family	Andrew Lippa
	Enron	Adam Cork	Lucy Prebble
	Fences	Branford Marsalis	—
2011 (65th) [47]
	The Book of Mormon	Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone
	The Scottsboro Boys	John Kander	Fred Ebb
	Sister Act	Alan Menken	Glenn Slater
	Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown	David Yazbek
2012 (66th) [48]
	Newsies	Alan Menken	Jack Feldman
	Bonnie & Clyde	Frank Wildhorn	Don Black
	One Man, Two Guvnors	Grant Olding
	Peter and the Starcatcher	Wayne Barker	Rick Elice
2013 (67th) [49]
	Kinky Boots	Cyndi Lauper
	A Christmas Story: The Musical	Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
	Hands on a Hardbody	Trey Anastasio & Amanda Green	Green
	Matilda the Musical	Tim Minchin
2014 (68th) [50]
	The Bridges of Madison County	Jason Robert Brown
	Aladdin	Alan Menken	Howard Ashman, Tim Rice & Chad Beguelin
	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder	Steven Lutvak	Robert L. Freedman & Lutvak
	If/Then	Tom Kitt	Brian Yorkey
2015 (69th) [51]
	Fun Home	Jeanine Tesori	Lisa Kron
	The Last Ship	Sting
	Something Rotten!	Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick
	The Visit	John Kander	Fred Ebb
2016 (70th) [52]
	Hamilton	Lin-Manuel Miranda
	Bright Star	Edie Brickell	Brickell & Steve Martin
	School of Rock	Andrew Lloyd Webber	Glenn Slater
	Waitress	Sara Bareilles
2017 (71st) [53]
	Dear Evan Hansen	Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
	Come from Away	David Hein & Irene Sankoff
	Groundhog Day	Tim Minchin
	Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812	Dave Malloy
2018 (72nd) [54]
	The Band's Visit	David Yazbek
	Angels in America	Adrian Sutton	—
	Frozen	Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez
	Mean Girls	Jeff Richmond	Nell Benjamin
	SpongeBob SquarePants	Yolanda Adams, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Domani, Alex Ebert, The Flaming Lips, Rob Hyman, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Lil'C, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T's, Joe Perry, They Might Be Giants, T.I. & Steven Tyler
2019 (73rd) [55]
	Hadestown	Anaïs Mitchell
	Be More Chill	Joe Iconis
	Beetlejuice	Eddie Perfect
	The Prom	Matthew Sklar	Chad Beguelin
	To Kill a Mockingbird	Adam Guettel	—
	Tootsie	David Yazbek

Year	Production (Musical or Play)	Music	Lyrics
2020 (74th)
	A Christmas Carol	Christopher Nightingale	—
	The Inheritance	Paul Englishby	—
	The Rose Tattoo	Fitz Patton & Jason Michael Webb	—
	Slave Play	Lindsay Jones	—
	The Sound Inside	Daniel Kluger	—
2022 (75th) [56]
	Six	Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
	Flying Over Sunset	Tom Kitt	Michael Korie
	Mr. Saturday Night	Jason Robert Brown	Amanda Green
	Paradise Square	Jason Howland	Masi Asare & Nathan Tysen
	A Strange Loop	Michael R. Jackson
2023 (76th) [57]
	Kimberly Akimbo	Jeanine Tesori	David Lindsay-Abaire
	Almost Famous	Tom Kitt	Cameron Crowe & Kitt
	KPOP	Helen Park & Max Vernon
	Shucked	Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally
	Some Like It Hot	Marc Shaiman	Shaiman & Scott Wittman
2024 (77th)
	Suffs	Shaina Taub
	Days of Wine and Roses	Adam Guettel
	Here Lies Love	David Byrne & Fatboy Slim	Byrne
	The Outsiders	Jamestown Revival & Justin Levine
	Stereophonic	Will Butler

Only nine women have won this award, six of whom won without male writing partners, and for eleven shows:

• Betty Comden – Hallelujah, Baby! (1968), On the Twentieth Century (1978), and The Will Rogers Follies (1991), becoming the first woman to win this Tony multiple times.
• Lynn Ahrens – Ragtime (1998)
• Lisa Lambert – The Drowsy Chaperone (2006)
• Cyndi Lauper – Kinky Boots (2013), becoming the first woman to win this Tony without a writing partner
• Jeanine Tesori – Fun Home (2015) and Kimberly Akimbo (2023)
• Lisa Kron – Fun Home (2015), Kron and Jeanine Tesori becoming the first all-female songwriting team (music and lyrics) to win this Tony.
• Anaïs Mitchell – Hadestown (2019)
• Lucy Moss – Six (2022)
• Shaina Taub - Suffs (2024)

• Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play
• Laurence Olivier Award for Best Original Score or New Orchestrations
• List of Tony Award-nominated productions

• Official Tony Awards website
• Internet Broadway Database Awards