Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
Encyclopedia
1990s
1997- Jonathan TunickJonathan TunickJonathan Tunick is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, one of twelve people to have won all four major American show business awards: the Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. He has also worked with all of the other eleven people. His principal instrument is the clarinet...
– TitanicTitanic (musical)Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...
- Michael Gibson - Steel PierSteel Pier (musical)Steel Pier is a musical written by the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb from the original book by David Thompson.-Productions:Directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman, it opened on Broadway on April 24, 1997 and closed on June 28, 1997, running for 76 performances...
- Luther Henderson - Play On!
- Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The LifeThe Life (musical)The Life is a musical with a book by David Newman, Ira Gasman and Cy Coleman, music by Coleman, and lyrics by Gasman.Based on an original idea by Gasman, the show explores the underbelly of Times Square's 42nd Street, inhabited by pimps and prostitutes, druggies and dealers, and runaways and street...
- Michael Gibson - Steel Pier
1998
- William David BrohnWilliam David BrohnWilliam David Brohn is an American arranger and orchestrator, best known for his theatre scores of musicals such as Miss Saigon, Ragtime and Wicked...
– RagtimeRagtime (musical)Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
- Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion KingThe Lion King (musical)The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well...
- Michael Gibson - CabaretCabaret (musical)Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
- Stanley Silverman - The CapemanThe CapemanThe Capeman is a musical play written by Paul Simon and Derek Walcott based on the life of Salvador Agrón. The play opened at the Marquis Theatre in 1998 to poor reviews and had an initial run of only 68 performances....
- Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King
1999
- Ralph BurnsRalph BurnsRalph Burns was an American songwriter, bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and bebop pianist.-Early life:...
and Douglas Besterman – FosseFosseFosse is a three-act musical revue showcasing the choreography of Bob Fosse. After 21 previews, the original Broadway production, conceived and directed by Richard Maltby, Jr...
- David Cullen - Swan LakeSwan Lake (Martins)Swan Lake is a two-act ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster in chief Peter Martins after Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov and George Balanchine to Tschaikovsky's eponymous music...
- Don Sebesky - ParadeParade (musical)Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical was first produced on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on December 17, 1998. The production was directed by Harold Prince and closed 28 February 1999 after only 39 previews and 84 regular...
- Harold Wheeler - Little MeLittle Me (musical)Little Me is a musical written by Neil Simon, with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. The original Broadway production was memorable with Sid Caesar in multiple roles with multiple stage accents playing all of the heroine's husbands and lovers...
- David Cullen - Swan Lake
2000s
2000- Don SebeskyDon SebeskyDon Sebesky is an American jazz trombonist and arranger.-Biography:Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Dorsey, Warren Covington, Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton...
– Kiss Me, KateKiss Me, KateKiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
- Doug Besterman - The Music ManThe Music ManThe Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
- Jonathan Tunick - Marie ChristineMarie ChristineMarie Christine is a musical written by Michael John LaChiusa. It opened on Broadway in 1999. Set in 1890s New Orleans and then 5 years later in Chicago; the story is loosely based on the Greek play Medea, and uses elements of voodoo rituals and practices...
- Harold Wheeler - Swing!Swing!Swing! is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz , including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman and others...
- Doug Besterman - The Music Man
2001
- Doug BestermanDoug BestermanDouglas "Doug" Besterman is an American orchestrator, musical arranger and music producer. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards out of five total nominations and two Drama Desk Awards out of six total nominations, and was a 2009 Grammy Award nominee.- Career :Besterman found work in New York...
– The ProducersThe Producers (musical)The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
- Larry HochmanLarry HochmanLarry Hochman is an American orchestrator and composer. He has won four Emmy Awards for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon....
- A Class ActA Class ActA Class Act is a musical with a book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price and music and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The musical is based on the life of composer-lyricist Ed Kleban, who died at the age of 48 in 1987... - Jonathan Tunick - FolliesFolliesFollies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
- Harold Wheeler - The Full MontyThe Full Monty (musical)The Full Monty is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally and score by David Yazbek.In this Americanized musical stage version adapted from the 1997 British film of the same name, six unemployed Buffalo steelworkers, low on both cash and prospects, decide to present a strip act at a local club...
- Larry Hochman
2002
- Doug BestermanDoug BestermanDouglas "Doug" Besterman is an American orchestrator, musical arranger and music producer. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards out of five total nominations and two Drama Desk Awards out of six total nominations, and was a 2009 Grammy Award nominee.- Career :Besterman found work in New York...
and Ralph BurnsRalph BurnsRalph Burns was an American songwriter, bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and bebop pianist.-Early life:...
– Thoroughly Modern MillieThoroughly Modern Millie (musical)Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
- Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Martin Koch - Mamma Mia!Mamma Mia!Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
- William David Brohn - Sweet Smell of Success
- Bruce Coughlin - UrinetownUrinetownUrinetown: The Musical is a satirical comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics...
- Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Martin Koch - Mamma Mia!
2003
- Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
and Stuart Malina – Movin' OutMovin' Out (musical)Movin' Out is a jukebox musical featuring the songs of Billy Joel.Conceived by Twyla Tharp, the musical tells the story of a generation of American youth growing up on Long Island during the 1960s and their experiences with the Vietnam War...
- Nicholas Kitsopoulos - La BohemeLa bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
- Jonathan Tunick - NineNine (musical)Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit, music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. The story is based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8½...
- Harold Wheeler - HairsprayHairspray (musical)Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
- Nicholas Kitsopoulos - La Boheme
2004
- Michael StarobinMichael StarobinMichael Starobin is an orchestrator, arranger, and Musical Director, primarily for the stage and television.-Career:The first Broadway musical that Starobin provided the orchestrations for was Sunday in the Park with George in 1984, for which he won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding...
– AssassinsAssassins (musical)Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style portrayal of men and women who attempted to assassinate Presidents of the United States...
- Paul Bogaev - Bombay DreamsBombay DreamsBombay Dreams is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan,and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two years...
- William David Brohn - WickedWicked (musical)Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
- Larry Hochman - Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
- Paul Bogaev - Bombay Dreams
2005
- Ted SperlingTed SperlingTed Sperling is a Musical Director, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, stage director and musician, primarily for the stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, for his work in The Light in the Piazza in...
, Adam GuettelAdam GuettelAdam Guettel is an American composer-lyricist of musical theater and opera . He is best known for the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards, for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, and two Drama Desk Awards, for Best Music and Best Orchestrations.-Early years:Guettel...
and Bruce Coughlin – The Light in the Piazza- Larry Hochman - Monty Python's Spamalot
- Jonathan Tunick - Pacific OverturesPacific OverturesPacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change...
- Harold Wheeler - Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsDirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical)Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane; it is based on the film of the same name...
2006
- Sarah TravisSarah TravisSarah Travis is a British orchestrator and musical supervisor for theatre and film. She received the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for the 2005 revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.-Career:...
– Sweeney Todd- Larry Blank - The Drowsy ChaperoneThe Drowsy ChaperoneThe Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on 1 May 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. It started as a spoof of old...
- Dick Lieb and Danny Troob - The Pajama GameThe Pajama GameThe Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
- Steve Orich - Jersey BoysJersey BoysJersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons...
- Larry Blank - The Drowsy Chaperone
2007
- Duncan SheikDuncan SheikDuncan Scott Sheik is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik initially found success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". He later expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, leading him to involvement in the...
– Spring Awakening- Bruce Coughlin - Grey GardensGrey GardensGrey Gardens is a 1975 documentary film by Albert and David Maysles, with Susan Froemke, Ellen Hovde, and Muffie Meyer. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive socialites, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived at Grey Gardens, a decrepit mansion at 3 West End Road in...
- Jonathan Tunick - LoveMusikLoveMusikLoveMusik is a musical written by Alfred Uhry, using a selection of music by Kurt Weill. The story explores the romance and lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, based on Speak Low : The Letters of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, edited and translated by Lys Symonette & Kim H. Kowalke. Harold Prince...
- Jonathan Tunick - 110 in the Shade110 in the Shade110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious...
- Bruce Coughlin - Grey Gardens
2008
- Alex LacamoireAlex LacamoireAlex Lacamoire is an American music director and orchestrator, who has worked on many shows both on and off Broadway.Lacamoire was born in Los Angeles, California, and began to play piano at age three. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida when he was 9...
and Bill Sherman – In the HeightsIn the HeightsIn the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights....
- Jason Carr - Sunday in the Park with GeorgeSunday in the Park with GeorgeSunday in the Park with George is a 1984 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical was inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat...
- Stew and Heidi Rodewald - Passing StrangePassing StrangePassing Strange is a rock musical about a young African American's artistic journey of self-discovery in Europe, drawing on heavy elements of existentialism, metafictional comedy, and the Künstlerroman. The musical's lyrics and book are by Stew with music and orchestrations by Heidi Rodewald and Stew...
- Jonathan Tunick - A Catered AffairA Catered AffairA Catered Affair is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film The Catered Affair written by Gore Vidal and the original 1955 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky, set in 1953 in the Bronx...
- Jason Carr - Sunday in the Park with George
2009
- Martin KochMartin Koch (orchestrator)Martin Koch is a British music supervisor, orchestrator, conductor, and composer who won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations and was a co-winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Billy Elliot the Musical, sharing the honor with Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt of...
– Billy Elliot the MusicalBilly Elliot the MusicalBilly Elliot the Musical is a musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot. The music is by Sir Elton John, and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes...
(tie) - Michael StarobinMichael StarobinMichael Starobin is an orchestrator, arranger, and Musical Director, primarily for the stage and television.-Career:The first Broadway musical that Starobin provided the orchestrations for was Sunday in the Park with George in 1984, for which he won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding...
and Tom KittTom KittTom Kitt is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He served as a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South constituency from 1987 to 2011. He also served as Government Chief Whip from 2004–08.-Early and private life:...
– Next to Normal (tie)- Larry Blank – White ChristmasWhite Christmas (musical)White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin...
- Danny Troob and John Clancy – Shrek the Musical
- Larry Blank – White Christmas
2010s
2010- Daryl Waters & David BryanDavid BryanDavid Bryan is the keyboard player of the band rock classic, Bon Jovi. Bryan also sings backing vocals and often at live shows sings part of or the whole of the song "In These Arms", one of a handful of Bon Jovi songs credited to him as songwriter...
– MemphisMemphis (Musical)Memphis is a musical by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro . It is loosely based on Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s...
- Jason Carr – La Cage aux Folles
- Aaron Johnson – Fela!Fela!Fela! is a musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan Mclean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based on events in the life of groundbreaking Nigerian composer and...
- Jonathan TunickJonathan TunickJonathan Tunick is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, one of twelve people to have won all four major American show business awards: the Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. He has also worked with all of the other eleven people. His principal instrument is the clarinet...
– Promises, PromisesPromises, PromisesPromises, Promises is a musical based on the 1960 film The Apartment. The music is by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett; Robert Moore directed and David Merrick produced...
2011
- Larry HochmanLarry HochmanLarry Hochman is an American orchestrator and composer. He has won four Emmy Awards for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon....
& Stephen OremusStephen OremusStephen Oremus is an American musician who has worked on Broadway theatre productions as musical director and as orchestrator. His credits include arranger and orchestrator for the music for Avenue Q, musical director and arranger for Wicked, arranger and orchestrator for All Shook Up, and musical...
– The Book of Mormon- Doug BestermanDoug BestermanDouglas "Doug" Besterman is an American orchestrator, musical arranger and music producer. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards out of five total nominations and two Drama Desk Awards out of six total nominations, and was a 2009 Grammy Award nominee.- Career :Besterman found work in New York...
– How to Succeed in Business Without Really TryingHow to Succeed in Business Without Really TryingHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name.... - Larry HochmanLarry HochmanLarry Hochman is an American orchestrator and composer. He has won four Emmy Awards for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon....
– The Scottsboro BoysThe Scottsboro Boys (musical)The Scottsboro Boys is a musical with a book by David Thompson, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Based on the Scottsboro Boys trial, the musical is one of the last collaborations between Kander and Ebb prior to the latter's death... - Marc ShaimanMarc ShaimanMarc Shaiman is an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and performer for films, television, and theatre. He is perhaps best known for writing the music and co-writing the lyrics for the Broadway musical version of the cult John Waters film Hairspray, for which Shaiman won Tony and Grammy...
& Larry Blank – Catch Me If You CanCatch Me if You Can (musical)Catch Me If You Can is a musical with a libretto by Terrence McNally and a theatrical score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. It follows the story of con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr...
- Doug Besterman