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2nd Tony Awards

1948 theatrical awards ceremony


1948 theatrical awards ceremony

FieldValue
name2nd Tony Awards
dateMarch 28, 1948
locationWaldorf-Astoria Hotel
New York City, New York
hostHarry Hershfield, Bert Lytell and Hiram Sherman
networkWOR (radio),
Mutual Network (radio)
previous[1st](1st-tony-awards)
mainTony Awards
next[3rd](3rd-tony-awards)

New York City, New York Mutual Network (radio)

The 2nd Tony Awards were held on March 28, 1948, at the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom in New York City, and broadcast on radio station WOR and the Mutual Network. The Masters of Ceremonies were Harry Hershfield, Bert Lytell, and Hiram Sherman. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, or more commonly, the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live Broadway productions and performances, plus several non-competitive Special Awards (such as the Regional Theatre Award). They are presented by the American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers at an annual ceremony in New York City.

Ceremony

The award for the women was a gold bracelet, with a disc inscribed with the actress' initials and the name of the prize, and the men received a gold bill clip, similarly inscribed.

Performers and performances were: High Button Shoes (Nanette Fabray, Helen Gallagher, and Donald Saddler), Make Mine Manhattan (Kyle MacDonnell and Joshua Shelley), Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (Virginia Gorski and Don Liberto), Forest Bonshire, Jack Carter, Stan Fisher, Lisa Kirk, Kathryn Lee, Jack McCauley, Lucy Monroe, Ferruccio Tagliavini and Pia Tassinari (of the Metropolitan Opera), Maggie Teyte (City Center Opera).

Winners and nominees

Source:Tony Awards

Note: There were no pre-announced Tony nominees prior to 1956

Production

**Award****Winner**
Best Play*Mister Roberts* by Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan – Producer Leland Hayward
Outstanding Foreign CompanyThe cast of *The Importance of Being Earnest* (Donald Bain, Jane Baxter, Pamela Brown, Jean Cadell, Stringer Davis, Robert Flemyng, John Gielgud, John Kidd, Margaret Rutherford, and Richard Wordsworth)

Performance

**Award****Winner**
Actor-PlayHenry Fonda (*Mister Roberts*)
Paul Kelly (*Command Decision*)
Basil Rathbone (*The Heiress*)
Actress-PlayJudith Anderson (*Medea*)
Katharine Cornell (*Antony and Cleopatra*)
Jessica Tandy (*A Streetcar Named Desire*)
Actor-MusicalPaul Hartman (*Angel in the Wings*)
Actress-MusicalGrace Hartman (*Angel in the Wings*)
NewcomerJune Lockhart (*For Love or Money*)
James Whitmore (*Command Decision*)

Craft

**Award****Winner (s)**
DirectorJoshua Logan (*Mister Roberts*)
Costume DesignerMary Percy Schenck (*The Heiress*)
ChoreographerJerome Robbins (*High Button Shoes*)
Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical DirectorMilton Rosenstock (*Finian's Rainbow*)
Tony Award for Best Scenic DesignHorace Armistead (*The Medium*)
Tony Award for Best Stage TechnicianGeorge Gebhardt

Special Awards

**Award****Winner (s)**
Progressive Theatre OperatorsRobert W. Dowling, president of City Investing Company, owner of several theatres in New York
Paul Beisman, operator of the American Theatre, St. Louis
Spreading Theatre To The Country While The Originals Perform In New YorkMary Martin (*Annie Get Your Gun*)
Joe E. Brown (*Harvey*)
Contribution To Development Of Regional TheatreBarter Theatre, Virginia, Robert Porterfield
Contribution To Theatre Through A Publication*Theatre Arts*, Rosamund Gilder, editor
Distinguished Wing Volunteer Worker Through The War And AfterVera Allen
Experiment In Theatre*The Experimental Theatre, Inc.*, John Garfield accepting
Special AwardGeorge Pierce, for twenty-five years of courteous and efficient service as a backstage doorman (Empire Theatre)

Multiple nominations and awards

The following productions received multiple awards.

  • 3 wins: Mister Roberts
  • 2 wins: Angel in the Wings, Command Decision and The Heiress

References

References

  1. Calta, Louis. ''The New York Times'', March 17, 1948, p. 10
  2. [https://www.tonyawards.com/history/year-by-year/2023/ Tony Awards History] tonyawards.com
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