Tony Award for Best Original Score

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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 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.

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.

Contents

1 1940s
2 1950s
3 1960s
4 1970s
5 1980s
6 1990s
7 2000s
8 Multiple Winners

1940s

'1947 Street Scene'' by Kurt Weill (music)
1949 Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter (music & lyrics)

1950s

'1950 South Pacific'' by Richard Rodgers (music)
'1951 Call Me Madam'' by Irving Berlin (music)
1952-1959 No award given

1960s

1960-1961 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

1970s

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)

1980s

1980 Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics)
1981 Woman of the Year by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
*Charlie and Algernon by Charles Strouse (music) and David Rogers
*Copperfield by Al Kasha (music & lyrics) and Joel Hirschhorn (music & lyrics)
*Shakespeare's Cabaret by Lance Mulcahy (music)
1982 Nine by Maury Yeston (music & lyrics)
*Dreamgirls by Henry Krieger (music) and Tom Eyen (lyrics)
*Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics)
*Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
1983 Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and T. S. Eliot (lyrics)
*A Doll's House by Larry Grossman (music), Betty Comden (lyrics), and Adolph Green (lyrics)
*Merlin by Elmer Bernstein (music) and Don Black (lyrics)
*Seven Brides for Seven Brothers by Gene de Paul (music), Al Kasha (music & lyrics), Joel Hirschhorn (music & lyrics), and Johnny Mercer (lyrics)
1984 La Cage aux Folles by Jerry Herman (music & lyrics)
*Baby by David Shire (music) and Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics)
*The Rink by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics)
*Sunday in the Park with George by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
1985 Big River by Roger Miller (music & lyrics)
*Grind by Larry Grossman (music) and Ellen Fitzhugh (lyrics)
*Quilters by Barbara Damashek (music & lyrics)
1986 The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes (music & lyrics)
*The News by Paul Schierhorn (music & lyrics)
*Song and Dance by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Don Black (lyrics), and Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics)
*Wind in the Willows by William Perry (music) and Roger McGough (lyrics)
1987 Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schonberg (music) and Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics)
*Me and My Girl by Noel Gay (music), L. Arthur Rose (lyrics), and Douglas Furber (lyrics)
*Rags by Charles Strouse (music) and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics)
*Starlight Express by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Richard Stilgoe (lyrics)
1988 Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics)
*The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Charles Hart (lyrics), and Richard Stilgoe (lyrics)
*Romance/Romance by Keith Herrmann (music) and Barry Harman (lyrics)
*Sarafina! by Mbongeni Ngema (music & lyrics) and Hugh Masakela (music & lyrics)
1989 Not awarded

1990s

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 Adolph 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)

2000s

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)
2005 The Light in the Piazza by Adam Guettel (music & lyrics)
*Dirty Rotten Scoundrels by David Yazbek (music & lyrics)
*Monty Python's Spamalot by John Du Prez (music) and Eric Idle (music & lyrics)
*The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn
2006 The Drowsy Chaperone by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (music & lyrics)
*The Color Purple by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray (music & lyrics)
*The Wedding Singer by Matthew Sklar (music) and Chad Beguelin (lyrics)
*The Woman in White by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) David Zippel (lyrics)

Multiple Winners

7 wins: Stephen Sondheim
3 wins: Betty Comden, Adolph Green, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Cy Coleman, Andrew Lloyd Webber
2 wins: Richard Rodgers, Jerry Herman, Maury Yeston, Tim Rice

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