43rd Tony Awards


The 43rd Annual Tony Awards, which honor achievement in the Broadway theatre was held on June 4, 1989, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and broadcast by CBS television. The host was Angela Lansbury, making her fifth appearance as host, more than any other individual.
There were no nominations for Best Book of a Musical or for Best Score of a Musical.

The ceremony

Presenters and Performers: Barry Bostwick, Betty Buckley, Zoe Caldwell, Nell Carter, Carol Channing, Colleen Dewhurst, Jerry Herman, James Earl Jones, Larry Kert, Swoosie Kurtz, John Lithgow, Steve Martin, Richard Thomas, Tommy Tune, Leslie Uggams, Gwen Verdon, August Wilson, BD Wong.
Musicals and Plays represented:
Special Salute:
Winners are in bold
Best PlayBest Musical

  • Jerome Robbins' Broadway
  • * Black and Blue
  • * Starmites
    • Best RevivalBest Choreography
  • Our Town
  • * Ah, Wilderness!
  • * Ain't Misbehavin
  • * Cafe Crown
  • Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, Frankie Manning and Fayard Nicholas – Black and Blue
  • * Michele Assaf – Starmites
  • * Bill Irwin and Kimi Okada – Largely New York
  • * Alan Johnson – Legs Diamond
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a PlayBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
  • Philip Bosco – Lend Me a Tenor as Saunders
  • * Mikhail Baryshnikov – Metamorphosis as Gregor Samsa
  • * Victor Garber – Lend Me a Tenor as Max
  • * Bill Irwin – Largely New York as The Post-Modern Hoofer
  • Pauline Collins – Shirley Valentine as Shirley Valentine
  • * Joan Allen – The Heidi Chronicles as Heidi Holland
  • * Madeline Kahn – Born Yesterday as Billie Dawn
  • * Kate Nelligan – Spoils of War as Elise
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
  • Jason Alexander – Jerome Robbins' Broadway as Various Characters
  • *Gabriel Barre – Starmites as Trinkulus/Shak Graa
  • * Brian Lane Green – Starmites as Spacepunk
  • * Robert La Fosse – Jerome Robbins' Broadway as Various Characters
  • Ruth Brown – Black and Blue as Singer
  • * Charlotte d'Amboise – Jerome Robbins' Broadway as Various Characters
  • * Linda Hopkins – Black and Blue as Singer
  • * Sharon McNight – Starmites as Mother/Diva
    • Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a PlayBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
  • Boyd Gaines – The Heidi Chronicles as Peter Patrone
  • * Peter Frechette – Eastern Standard as Drew
  • * Eric Stoltz – Our Town as George Gibbs
  • * Gordon Joseph Weiss – Ghetto as The Dummy
  • Christine Baranski – Rumors as Chris Gorman
  • * Joanne Camp – The Heidi Chronicles as Various Characters
  • * Tovah Feldshuh – Lend Me a Tenor as Maria
  • * Penelope Ann Miller – Our Town as Emily Webb
    • Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a MusicalBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
  • Scott Wise – Jerome Robbins' Broadway as Various Characters
  • * Bunny Briggs – Black and Blue as Hoofer
  • * Savion Glover – Black and Blue as Younger Generation
  • * Scott Wentworth – Welcome to the Club as Aaron Bates
  • Debbie Shapiro – Jerome Robbins' Broadway as Various Characters
  • * Jane Lanier – Jerome Robbins' Broadway as Socialite/2nd Dancer
  • * Faith Prince – Jerome Robbins' Broadway as Ma/Tessie
  • * Julie Wilson – Legs Diamond as Flo
    • Best Direction of a PlayBest Direction of a Musical
  • Jerry Zaks – Lend Me a Tenor
  • * Bill Irwin – Largely New York
  • * Gregory Mosher – Our Town
  • * Daniel Sullivan – The Heidi Chronicles
  • Jerome Robbins – Jerome Robbins' Broadway
  • * Larry Carpenter – Starmites
  • * Peter Mark Schifter – Welcome to the Club
  • * Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli – Black and Blue
    • Best Scenic DesignBest Costume Design
  • Santo Loquasto – Cafe Crown
  • * Thomas Lynch – The Heidi Chronicles
  • * Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli – Black and Blue
  • * Tony Walton – Lend Me a Tenor
  • Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli – Black and Blue
  • * Jane Greenwood – Our Town
  • * Willa Kim – Legs Diamond
  • * William Ivey Long – Lend Me a Tenor
    • Best Lighting Design-
  • Jennifer Tipton – Jerome Robbins' Broadway'
  • * Neil Peter Jampolis and Jane Reisman – Black and Blue
  • * Brian Nason – Metamorphosis
  • * Nancy Schertler – Largely New York
    		• -

    Regional Theatre Tony Award

  • Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, Connecticut

    Multiple nominations and awards

    • These productions had multiple nominations:
    The following productions received multiple awards.