| Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical | |
|---|---|
 2024 Recipient: Jonathan Groff | |
| Awarded for | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical |
| Location | New York City |
| Presented by | American Theatre Wing The Broadway League |
| Currently held by | Jonathan Groff for Merrily We Roll Along (2024) |
| Website | TonyAwards.com |
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality leading roles in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."[1]
The award was originally called the Tony Award for Actors—Musical. It was first presented to Paul Hartman at the 2nd Tony Awards for his portrayal of various characters in Angel in the Wings. Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public;[2] the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers".[3]
Nine actors hold the record for having the most wins in this category, with a total of two. John Cullum, Brian d'Arcy James and Raul Julia are tied with the most nominations, with a total of four. Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is the character to take the award the most times, winning three times.
- ^ Kirkley, Donald (April 21, 1968). "Operation Frenzy Before the Tony Awards". The Baltimore Sun. p. T2. Retrieved December 24, 2011. (subscription required)
- ^ Simons, Linda Keir (1994). The Performing Arts: a Guide to the Reference Literature. ABC-CLIO. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-87287-982-9. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
- ^ Gelb, Arthur (April 1, 1956). "Popularizing the Tony Awards". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2011. (subscription required)