News

Harvey Fierstein will receive the 2025 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

Fierstein has won four Tony Awards, including two for Torch Song Trilogy, the 1982 play he wrote and made his Broadway debut in, which broke ground for its portrayal of gay culture, including the protaganist’s longing to have a family, and its inclusion of topics including gay marriage, adoption and bisexuality.

He also won Tony Awards for writing the best book of a musical for La Cage Aux Folles and best actor in a musical for Hairspray, where he originated the role of Tracy’s mother, Edna Turnblad.

Fierstein also wrote the book for the Tony Award winning musical Kinky Boots as well as Newsies and wrote Casa Valentina, A Catered Affair, Safe Sex, Bella Bella!, Legs Diamond, Spookhouse, Flatbush Tosca, Common Ground and more. He also revised the book for the recent Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

The American Theatre Wing will soon be announcing the Tonys' Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. It traditionally goes to veteran stage performers, directors, choreographers, playwrights, songwriters, producers, and designers. In some years there are multiple honorees. Last year's recipients were directors Jack O'Brien and George C. Wolfe.

Several living male Broadway vets have already received this award: Paul Gemignani, Alan Ayckbourn, Athol Fugard, Tommy Tune, Marshall W. Mason, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harold Wheeler, Joel Grey, and John Kander. Here are 10 possibilities, all accomplished men over the age of 65. Vote in our poll below to let us know who you’d like to see honored.

Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

John Caird

Two-time Tony-winning director for The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1982) and Les Misérables (1987). Additional nominations for helming Stanley (1997) and cowriting Jane Eyre the Musical (2001).

Tim Curry

Three-time Tony-nominated actor for Amadeus (1981), My Favorite Year...

This year’s Tonys will be held on June 16, so the American Theatre Wing will likely be announcing its Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in the near future. Who do you think should take home this prestigious trophy, which honors an individual’s body of work? It has gone to veteran stage performers, directors, choreographers, playwrights, songwriters, producers and designers. In some years we get multiple recipients.

Last year these honors went to actor Joel Grey and composer John Kander. The following living male Broadway vets have also received this award in the past and thus won’t be chosen again: Paul Gemignani, Alan Ayckbourn, Athol Fugard, Marshall W. Mason, Tommy Tune, James Earl Jones, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Harold Wheeler.

Here are 10 possibilities featured in our poll below, all accomplished men over the age of 65. Vote to let us know who you’d like to see honored. And take a...

This year’s Tonys will be held on June 11, so the American Theatre Wing will likely be announcing their lifetime achievement award recipient in the near future. Who do you think should be taking home this prestigious trophy? Scroll down to let us know in our poll which behind-the-scenes creative deserves the honor this year.

The Tony for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre honors an individual’s body of work, and in some years we’ve gotten multiple recipients. Last year legendary five-time Tony winner Angela Lansbury received this honor about four months before her death on October 11 at the age of 96. The following living creatives have already received this award so they’re not eligible to be chosen again: Paul Gemignani, Alan Ayckbourn, Athol Fugard, Jane Greenwood, Sheldon Harnick, Marshall W. Mason, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harold Wheeler, and Graciela Daniele.

Here are 10 possibilities, all of them creatives over the...

TV veteran and three-time Emmy nominee Conchata Ferrell, has died.

She was 77.

Per Deadline, the actress passed away on Monday at California's Sherman Oaks Hospital.

Ferrell was hospitalized earlier this year, spending a month in intensive care.

She suffered a heart attack while in the hospital and was left unable to speak or communicate.

The hospitalization in May was in relation to a kidney infection she suffered last December.

Conchata is best known for her role as Berta on Two and a Half Men as housekeeper Berta.

The role was recurring at first, but she was promoted to series regular for Season 2 and remained with the series in a regular role until its conclusion.

Ferrell scored two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in the CBS series.

She also appeared on TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends, Who's the Boss, and Night Court.

L.A.'s Law earned...

Conchata Ferrell, a three-time Emmy nominee who appeared in more than 200 episodes of Two and a Half Men and was a regular on L.A. Law‘s sixth season, died Monday at Sherman Oaks Hospital of complications following a cardiac arrest. She was 77 as a result She died peacefully surrounded by family.

Ferrell probably is best known for her role as no-nonsense housekeeper Berta on the hit CBS comedy Two and a Half Men. The role earned her a pair of Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy nominations in 2005 and 2007.

“She was a beautiful human,” Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer said. “I’m crying for the woman I’ll miss, and the joy she brought so many.” Added fellow Men star Charlie Sheen, “An absolute sweetheart, a consummate pro, a genuine friend. Berta, your housekeeping was a tad suspect, your ‘people’ keeping was perfect.”

The veteran...

Hamilton rose to the occasion and scored an impressive 11 trophies at the 2016 Tony Awards on Sunday night (June 12), including Best Musical.

The blockbuster hip-hop musical about America's founding father was nominated for a record-breaking 16 awards during Sunday's (12Jun16) prizegiving, and in addition to the top award presented to them by Barbra Streisand, the show's star, creator and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda, took individual prizes for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score.

Miranda lost the Best Leading Actor in a Musical trophy to his co-star Leslie Odom, Jr., while other acting prizes went to Renee Elise Goldsberry (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Daveed Diggs (Best Featured Actor in a Musical).

The creative team had a near clean sweep, winning Best Direction of a Musical (Thomas Kail), Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler), Best Orchestrations (Alex Lacamoire), Best Costume Design (Paul Tazewell), and Best Lighting Design (Howell Binkley).

Although Hamilton went home with 11 trophies, it did not break the record for the most wins in one night, which is held by The Producers. The musical was honoured with 12 Tonys in 2001.

Meanwhile, acclaimed show The Humans scored the most trophies in the play categories, for Best Play, Best Featured Actor and Actress prizes for its two stars Reed Birney and Jayne Houdyshell, respectively, and Best Scenic Design of a Play for David Zinn.

Frank Langella earned his fourth Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Play for The Father, while Jessica Lange won her first Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Play for Long Day's Journey Into Night. Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge was given two Tonys, for Best Revival of a Play and for its director Ivo van Hove.

Casts from each of the Best Musical contenders - Bright Star, Hamilton, School of Rock, Shuffle Along, and Waitress - treated viewers to song and dance numbers, while stars from Best Revival of a Musical nominees, The Color Purple, Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me and Spring Awakening, also hit the stage to perform.

Bebe Neuwirth also led a 20th anniversary tribute to the revival of long-running musical Chicago, the show which earned her her second Tony Award in 1997.

The list of winners at the 70th Annual Tony Awards is as follows:

Best Musical:

Hamilton

Best Play:

The Humans

Best Revival of a Musical:

The Color Purple

Best Revival of a Play:

Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge

Best Book of a Musical:

Lin-Manuel Miranda - Hamilton

Best Original Score:

Lin-Manuel Miranda - Hamilton

Best Leading Actor in a Musical:

Leslie Odom, Jr. - Hamilton

Best Leading Actress in a Musical:

Cynthia Erivo - The Color Purple

Best Leading Actor in a Play:

Frank Langella - The Father

Best Leading Actress in a Play:

Jessica Lange - Long Day's Journey Into Night

Best Featured Actor in a Musical:

Daveed Diggs - Hamilton

Best Featured Actress in a Musical:

Renee Elise Goldsberry - Hamilton

Best Featured Actor in a Play:

Reed Birney - The Humans

Best Featured Actress in a Play:

Jayne Houdyshell - The Humans

Best Direction of a Musical:

Thomas Kail - Hamilton

Best Direction of a Play:

Ivo van Hove - Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge

Best Lighting Design of a Musical:

Howell Binkley - Hamilton

Best Lighting Design of a Play:

Natasha Katz - Long Day's Journey Into Night

Best Costume Design of a Musical:

Paul Tazewell - Hamilton

Best Costume Design of a Play:

Clint Ramos - Eclipsed

Best Scenic Design of a Musical:

David Rockwell - She Loves Me

Best Scenic Design of a Play:

David Zinn - The Humans

Best Choreography:

Andy Blankenbuehler - Hamilton

Best Orchestrations:

Alex Lacamoire - Hamilton

Special Tony Award:

National Endowment for the Arts and Miles Wilkin

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award:

Brian Stokes Mitchell

Regional Theatre Tony Award:

Paper Mill Playhouse

Lifetime Achievement:

Sheldon Harnick and Marshall W. Mason. (Td/Wn/Mt)...

Broadway director Marshall W. Mason and his partner have become one of the first gay couples to marry in New York.

The former Tony Award nominee tied the knot with fellow director Daniel Irvine in the Big Apple on Monday, one day after same-sex unions were officially recognised.

And Mason admits he was thrilled to finally walk down the aisle with Irvine, his partner of more than 37 years, in New York.

He tells the New York Post, "We have been waiting for a long time. I felt very strongly that I did not want to go somewhere else to get married under someone else's law."

The state made history last month after becoming only the sixth in the U.S. to legalise gay unions.