Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical

For pre-1960 direction awards, see Tony Award for Best Director.

The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical.

Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
2025 Recipient: Michael Arden
Awarded for	Best Direction of a Musical
Location	New York City
Presented by	American Theatre Wing The Broadway League
Currently held by	Michael Arden for Maybe Happy Ending (2025)
Website	TonyAwards.com

Winners and nominees

1950s

See also: Tony Award for Best Director

Year	Production	Director
1950
	South Pacific	Joshua Logan
1951
	Guys and Dolls	George S. Kaufman
1958
	My Fair Lady	Moss Hart

1960s

Year	Production	Director
1960 (14th) [1]
	Fiorello!	George Abbott
	Destry Rides Again	Michael Kidd
	Gypsy	Jerome Robbins
	The Sound of Music	Vincent J. Donehue
	Take Me Along	Peter Glenville
1961 (15th) [2]
	Bye Bye Birdie	Gower Champion
	Do Re Mi	Garson Kanin
	Irma La Douce	Peter Brook
1962 (16th) [3]
	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Abe Burrows
	All American	Joshua Logan
	Carnival!	Gower Champion
	No Strings	Joe Layton
1963 (17th) [4]
	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	George Abbott
	Brigadoon	John Fearnley
	Little Me	Cy Feuer and Bob Fosse
	Oliver!	Peter Coe
1964 (18th) [5]
	Hello, Dolly!	Gower Champion
	110 in the Shade	Joseph Anthony
	High Spirits	Noël Coward
	She Loves Me	Harold Prince
1965 (19th) [6]
	Fiddler on the Roof	Jerome Robbins
	Half a Sixpence	Gene Saks
	Oh, What a Lovely War!	Joan Littlewood
	The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd	Anthony Newley
1966 (20th) [7]
	Man of La Mancha	Albert Marre
	Mame	Gene Saks
	Skyscraper	Cy Feuer
	Sweet Charity	Bob Fosse
1967 (21st) [8]
	Cabaret	Harold Prince
	Annie Get Your Gun	Jack Sydow
	The Apple Tree	Mike Nichols
	I Do! I Do!	Gower Champion
1968 (22nd) [9]
	The Happy Time	Gower Champion
	Hallelujah, Baby!	Burt Shevelove
	How Now, Dow Jones	George Abbott
	Illya Darling	Jules Dassin
1969 (23rd) [10]
	1776	Peter Hunt
	Hair	Tom O'Horgan
	Promises, Promises	Robert Moore
	Zorba	Harold Prince

1970s

Year	Production	Director
1970 (24th) [11]
	Applause	Ron Field
	Coco	Michael Benthall
	Purlie	Philip Rose
1971 (25th) [12]
	Company	Harold Prince
	The Me Nobody Knows	Robert H. Livingston
	No, No, Nanette	Burt Shevelove
	The Rothschilds	Michael Kidd
1972 (26th) [13]
	Follies	Harold Prince and Michael Bennett
	Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death	Gilbert Moses
	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Burt Shevelove
	Two Gentlemen of Verona	Mel Shapiro
1973 (27th) [14]
	Pippin	Bob Fosse
	Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope	Vinnette Carroll
	A Little Night Music	Harold Prince
	Sugar	Gower Champion
1974 (28th) [15]
	Candide	Harold Prince
	Over Here!	Tom Moore
	Raisin	Donald McKayle
	Seesaw	Michael Bennett
1975 (29th) [16]
	The Wiz	Geoffrey Holder
	Gypsy	Arthur Laurents
	Mack & Mabel	Gower Champion
	The Magic Show	Grover Dale
1976 (30th) [17]
	A Chorus Line	Michael Bennett
	Chicago	Bob Fosse
	Pacific Overtures	Harold Prince
	Very Good Eddie	Bill Gile
1977 (31st) [18]
	I Love My Wife	Gene Saks
	Annie	Martin Charnin
	Porgy and Bess	Jack O'Brien
	Your Arms Too Short to Box with God	Vinnette Carroll
1978 (32nd) [19]
	Ain't Misbehavin'	Richard Maltby Jr.
	Dancin'	Bob Fosse
	On the Twentieth Century	Harold Prince
	Runaways	Elizabeth Swados
1979 (33rd) [20]
	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	Harold Prince
	Ballroom	Michael Bennett
	The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas	Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune
	They're Playing Our Song	Robert Moore

1980s

Year	Production	Director
1980 (34th) [21]
	Evita	Harold Prince
	Barnum	Joe Layton
	A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine	Tommy Tune
	Sugar Babies	Ernie Flatt and Rudy Tronto
1981 (35th) [22]
	The Pirates of Penzance	Wilford Leach
	42nd Street	Gower Champion
	Sophisticated Ladies	Michael Smuin
	Woman of the Year	Robert Moore
1982 (36th) [23]
	Nine	Tommy Tune
	Dreamgirls	Michael Bennett
	The First	Martin Charnin
	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	Tony Tanner
1983 (37th) [24]
	Cats	Trevor Nunn
	Merlin	Ivan Reitman
	My One and Only	Tommy Tune and Thommie Walsh
	Show Boat	Michael Kahn
1984 (38th) [25]
	La Cage aux Folles	Arthur Laurents
	Baby	Richard Maltby Jr.
	Sunday in the Park with George	James Lapine
	The Tap Dance Kid	Vivian Matalon
1985 (39th) [26]
	Big River	Des McAnuff
	Grind	Harold Prince
	The King and I	Mitch Leigh
	Quilters	Barbara Damashek
1986 (40th) [27]
	The Mystery of Edwin Drood	Wilford Leach
	Big Deal	Bob Fosse
	Song and Dance	Richard Maltby Jr.
	Tango Argentino	Héctor Orezzoli and Claudio Segovia
1987 (41st) [28]
	Les Misérables	John Caird and Trevor Nunn
	Me and My Girl	Mike Ockrent
	The Mikado	Brian Macdonald
	Starlight Express	Trevor Nunn
1988 (42nd) [29]
	The Phantom of the Opera	Harold Prince
	Anything Goes	Jerry Zaks
	Into the Woods	James Lapine
	Sarafina!	Mbongeni Ngema
1989 (43rd) [30]
	Jerome Robbins' Broadway	Jerome Robbins
	Black and Blue	Héctor Orezzoli and Claudio Segovia
	Starmites	Larry Carpenter
	Welcome to the Club	Peter Mark Schifter

1990s

Year	Production	Director
1990 (44th) [31]
	Grand Hotel	Tommy Tune
	Aspects of Love	Trevor Nunn
	City of Angels	Michael Blakemore
	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	Susan H. Schulman
1991 (45th) [32]
	The Will Rogers Follies	Tommy Tune
	Miss Saigon	Nicholas Hytner
	Once on This Island	Graciela Daniele
	Those Were the Days	Eleanor Reissa
1992 (46th) [33]
	Guys and Dolls	Jerry Zaks
	Crazy for You	Mike Ockrent
	Falsettos	James Lapine
	Jelly's Last Jam	George C. Wolfe
1993 (47th) [34]
	The Who's Tommy	Des McAnuff
	Blood Brothers	Bill Kenwright and Bob Tomson
	The Goodbye Girl	Michael Kidd
	Kiss of the Spider Woman	Harold Prince
1994 (48th) [35]
	Carousel	Nicholas Hytner
	Beauty and the Beast	Robert Jess Roth
	Passion	James Lapine
	She Loves Me	Scott Ellis
1995 (49th) [36]
	Show Boat	Harold Prince
	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Des McAnuff
	Sunset Boulevard	Trevor Nunn
	Smokey Joe's Cafe	Jerry Zaks
1996 (50th) [37]
	Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk	George C. Wolfe
	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Jerry Zaks
	The King and I	Christopher Renshaw
	Rent	Michael Greif
1997 (51st) [38]
	Chicago	Walter Bobbie
	Juan Darién	Julie Taymor
	The Life	Michael Blakemore
	Steel Pier	Scott Ellis
1998 (52nd) [39]
	The Lion King	Julie Taymor
	Cabaret	Rob Marshall and Sam Mendes
	Ragtime	Frank Galati
	1776	Scott Ellis
1999 (53rd) [40]
	Swan Lake	Matthew Bourne
	Fosse	Richard Maltby Jr. and Ann Reinking
	Parade	Harold Prince
	You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown	Michael Mayer

2000s

Year	Production	Director
2000 (54th) [41]
	Kiss Me, Kate	Michael Blakemore
	Contact	Susan Stroman
	The Music Man
	Swing!	Lynne Taylor-Corbett
2001 (55th) [42]
	The Producers	Susan Stroman
	42nd Street	Mark Bramble
	The Full Monty	Jack O'Brien
	The Rocky Horror Show	Christopher Ashley
2002 (56th) [43]
	Urinetown	John Rando
	Into the Woods	James Lapine
	Oklahoma!	Trevor Nunn
	Thoroughly Modern Millie	Michael Mayer
2003 (57th) [44]
	Hairspray	Jack O'Brien
	La bohème	Baz Luhrmann
	Movin' Out	Twyla Tharp
	Nine	David Leveaux
2004 (58th) [45]
	Assassins	Joe Mantello
	Avenue Q	Jason Moore
	Caroline, or Change	George C. Wolfe
	Wonderful Town	Kathleen Marshall
2005 (59th) [46]
	Monty Python's Spamalot	Mike Nichols
	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Jack O'Brien
	The Light in the Piazza	Bartlett Sher
	The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee	James Lapine
2006 (60th) [47]
	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	John Doyle
	The Drowsy Chaperone	Casey Nicholaw
	Jersey Boys	Des McAnuff
	The Pajama Game	Kathleen Marshall
2007 (61st) [48]
	Spring Awakening	Michael Mayer
	Company	John Doyle
	Curtains	Scott Ellis
	Grey Gardens	Michael Greif
2008 (62nd) [49]
	South Pacific	Bartlett Sher
	Gypsy	Arthur Laurents
	In the Heights	Thomas Kail
	Sunday in the Park with George	Sam Buntrock
2009 (63rd) [50]
	Billy Elliot the Musical	Stephen Daldry
	Hair	Diane Paulus
	Next to Normal	Michael Greif
	Rock of Ages	Kristin Hanggi

2010s

Year	Production	Director
2010 (64th) [51]
	La Cage aux Folles	Terry Johnson
	Fela!	Bill T. Jones
	Memphis	Christopher Ashley
	Ragtime	Marcia Milgrom Dodge
2011 (65th) [52]
	The Book of Mormon	Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker
	Anything Goes	Kathleen Marshall
	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Rob Ashford
	The Scottsboro Boys	Susan Stroman
2012 (66th) [53]
	Once	John Tiffany
	Newsies	Jeff Calhoun
	Nice Work If You Can Get It	Kathleen Marshall
	Porgy and Bess	Diane Paulus
2013 (67th) [54]
	Pippin	Diane Paulus
	Kinky Boots	Jerry Mitchell
	Matilda the Musical	Matthew Warchus
	The Mystery of Edwin Drood	Scott Ellis
2014 (68th) [55]
	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder	Darko Tresnjak
	After Midnight	Warren Carlyle
	Hedwig and the Angry Inch	Michael Mayer
	Violet	Leigh Silverman
2015 (69th) [56]
	Fun Home	Sam Gold
	An American in Paris	Christopher Wheeldon
	The King and I	Bartlett Sher
	On the Town	John Rando
	Something Rotten!	Casey Nicholaw
2016 (70th) [57]
	Hamilton	Thomas Kail
	The Color Purple	John Doyle
	She Loves Me	Scott Ellis
	Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed	George C. Wolfe
	Spring Awakening	Michael Arden
2017 (71st) [58]
	Come from Away	Christopher Ashley
	Dear Evan Hansen	Michael Greif
	Groundhog Day	Matthew Warchus
	Hello, Dolly!	Jerry Zaks
	Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812	Rachel Chavkin
2018 (72nd) [59]
	The Band's Visit	David Cromer
	Mean Girls	Casey Nicholaw
	My Fair Lady	Bartlett Sher
	Once on This Island	Michael Arden
	SpongeBob SquarePants	Tina Landau
2019 (73rd) [60]
	Hadestown	Rachel Chavkin
	Ain't Too Proud	Des McAnuff
	Oklahoma!	Daniel Fish
	The Prom	Casey Nicholaw
	Tootsie	Scott Ellis

2020s

Year	Production	Director
2020 (74th) [61]
	Moulin Rouge!	Alex Timbers
	Jagged Little Pill	Diane Paulus
	Tina	Phyllida Lloyd
2022 (75th) [62]
	Company	Marianne Elliott
	Girl from the North Country	Conor McPherson
	MJ	Christopher Wheeldon
	Six	Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage
	A Strange Loop	Stephen Brackett
2023 (76th) [63]
	Parade	Michael Arden
	Into the Woods	Lear deBessonet
	Kimberly Akimbo	Jessica Stone
	Shucked	Jack O'Brien
	Some Like It Hot	Casey Nicholaw
2024 (77th) [64]
	The Outsiders	Danya Taymor
	Hell's Kitchen	Michael Greif
	Merrily We Roll Along	Maria Friedman
	Suffs	Leigh Silverman
	Water for Elephants	Jessica Stone
2025 (78th)
	Maybe Happy Ending	Michael Arden
	Buena Vista Social Club	Saheem Ali
	Dead Outlaw	David Cromer
	Death Becomes Her	Christopher Gattelli
	Sunset Boulevard	Jamie Lloyd

Multiple wins

8 Wins Harold Prince 3 Wins Gower Champion Tommy Tune

2 Wins George Abbott Michael Arden Michael Bennett Wilford Leach Des McAnuff Trevor Nunn Jerome Robbins

Multiple nominations

16 Nominations Harold Prince 8 Nominations Gower Champion 7 Nominations Scott Ellis 6 Nominations Bob Fosse James Lapine Casey Nicholaw Trevor Nunn Tommy Tune

5 Nominations Michael Bennett Michael Greif Des McAnuff Jack O'Brien Jerry Zaks 4 Nominations Michael Arden Richard Maltby Jr. Kathleen Marshall Michael Mayer Diane Paulus Bartlett Sher Susan Stroman George C. Wolfe

3 Nominations George Abbott Christopher Ashley Michael Blakemore John Doyle Michael Kidd Arthur Laurents Robert Moore Jerome Robbins Gene Saks Burt Shevelove

2 Nominations Vinnette Carroll Martin Charnin Rachel Chavkin David Cromer Cy Feuer Nicholas Hytner Thomas Kail Joe Layton Wilford Leach Joshua Logan Mike Nichols Mike Ockrent Hector Orezzoli John Rando Claudio Segovia Leigh Silverman Jessica Stone Julie Taymor Matthew Warchus Christopher Wheeldon

Female winners and nominees

Out of 26 women nominated for 40 musicals, only 6 women have won this award for 6 musicals:^[65]

Bold represents winner

Director	Nominated musical(s)
Joan Littlewood	Oh, What a Lovely War! (1965)
Vinnette Caroll	Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope (1973) Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (1977)
Elizabeth Swados	Runaways (1978)
Barbara Damashek	Quilters (1985)
Susan H. Schulman	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street revival (1990)
Graciela Daniele	Once on this Island (1991)
Eleanor Reissa	Those Were the Days (1992)
Julie Taymor	Juan Darién (1997) The Lion King (1998)[66]
Ann Reinking	Fosse (1999)
Susan Stroman	Contact (2000) The Music Man revival (2000) The Producers (2001)[67] The Scottsboro Boys (2012)
Lynne Taylor-Corbett	Swing! (2000)
Twyla Tharp	Movin' Out (2003)
Kathleen Marshall	Wonderful Town revival (2004) The Pajama Game revival (2006) Anything Goes revival (2011) Nice Work If You Can Get it (2012)
Kristin Hanggi	Rock of Ages (2009)
Diane Paulus	Hair revival (2009) Porgy and Bess revival (2012) Pippin revival (2013)[68] Jagged Little Pill (2020)
Marcia Milgrom Dodge	Ragtime revival (2010)
Leigh Silverman	Violet (2014) Suffs (2024)
Rachel Chavkin	Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (2017) Hadestown (2019)
Tina Landau	SpongeBob SquarePants (2018)
Phyllida Lloyd	Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (2020)
Marianne Elliott	Company revival (2022)
Lucy Moss	Six (2022)
Jessica Stone	Kimberly Akimbo (2023) Water for Elephants (2024)
Lear deBessonet	Into the Woods revival (2023)
Maria Friedman	Merrily We Roll Along revival (2024)
Danya Taymor	The Outsiders (2024)

See also

• Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical
• Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director
• List of Tony Award-nominated productions