Tony Award for Best Lighting Design

This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design for outstanding lighting design of a play or musical. The award was first presented in 1970. Since 2005, the category was divided into Lighting Design in a Play and Lighting Design in a Musical with each genre receiving its own award.

Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
Awarded for	Best Lighting Design
Location	United States New York City
Presented by	American Theatre Wing The Broadway League
Currently held by	Hana S. Kim and Brian MacDevitt for The Outsiders (2024)
Website	TonyAwards.com

Winners and nominees

  indicates the winner

1970s

Year	Designer	Production
1970 24th Tony Awards
	Jo Mielziner	Child's Play
	Tharon Musser	Applause
	Thomas R. Skelton	Indians
1971 25th Tony Awards
	R.H. Poindexter	Paul Sill's Story Theatre
	Robert Ornbo	Company
	William Ritman	Sleuth
1972 26th Tony Awards
	Tharon Musser	Follies
	Martin Aronstein	Ain't Supposed To Die a Natural Death
	John Bury	Old Times
	Jules Fisher	Jesus Christ Superstar
1973 27th Tony Awards
	Jules Fisher	Pippin
	Martin Aronstein	Much Ado About Nothing
	Ian Calderon	That Championship Season
	Tharon Musser	A Little Night Music
1974 28th Tony Awards
	Jules Fisher	Ulysses in Nighttown
	Martin Aronstein	Boom Boom Room
	Ken Billington	The Visit
	Ben Edwards	A Moon for the Misbegotten
	Tharon Musser	The Good Doctor
1975 29th Tony Awards
	Neil Peter Jampolis	Sherlock Holmes
	Abe Feder	Goodtime Charley
	Chip Monck	The Rocky Horror Show
	Andy Phillips	Equus
	Thomas R. Skelton	All God's Chillun Got Wings
	James Tilton	Seascape
1976 30th Tony Awards
	Tharon Musser	A Chorus Line
	Ian Calderon	Trelawny of the Wells
	Jules Fisher	Chicago
	Tharon Musser	Pacific Overtures
1977 31st Tony Awards
	Jennifer Tipton	The Cherry Orchard
	John Bury	No Man's Land
	Pat Collins	Threepenny Opera
	Neil Peter Jampolis	The Innocents
1978 32nd Tony Awards
	Jules Fisher	Dancin'
	Ken Billington	Working
	Jules Fisher	Beatlemania
	Tharon Musser	The Act
1979 33rd Tony Awards
	Roger Morgan	The Crucifer of Blood
	Ken Billington	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
	Beverly Emmons	The Elephant Man
	Tharon Musser	Ballroom

1980s

Year	Designer	Production
1980 34th Tony Awards
	David Hersey	Evita
	Beverly Emmons	A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine
	Craig Miller	Barnum
	Dennis Parichy	Talley's Folly
1981 35th Tony Awards
	John Bury	Amadeus
	Tharon Musser	42nd Street
	Dennis Parichy	Fifth of July
	Jennifer Tipton	Sophisticated Ladies
1982 36th Tony Awards
	Tharon Musser	Dreamgirls
	Martin Aronstein	Medea
	David Hersey	The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
	Marcia Madeira	Nine
1983 37th Tony Awards
	David Hersey	Cats
	Ken Billington	Foxfire
	Robert Bryan	All's Well That Ends Well
	Allen Lee Hughes	K2
1984 38th Tony Awards
	Richard Nelson	Sunday in the Park with George
	Ken Billington	End of the World
	Jules Fisher	La Cage aux Folles
	Marc B. Weiss	A Moon for the Misbegotten
1985 39th Tony Awards
	Richard Riddell	Big River
	Terry Hands	Cyrano de Bergerac
		Much Ado About Nothing
	Allen Lee Hughes	Strange Interlude
1986 40th Tony Awards
	Pat Collins	I'm Not Rappaport
	Jules Fisher	Song and Dance
	Paul Gallo	The House of Blue Leaves
	Thomas R. Skelton	The Iceman Cometh
1987 41st Tony Awards
	David Hersey	Les Misérables
	Martin Aronstein	Wild Honey
	Beverly Emmons and Chris Parry	Les Liaisons Dangereuses
	David Hersey	Starlight Express
1988 42nd Tony Awards
	Andrew Bridge	The Phantom of the Opera
	Paul Gallo	Anything Goes
	Richard Nelson	Into the Woods
	Andy Phillips	M. Butterfly
1989 43rd Tony Awards
	Jennifer Tipton	Jerome Robbins' Broadway
	Neil Peter Jampolis and Jane Reisman	Black and Blue
	Brian Nason	Metamorphoses
	Nancy Schertler	Largely New York

1990s

Year	Designer	Production
1990 44th Tony Awards
	Jules Fisher	Grand Hotel
	Paul Gallo	City of Angels
	Neil Peter Jampolis and Paul Pyant	Orpheus Descending
	Kevin Rigdon	The Grapes of Wrath
1991 45th Tony Awards
	Jules Fisher	The Will Rogers Follies
	David Hersey	Miss Saigon
	Allen Lee Hughes	Once on This Island
	Jennifer Tipton	La Bête
1992 46th Tony Awards
	Jules Fisher	Jelly's Last Jam
	Paul Gallo	Crazy for You
		Guys and Dolls
	Richard Pilbrow	Four Baboons Adoring the Sun
1993 47th Tony Awards
	Chris Parry	The Who's Tommy
	Howell Binkley	Kiss of the Spider Woman
	Jules Fisher	Angels in America: Millennium Approaches
	Dennis Parichy	Redwood Curtain
1994 48th Tony Awards
	Rick Fisher	An Inspector Calls
	Beverly Emmons	Passion
	Jules Fisher	Angels in America: Perestroika
	Natasha Katz	Beauty and the Beast
1995 49th Tony Awards
	Andrew Bridge	Sunset Boulevard
	Beverly Emmons	The Heiress
	Mark Henderson	Indiscretions
	Paul Pyant	Arcadia
1996 50th Tony Awards
	Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk
	Christopher Akerlind	Seven Guitars
	Blake Burba	Rent
	Nigel Levings	The King and I
1997 51st Tony Awards
	Ken Billington	Chicago
	Beverly Emmons	Jekyll and Hyde
	Donald Holder	Juan Darién
	Richard Pilbrow	The Life
1998 52nd Tony Awards
	Donald Holder	The Lion King
	Paul Anderson	The Chairs
	Mike Baldassari and Peggy Eisenhauer	Cabaret
	Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	Ragtime
1999 53rd Tony Awards
	Andrew Bridge	Fosse
	Mark Henderson	The Iceman Cometh
	Natasha Katz	Twelfth Night
	Chris Parry	Not About Nightingales

2000s

Year	Award Type	Designer	Production
2000 54th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design	Natasha Katz	Aida
		Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	Marie Christine
			The Wild Party
		Peter Kaczorowski	Kiss Me, Kate
2001 55th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design	Peter Kaczorowski	The Producers
		Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	Jane Eyre
		Paul Gallo	42nd Street
		Kenneth Posner	The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
2002 56th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design	Brian MacDevitt	Into the Woods
		David Hersey	Oklahoma!
		Natasha Katz	Sweet Smell of Success
		Paul Gallo	The Crucible
2003 57th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design	Nigel Levings	La bohème
		Donald Holder	Movin' Out
		Brian MacDevitt	Nine
		Kenneth Posner	Hairspray
2004 58th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design	Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	Assassins
		Brian MacDevitt	Fiddler on the Roof
			Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2
		Kenneth Posner	Wicked
2005 59th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Brian MacDevitt	The Pillowman
		Pat Collins	Doubt: A Parable
		Donald Holder	A Streetcar Named Desire
			Gem of the Ocean
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Christopher Akerlind	The Light in the Piazza
		Mark Henderson	Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
		Kenneth Posner	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Hugh Vanstone		Monty Python's Spamalot
2006 60th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Mark Henderson	The History Boys
		Christopher Akerlind	Awake and Sing!
		Paul Gallo	Three Days of Rain
		Mark Henderson	Faith Healer
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Howell Binkley	Jersey Boys
		Ken Billington and Brian Monahan	The Drowsy Chaperone
		Natasha Katz	Tarzan
Brian MacDevitt		The Color Purple
2007 61st Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Natasha Katz, Brian MacDevitt and Kenneth Posner	The Coast of Utopia
		Paule Constable	Coram Boy
		Brian MacDevitt	Inherit the Wind
		Jason Taylor	Journey's End
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Kevin Adams	Spring Awakening
		Christopher Akerlind	110 in the Shade
		Howard Harrison	Mary Poppins
		Peter Kaczorowski	Grey Gardens
2008 62nd Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Kevin Adams	The 39 Steps
		Howard Harrison	Macbeth
		Donald Holder	Les Liaisons Dangereuses
		Ann G. Wrightson	August: Osage County
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Donald Holder	South Pacific
		Ken Billington	Sunday in the Park with George
		Howell Binkley	In the Heights
		Natasha Katz	The Little Mermaid
2009 63rd Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Brian MacDevitt	Joe Turner's Come and Gone
		David Hersey	Equus
		David Lander	33 Variations
		Hugh Vanstone	Mary Stuart
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Rick Fisher	Billy Elliot the Musical
		Kevin Adams	Hair
			Next to Normal
		Howell Binkley	West Side Story

2010s

Year	Award Type	Designer	Production
2010 64th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Neil Austin	Red
		Neil Austin	Hamlet
		Mark Henderson	ENRON
		Brian MacDevitt	Fences
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Kevin Adams	American Idiot
		Donald Holder	Ragtime
		Nick Richings	La Cage aux Folles
		Robert Wierzel	Fela!
2011 65th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Paule Constable	War Horse
		David Lander	Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
		Kenneth Posner	The Merchant of Venice
		Mimi Jordan Sherin	Jerusalem
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Brian MacDevitt	The Book of Mormon
		Ken Billington	The Scottsboro Boys
		Howell Binkley	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
		Peter Kaczorowski	Anything Goes
2012 66th Tony Awards
	Lighting Design for a Play	Jeff Croiter	Peter and the Starcatcher
		Peter Kaczorowski	The Road to Mecca
		Brian MacDevitt	Death of a Salesman
		Kenneth Posner	Other Desert Cities
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Natasha Katz	Once
		Christopher Akerlind	Porgy and Bess
		Natasha Katz	Follies
		Hugh Vanstone	Ghost the Musical
2013 67th Tony Awards
	Lighting Design for a Play	Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	Lucky Guy
		Donald Holder	Golden Boy
		Jennifer Tipton	The Testament of Mary
		Japhy Weideman	The Nance
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Hugh Vanstone	Matilda the Musical
		Kenneth Posner	Kinky Boots
			Pippin
			Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
2014 68th Tony Awards
	Lighting Design for a Play	Natasha Katz	The Glass Menagerie
		Paule Constable	The Cripple of Inishmaan
		Jane Cox	Machinal
		Japhy Weideman	Of Mice and Men
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Kevin Adams	Hedwig and the Angry Inch
		Christopher Akerlind	Rocky the Musical
		Howell Binkley	After Midnight
		Donald Holder	The Bridges of Madison County
2015 69th Tony Awards
	Lighting Design for a Play	Paule Constable	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
		Paule Constable and David Plater	Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
		Natasha Katz	Skylight
		Japhy Weideman	Airline Highway
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Natasha Katz	An American in Paris
		Donald Holder	The King and I
		Ben Stanton	Fun Home
		Japhy Weideman	The Visit
2016 70th Tony Awards
	Lighting Design for a Play	Natasha Katz	Long Day's Journey into Night
		Justin Townsend	The Humans
		Jan Versweyveld	A View from the Bridge
			The Crucible
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Howell Binkley	Hamilton
		Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	Shuffle Along
		Ben Stanton	Spring Awakening
		Justin Townsend	American Psycho
2017 71st Tony Awards
	Lighting Design for a Play	Christopher Akerlind	Indecent
		Jane Cox	Jitney
		Donald Holder	Oslo
		Jennifer Tipton	A Doll's House, Part 2
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Bradley King	Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
		Howell Binkley	Come from Away
		Natasha Katz	Hello, Dolly!
		Japhy Weideman	Dear Evan Hansen
2018 72nd Tony Awards
	Lighting Design for a Play	Neil Austin	Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
		Paule Constable	Angels in America
		Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	The Iceman Cometh
		Paul Russell	Farinelli and the King
		Ben Stanton	Junk
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Tyler Micoleau	The Band's Visit
		Kevin Adams	SpongeBob SquarePants
		Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher	Once on This Island
		Donald Holder	My Fair Lady
		Brian MacDevitt	Carousel
2019 73rd Tony Awards
	Lighting Design for a Play	Neil Austin	Ink
		Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer	Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
		Peter Mumford	The Ferryman
		Jennifer Tipton	To Kill a Mockingbird
		Jan Versweyveld and Tal Yarden	Network
	Lighting Design for a Musical	Bradley King	Hadestown
		Kevin Adams	The Cher Show
		Howell Binkley	Ain’t Too Proud
		Peter Mumford	King Kong
		Kenneth Posner and Peter Nigrini	Beetlejuice

2020s

Year	Award Type	Designer	Production
2021 74th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Hugh Vanstone	A Christmas Carol
		Jiyoun Chang	Slave Play
		Jon Clark	The Inheritance
		Heather Gilbert	The Sound Inside
		Allen Lee Hughes	A Soldier's Play
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Justin Townsend	Moulin Rouge!
		Bruno Poet	Tina
		Justin Townsend	Jagged Little Pill
2022 75th Tony Awards
	Best Lighting Design for a Play	Jon Clark	The Lehman Trilogy
		Joshua Carr	Hangmen
		Jiyoun Chang	For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
		Jane Cox	Macbeth
		Yi Zhao	The Skin of Our Teeth
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Natasha Katz	MJ the Musical
		Neil Austin	Company
		Tim Deiling	Six
		Donald Holder	Paradise Square
		Bradley King	Flying Over Sunset
		Jen Schriever	A Strange Loop
2023 (76th)	Best Lighting Design for a Play
		Life of Pi	Tim Lutkin
		A Christmas Carol	Ben Stanton
		Death of a Salesman	Jen Schriever
		A Doll's House	Jon Clark
		Fat Ham	Bradley King
		Leopoldstadt	Neil Austin
		Prima Facie	Natasha Chivers
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical	Natasha Katz	Some Like It Hot
			Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
		Howard Hudson	& Juliet
		Lap Chi Chu	Lerner & Loewe's Camelot
		Ken Billington	New York, New York
		Heather Gilbert	Parade
2024 (77th)	Best Lighting Design for a Play
		Jane Cox	Appropriate
		Isabella Byrd	An Enemy of the People
		Natasha Katz	Grey House
		Amith Chandrashaker	Prayer for the French Republic
		Jiyoun Chang	Stereophonic
	Best Lighting Design for a Musical
		Hana S. Kim and Brian MacDevitt	The Outsiders
		Isabella Byrd	Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
		Natasha Katz	Hell's Kitchen
		Brandon Stirling Baker	Illinoise
		David Bengali and Bradley King	Water for Elephants

Award records

Multiple wins

9 Wins

• Jules Fisher

8 Wins

• Natasha Katz

5 Wins

• Brian MacDevitt

4 Wins

• Kevin Adams

3 Wins

• Neil Austin
• Andrew Bridge
• Peggy Eisenhauer
• David Hersey
• Tharon Musser

2 Wins

• Christopher Akerlind
• Howell Binkley
• Paule Constable
• Donald Holder
• Bradley King
• Jennifer Tipton
• Hugh Vanstone

Multiple nominations

24 Nominations

• Jules Fisher

19 Nominations

• Natasha Katz

14 Nominations

• Donald Holder

12 Nominations

• Brian MacDevitt

11 Nominations

• Kenneth Posner

9 Nominations

• Ken Billington
• Howell Binkley
• Peggy Eisenhauer
• Tharon Musser

8 Nominations

• Paul Gallo
• Kevin Adams

7 Nominations

• David Hersey

6 Nominations

• Paule Constable

5 Nominations

• Christopher Akerlind
• Martin Aronstein
• Peter Kaczorowski
• Jennifer Tipton
• Neil Austin
• Hugh Vanstone

4 Nominations

• Neil Peter Jampolis
• Justin Townsend
• Allen Lee Hughes
• Jane Cox

3 Nominations

• Andrew Bridge
• Pat Collins
• Mark Henderson
• Thomas R. Skelton
• Ben Stanton
• Jan Versweyveld
• Jane Cox
• Bradley King

2 Nominations

• John Bury
• Ian Calderon
• Howard Harrison
• Peter Mumford
• Richard Nelson
• Jiyoun Chang
• Jon Clark

See also

• Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Musical
• Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Play
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
• Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design
• List of Tony Award-nominated productions

External links

• Tony Awards Official site
• Tony Awards at Internet Broadway database Listing
• Tony Awards at broadwayworld.com