34th Tony Awards

The 34th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS television on June 8, 1980, from the Mark Hellinger Theatre. The hosts were Mary Tyler Moore and Jason Robards. The theme was "understudies"; each of the hosts and presenters had been understudies and offered anecdotes of that beginning.

34th Tony Awards
Date	June 8, 1980
Location	Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York City, New York
Hosted by	Mary Tyler Moore and Jason Robards
Television/radio coverage
Network	CBS
← 33rd · Tony Awards · 35th →

The ceremony

Presenters: Eve Arden, Carol Channing, Hume Cronyn, Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, James Earl Jones, Elia Kazan, Richard Kiley, James MacArthur, Nancy Marchand, Dudley Moore, Anthony Perkins, Gilda Radner, Lynn Redgrave, Tony Roberts, Jessica Tandy, Cicely Tyson, Dick Van Dyke.

Musicals represented:

• A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine ("Doin' the Production Code" - Company)
• Barnum ("Come Follow the Band"/"There is a Sucker Born Ev'ry Minute" - Jim Dale and Company)
• Evita ("A New Argentina" - Patti LuPone and Company)
• Oklahoma! ("People Will Say We're In Love" - Joel Higgins and Christine Andreas)
• Peter Pan ("I'm Flying" - Sandy Duncan and children)
• Sugar Babies ("A McHugh Medley" - Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney)
• West Side Story ("America" - Debbie Allen and Company)

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold

Best Play	Best Musical
Children of a Lesser God – Mark Medoff Bent – Martin Sherman Home – Samm-Art Williams Talley's Folly – Lanford Wilson	Evita A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine Barnum Sugar Babies
Best Revival	Best Book of a Musical
Morning's at Seven Major Barbara Peter Pan West Side Story	Tim Rice – Evita Dick Vosburgh – A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine Mark Bramble – Barnum Ralph G. Allen and Harry Rigby – Sugar Babies
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
John Rubinstein – Children of a Lesser God as James Leeds Charles Brown – Home as Cephus Miles Gerald Hiken – Strider as Strider Judd Hirsch – Talley's Folly as Matt Friedman	Phyllis Frelich – Children of a Lesser God as Sarah Norman Blythe Danner – Betrayal as Emma Maggie Smith – Night and Day as Ruth Carson Anne Twomey – Nuts as Claudia Draper
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Jim Dale – Barnum as P. T. Barnum Gregory Hines – Comin' Uptown as Scrooge Mickey Rooney – Sugar Babies as Mickey Giorgio Tozzi – The Most Happy Fella as Tony	Patti LuPone – Evita as Eva Perón Christine Andreas – Oklahoma! as Laurey Williams Sandy Duncan – Peter Pan as Peter Pan Ann Miller – Sugar Babies as Ann
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
David Rounds – Morning's at Seven as Homer Bolton David Dukes – Bent as Horst George Hearn – Watch on the Rhine as Kurt Muller Earle Hyman – The Lady from Dubuque as Oscar Joseph Maher – Night and Day as Geoffrey Carson	Dinah Manoff – I Ought to Be in Pictures as Libby Tucker Maureen Anderman – The Lady from Dubuque as Carol Pamela Burrell – Strider as Various Characters Lois de Banzie – Morning's at Seven as Myrtle Brown
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Mandy Patinkin – Evita as Che David Garrison – A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine as Serge B. Samovar Harry Groener – Oklahoma! as Will Parker Bob Gunton – Evita as Juan Perón	Priscilla Lopez – A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine as Gino/Usherette Debbie Allen – West Side Story as Anita Glenn Close – Barnum as Charity 'Chairy' Barnum Josie de Guzman – West Side Story as Maria
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre	Best Choreography
Evita – Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics) A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine – Frank Lazarus (music) and Dick Vosburgh (lyrics) Barnum – Cy Coleman (music) and Michael Stewart (lyrics) Sugar Babies – Arthur Malvin (music and lyrics)	Tommy Tune and Thommie Walsh – A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine Ernest Flatt – Sugar Babies Larry Fuller – Evita Joe Layton – Barnum
Best Direction of a Play	Best Direction of a Musical
Vivian Matalon – Morning's at Seven Gordon Davidson – Children of a Lesser God Peter Hall – Betrayal Marshall W. Mason – Talley's Folly	Harold Prince – Evita Ernest Flatt and Rudy Tronto – Sugar Babies Joe Layton – Barnum Tommy Tune – A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
Best Scenic Design	Best Costume Design
John Lee Beatty – Talley's Folly David Mitchell – Barnum Timothy O'Brien and Tazeena Firth – Evita Tony Walton – A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine	Theoni V. Aldredge – Barnum Pierre Balmain – Happy New Year Timothy O'Brien and Tazeena Firth – Evita Raoul Pene Du Bois – Sugar Babies
Best Lighting Design
David Hersey – Evita Beverly Emmons – A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine Craig Miller – Barnum Dennis Parichy – Talley's Folly

Special awards

• Lawrence Langner Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the American Theatre — Helen Hayes
• Regional Theatre Award Winner - Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky
• Mary Tyler Moore, Whose Life Is It Anyway?.

Multiple nominations and awards

These productions had multiple nominations: 11 nominations: Evita 10 nominations: Barnum 9 nominations: A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine 8 nominations: Sugar Babies 5 nominations: Talley's Folly 4 nominations: Children of a Lesser God and Morning's at Seven 3 nominations: West Side Story 2 nominations: Bent, Betrayal, Home, The Lady from Dubuque, Night and Day, Oklahoma!, Peter Pan and Strider

The following productions received multiple awards. 7 wins: Evita 3 wins: Barnum, Children of a Lesser God and Morning's at Seven 2 wins: A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine

See also

• Drama Desk Awards
• 1980 Laurence Olivier Awards – equivalent awards for West End theatre productions
• Obie Award
• New York Drama Critics' Circle
• Theatre World Award
• Lucille Lortel Awards

External links