The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Midtown Manhattan.
The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for regional theatre. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given, as well, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award.The awards were founded by theatre producer and director Brock Pemberton and are named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry, an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing. The trophy consists of a medallion, with faces portraying an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks, mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel.
The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document "Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards", which applies for that season only. The Tony Awards are considered the highest U.S. theatre honor, the New York theatre industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for film, the Emmy Awards for television, and the Grammy Awards for music. It also forms the fourth spoke in the EGOT, that is, someone who has won all four major annual American entertainment awards. The Tony Awards are also considered the equivalent of the Laurence Olivier Awards in the United Kingdom and the Molière Awards in France.
The 74th annual ceremony was held on September 26, 2021, at Winter Garden Theatre in New York City and was broadcast live on CBS, as well as the Paramount+ streaming service. Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. served as the hosts.