The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible. This award was originally called the Tony Award for Best Author, until musicals were split off from dramas.

Winners and nominees

1940s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1949<br/><small>(3rd)</small>

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Kiss Me, Kate

| Bella and Samuel Spewack

|}

1950s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1950<br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| South Pacific

| Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan

|}

1960s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="3" align="center"| 1962<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

| Abe Burrows, Willie Gilbert and Jack Weinstock

|-

| Carnival!

| Helen Deutsch and Michael Stewart

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1963<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

| Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove

|-

| Little Me

| Neil Simon

|-

| Oliver!

| Lionel Bart

|-

| Stop the World – I Want to Get Off

| Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1964<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Hello, Dolly!

| Michael Stewart

|-

| The Girl Who Came to Supper

| Noël Coward and Harry Kurnitz

|-

| High Spirits

| Timothy Gray and Hugh Martin

|-

| She Loves Me

| Joe Masteroff

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1965<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Fiddler on the Roof

| Joseph Stein

|-

| Baker Street

| Jerome Coopersmith

|-

| Ben Franklin in Paris

| Sidney Michaels

|-

| Half a Sixpence

| Beverley Cross

|-

|}

1970s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="4" align="center"| 1971<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Company

| George Furth

|-

| The Me Nobody Knows

| Robert H. Livingston and Herb Schapiro

|-

| The Rothschilds

| Sherman Yellen

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1972<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Two Gentlemen of Verona

| John Guare and Mel Shapiro

|-

| Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death

| Melvin Van Peebles

|-

| Follies

| James Goldman

|-

| Grease

| Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1973<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| A Little Night Music

| Hugh Wheeler

|-

| Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope

| Micki Grant

|-

| Don't Play Us Cheap

| Melvin Van Peebles

|-

| Pippin

| Roger O. Hirson

|-

| rowspan="4" align="center"| 1974<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Candide

| Hugh Wheeler

|-

| Raisin

|Robert Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg

|-

| Seesaw

| Michael Bennett

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1975<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Shenandoah

| James Lee Barrett, Philip Rose and Peter Udell

|-

| The Lieutenant

| Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman and Chuck Strand

|-

| Mack and Mabel

| Michael Stewart

|-

| The Wiz

| William F. Brown

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1976<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| A Chorus Line

| Nicholas Dante and James Kirkwood Jr.

|-

| Chicago

| Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse

|-

| Pacific Overtures

| John Weidman

|-

| The Robber Bridegroom

| Alfred Uhry

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1977<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Annie

| Thomas Meehan

|-

| Happy End

| Michael Feingold and Elisabeth Hauptmann

|-

| I Love My Wife

| Michael Stewart

|-

| Your Arms Too Short to Box with God

| Vinnette Justine Carroll

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1978<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| On the Twentieth Century

| Betty Comden and Adolph Green

|-

| A History of the American Film

| Christopher Durang

|-

| Runaways

| Elizabeth Swados

|-

| Working

| Stephen Schwartz

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1979<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

| Hugh Wheeler

|-

| Ballroom

| Jerome Kass

|-

| The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

| Larry L. King and Peter Masterson

|-

| They're Playing Our Song

| Neil Simon

|}

1980s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1980<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Evita

| Tim Rice

|-

| Barnum

| Mark Bramble

|-

| A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine

| Dick Vosburgh

|-

| Sugar Babies

| Ralph G. Allen and Harry Rigby

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1981<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Woman of the Year

| Peter Stone

|-

| 42nd Street

| Mark Bramble and Michael Stewart

|-

| Tintypes

| Mary Kyte

|-

| The Moony Shapiro Songbook

| Julian More and Monty Norman

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1982<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Dreamgirls

| Tom Eyen

|-

| The First

| Martin Charnin and Joel Siegel

|-

| Nine

| Arthur Kopit

|-

| Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

| Tim Rice

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1983<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Cats

| T. S. Eliot

|-

| A Doll's Life

| Betty Comden and Adolph Green

|-

| Merlin

| Richard Levinson and William Link

|-

| My One and Only

| Timothy S. Mayer and Peter Stone

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1984<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| La Cage aux Folles

| Harvey Fierstein

|-

| Baby

| Sybille Pearson

|-

| Sunday in the Park with George

| James Lapine

|-

| The Tap Dance Kid

| Charles Blackwell

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1985<br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Big River

| William Hauptman

|-

| Grind

| Fay Kanin

|-

| Harrigan 'N Hart

| Michael Stewart

|-

| Quilters

| Barbara Damashek and Molly Newman

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1986<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| The Mystery of Edwin Drood

| Rupert Holmes

|-

| Big Deal

| Bob Fosse

|-

| Singin' in the Rain

| Betty Comden and Adolph Green

|-

| Wind in the Willows

| Jane Iredale

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1987<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Les Misérables

| Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg

|-

| Me and My Girl

| Stephen Fry, Douglas Furber, Mike Ockrent and L. Arthur Rose

|-

| Rags

| Joseph Stein

|-

| Smile

| Howard Ashman

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1988<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Into the Woods

| James Lapine

|-

| The Gospel at Colonus

| Lee Breuer

|-

| The Phantom of the Opera

| Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber

|-

| Romance/Romance

| Barry Harman

|-

|}

1990s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1990<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| City of Angels

| Larry Gelbart

|-

| Aspects of Love

| Andrew Lloyd Webber

|-

| Grand Hotel

| Luther Davis

|-

| Meet Me in St. Louis

| Hugh Wheeler

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1991<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| The Secret Garden

| Marsha Norman

|-

| Miss Saigon

| Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg

|-

| Once on This Island

| Lynn Ahrens

|-

| The Will Rogers Follies

| Peter Stone

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1992<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Falsettos

| William Finn and James Lapine

|-

| Crazy for You

| Ken Ludwig

|-

| Five Guys Named Moe

| Clarke Peters

|-

| Jelly's Last Jam

| George C. Wolfe

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1993<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Kiss of the Spider Woman

| Terrence McNally

|-

| Anna Karenina

| Peter Kellogg

|-

| Blood Brothers

| Willy Russell

|-

| The Who's Tommy

| Des McAnuff and Pete Townshend

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1994<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Passion

| James Lapine

|-

| Beauty and the Beast

| Linda Woolverton

|-

| Cyrano: The Musical

| Koen van Dijk

|-

| A Grand Night for Singing

| Walter Bobbie

|-

| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1995<br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Sunset Boulevard

| Don Black and Christopher Hampton

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1996<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Rent

| Jonathan Larson

|-

| Big

| John Weidman

|-

| Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk

| Reg E. Gaines

|-

| Chronicle of a Death Foretold

| Graciela Daniele, Michael John LaChiusa and Jim Lewis

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1997<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Titanic

| Peter Stone

|-

| Jekyll & Hyde

| Leslie Bricusse

|-

| The Life

| Cy Coleman, Ira Gasman and David Newman

|-

| Steel Pier

| David Thompson

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1998<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Ragtime

| Terrence McNally

|-

| The Lion King

| Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi

|-

| The Scarlet Pimpernel

| Nan Knighton

|-

| Side Show

| Bill Russell

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 1999<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Parade

| Alfred Uhry

|-

| Footloose

| Walter Bobbie and Dean Pitchford

|-

| It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues

| Charles Bevel, Lita Gaithers, Randal Myler, Ron Taylor and Dan Wheetman

|-

| Marlene

| Pam Gems

|-

|}

2000s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2000<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| James Joyce's The Dead

| Richard Nelson

|-

| Contact

| John Weidman

|-

| Marie Christine

| Michael John LaChiusa

|-

| The Wild Party

| Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2001<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| The Producers

| Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan

|-

| A Class Act

| Linda Kline and Lonny Price

|-

| The Full Monty

| Terrence McNally

|-

| Jane Eyre

| John Caird

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2002<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Urinetown

| Greg Kotis

|-

| Mamma Mia!

| Catherine Johnson

|-

| Sweet Smell of Success

| John Guare

|-

| Thoroughly Modern Millie

| Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2003<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Hairspray

| Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell

|-

| Amour

| Jeremy Sams and Didier Van Cauwelaert

|-

| Flower Drum Song

| David Henry Hwang

|-

| A Year with Frog and Toad

| Willie Reale

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2004<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Avenue Q

| Jeff Whitty

|-

| The Boy from Oz

| Nick Enright and Martin Sherman

|-

| Caroline, or Change

| Tony Kushner

|-

| Wicked

| Winnie Holzman

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2005<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

| Rachel Sheinkin

|-

| Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

| Jeffrey Lane

|-

| The Light in the Piazza

| Craig Lucas

|-

| Monty Python's Spamalot

| Eric Idle

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2006<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| The Drowsy Chaperone

| Bob Martin and Don McKellar

|-

| The Color Purple

| Marsha Norman

|-

| Jersey Boys

| Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice

|-

| The Wedding Singer

| Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2007<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Spring Awakening

| Steven Sater

|-

| Curtains

| Rupert Holmes and Peter Stone

|-

| Grey Gardens

| Doug Wright

|-

| Legally Blonde The Musical

| Heather Hach

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2008<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Passing Strange

| Stew

|-

| Cry-Baby

| Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan

|-

| In the Heights

| Quiara Alegría Hudes

|-

| Xanadu

| Douglas Carter Beane

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2009<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Billy Elliot the Musical

| Lee Hall

|-

| Next to Normal

| Brian Yorkey

|-

| Shrek the Musical

| David Lindsay-Abaire

|-

| [title of show]

| Hunter Bell

|-

|}

2010s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2010<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Memphis

| Joe DiPietro

|-

| Everyday Rapture

| Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott

|-

| Fela!

| Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis

|-

| Million Dollar Quartet

| Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2011<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| The Book of Mormon

| Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone

|-

| Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

| Alex Timbers

|-

| The Scottsboro Boys

| David Thompson

|-

| Sister Act

| Douglas Carter Beane, Bill and Cheri Steinkellner

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2012<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Once

| Enda Walsh

|-

| Lysistrata Jones

| Douglas Carter Beane

|-

| Newsies

| Harvey Fierstein

|-

| Nice Work If You Can Get It

| Joe DiPietro

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2013<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Matilda the Musical

| Dennis Kelly

|-

| A Christmas Story: The Musical

| Joseph Robinette

|-

| Kinky Boots

| Harvey Fierstein

|-

| Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

| Douglas Carter Beane

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2014<br /><br />

|- style="background:#B0C4DE"

| A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

| Robert L. Freedman

|-

| Aladdin

| Chad Beguelin

|-

| Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

| Douglas McGrath

|-

| Bullets Over Broadway

| Woody Allen

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2015<br /><br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Fun Home

| Lisa Kron

|-

| An American in Paris

| Craig Lucas

|-

| Something Rotten!

| Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell

|-

| The Visit

| Terrence McNally

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2016<br /><br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Hamilton

| Lin-Manuel Miranda

|-

| Bright Star

| Steve Martin

|-

| School of Rock

| Julian Fellowes

|-

| Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed

| George C. Wolfe

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2017<br /><br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Dear Evan Hansen

| Steven Levenson

|-

| Come from Away

| David Hein and Irene Sankoff

|-

| Groundhog Day

| Danny Rubin

|-

| Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

| Dave Malloy

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"| 2018<br /><br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

| The Band's Visit

| Itamar Moses

|-

| Frozen

| Jennifer Lee

|-

| Mean Girls

| Tina Fey

|-

| SpongeBob SquarePants

| Kyle Jarrow

|-

| rowspan="6" align="center"|2019<br /><br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Tootsie

| Robert Horn

|-

| Ain’t Too Proud

| Dominique Morisseau

|-

| 'Beetlejuice'

| Scott Brown and Anthony King

|-

| Hadestown

| Anaïs Mitchell

|-

| The Prom

| Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin

|}

2020s

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|- style="background:#bebebe;"

! style="width:5%;"| Year

! style="width:45%;"| Production

! style="width:50%;"| Author

|-

| rowspan="4" align="center"|2020<br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Jagged Little Pill

| Diablo Cody

|-

| Moulin Rouge! The Musical

| John Logan

|-

| Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

| Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins

|-

| rowspan="6" align="center"| 2022<br /><br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

| A Strange Loop

| Michael R. Jackson

|-

|Girl from the North Country

| Conor McPherson

|-

| MJ

| Lynn Nottage

|-

| Mr. Saturday Night

| Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel

|-

| Paradise Square

| Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas and Larry Kirwan

|-

| rowspan="6" align="center"| 2023<br /><br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

|Kimberly Akimbo

| David Lindsay-Abaire

|-

| & Juliet

| David West Read

|-

| New York, New York

| David Thompson and Sharon Washington

|-

| Shucked

| Robert Horn

|-

| Some Like It Hot

| Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin

|-

| rowspan="6" align="center"| 2024<br /><br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

|Suffs

|Shaina Taub

|-

|Hell's Kitchen

|Kristoffer Diaz

|-

| The Notebook

| Bekah Brunstetter

|-

| The Outsiders

| Justin Levine and Adam Rapp

|-

|Water for Elephants

| Rick Elice

|-

| rowspan="6" align="center"| 2025<br />

|-style="background:#B0C4DE"

| Maybe Happy Ending

| Will Aronson and Hue Park

|-

| Buena Vista Social Club

| Marco Ramirez

|-

| Dead Outlaw

| Itamar Moses

|-

| Death Becomes Her

| Marco Pennette

|-

|Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical

|David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts

|-

| rowspan="5" align="center"|2026<br /><br />

|The Lost Boys

| David Hornsby and Chris Hoch

|-

| Schmigadoon!

| Cinco Paul

|-

|Titanique

| Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue

|-

|Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

| Jim Barne and Kit Buchan

|-

|}

Award records

;3 Wins

  • Hugh Wheeler (2 consecutive)
  • Thomas Meehan
  • James Lapine

;2 Wins

  • Terrence McNally
  • Larry Gelbart
  • Peter Stone

Nomination records

;5 Nominations

  • Michael Stewart
  • Peter Stone

;4 Nominations

  • Douglas Carter Beane
  • James Lapine
  • Terrence McNally
  • Hugh Wheeler
  • Thomas Meehan

;3 Nominations

  • Chad Beguelin
  • Harvey Fierstein
  • Michael John LaChiusa
  • David Thompson
  • George C. Wolfe
  • Betty Comden
  • Adolph Green
  • Craig Lucas
  • John Weidman

;2 Nominations

  • Walter Bobbie
  • Alain Boublil
  • Mark Bramble
  • Leslie Bricusse
  • Alfred Uhry
  • Joe DiPietro
  • Rick Elice
  • Bob Fosse
  • Larry Gelbart
  • John Guare
  • Rupert Holmes
  • Robert Horn
  • Jim Lewis
  • David Lindsay-Abaire
  • Bob Martin
  • Itamar Moses
  • Marsha Norman
  • Tim Rice
  • Dick Scanlan
  • Claude-Michel Schönberg
  • Neil Simon
  • Joseph Stein
  • Melvin Van Peebles
  • Andrew Lloyd Webber
  • Mark O'Donnell

See also

  • Tony Award for Best Original Score
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical
  • Laurence Olivier Award for Best Original Score or New Orchestrations
  • List of Tony Award-nominated productions

References

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