40th Tony Awards


The 40th Annual Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 1, 1986, at the Minskoff Theatre and was broadcast by CBS television.

Eligibility

Shows that opened on Broadway during the 1985–1986 season before May 1, 1986 are eligible.
;Original plays
;Original musicals
;Play revivals
;Musical revivals
The opening number was "Wanna Sing A Show Tune". The special number was "Forty Years of Broadway Show Music", which included songs from musicals including Annie, Big River, Finian's Rainbow, Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux Folles, and Sweet Charity. The finale was the company singing "Give My Regards to Broadway".
There were also vignettes from past Tony Award-winning plays.
The presenters and performers were: Debbie Allen, Susan Anton, Bea Arthur, Nell Carter, Agnes de Mille, José Ferrer, Sandy Duncan, Phyllis Frelich, Helen Hayes, Michael Kidd, Cleo Laine, Jack Lemmon, Hal Linden, John V. Lindsay, Dorothy Loudon, Karen Morrow, Bernadette Peters, Stefanie Powers, Juliet Prowse, Tony Randall, Lee Roy Reams, Ann Reinking, Lee Remick, Alfonso Ribeiro, Chita Rivera, John Rubinstein, Rex Smith, Marlo Thomas, Leslie Uggams, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston, Ben Vereen, David Wayne, Tom Wopat.
Musicals that performed were Big Deal ; Song & Dance ; Tango Argentino ; and The Mystery of [Edwin Drood (musical)|The Mystery of Edwin Drood].

Winners and nominees

''Winners are in bold''

Special award

These productions had multiple nominations:
The following productions received multiple awards.