Tony Awards 1981
The 35th Tony Awards · Held June 7, 1981 · 15 categories · everything in 1981
Best Play
- Winner Amadeus · Peter Shaffer
- Nominee A Lesson from Aloes · Athol Fugard
- Nominee A Life · Hugh Leonard
- Nominee Fifth of July · Lanford Wilson
Best Musical
- Winner 42nd Street
- Nominee Sophisticated Ladies
- Nominee Tintypes
- Nominee Woman of the Year
Best Actor in a Play
- Winner Ian McKellen · Amadeus
- Nominee Roy Dotrice · A Life
- Nominee Tim Curry · Amadeus
- Nominee Jack Weston
Best Actress in a Play
- Winner Jane Lapotaire
- Nominee Elizabeth Taylor
- Nominee Eva Le Gallienne
- Nominee Glenda Jackson
Best Actor in a Musical
- Winner Kevin Kline
- Nominee Martin Vidnovic · Brigadoon
- Nominee George Rose
- Nominee Gregory Hines · Sophisticated Ladies
Best Actress in a Musical
- Winner Lauren Bacall · Woman of the Year
- Nominee Meg Bussert · Brigadoon
- Nominee Chita Rivera
- Nominee Linda Ronstadt
Best Book of a Musical
- Winner Woman of the Year · Peter Stone
- Nominee 42nd Street · Michael Stewart, Mark Bramble
- Nominee The Moony Shapiro Songbook · Monty Norman, Julian More
- Nominee Tintypes
Best Choreography
- Winner 42nd Street · Gower Champion
- Nominee Can-Can · Roland Petit
- Nominee Sophisticated Ladies · Henry LeTang, Donald McKayle, Michael Smuin
- Nominee The Pirates of Penzance · Graciela Daniele
Best Direction of a Musical
- Winner The Pirates of Penzance · Wilford Leach
- Nominee 42nd Street · Gower Champion
- Nominee Sophisticated Ladies · Michael Smuin
- Nominee Woman of the Year · Robert Moore
Best Direction of a Play
- Winner Amadeus · Peter Hall
- Nominee A Life · Peter Coe
- Nominee Fifth of July · Marshall W. Mason
- Nominee The Little Foxes · Austin Pendleton
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
- Winner Hinton Battle · Sophisticated Ladies
- Nominee Lee Roy Reams · 42nd Street
- Nominee Paxton Whitehead · Camelot
- Nominee Tony Azito · The Pirates of Penzance
Best Featured Actor in a Play
- Winner Brian Backer
- Nominee A Life
- Nominee Adam Redfield
- Nominee Shepperd Strudwick
- Nominee Tom Aldredge
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
- Winner Marilyn Cooper · Woman of the Year
- Nominee Wanda Richert · 42nd Street
- Nominee Phyllis Hyman · Sophisticated Ladies
- Nominee Lynne Thigpen · Tintypes
Best Featured Actress in a Play
- Winner Swoosie Kurtz · Fifth of July
- Nominee Jessica Tandy
- Nominee Maureen Stapleton
- Nominee Zoë Wanamaker
Best Original Score
- Winner Woman of the Year · Fred Ebb, John Kander
- Nominee Charlie and Algernon · Charles Strouse
- Nominee Copperfield · Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn
- Nominee Shakespeare's Cabaret · Lance Mulcahy