The 60th Annual Tony Awards were held at Radio City Music Hall on June 11, 2006. The award ceremony was broadcast live on the CBS television network in the United States. The 2006 Tony Awards did not feature a host, but instead over 60 stars presented awards at the ceremony. The biggest winner of the night was the Royal National Theatre production The History Boys by British playwright Alan Bennett winning six Tonys out of seven nominations, including Best Play, Best Direction, Best Leading Actor and Best Featured Actress. Natasha Richardson, Phylicia Rashad and Liev Schreiber announced the nominations on May 16, 2006. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers (now called The Broadway League) at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and performances plus several non-competitive Special Awards (such as the Regional Theatre Award).

Eligibility

Shows that opened on Broadway during the 2005–06 season before May 11, 2006 are eligible.

The ceremony

Harry Connick Jr. opened the show singing three popular songs from three Broadway musicals. Connick, (who was heavily medicated to be able to perform, because of a ruptured disc in his spine, ), was also a nominee and a performer with the cast of The Pajama Game. All of the sixty presenters and co-hosts joined the stage during the third song. Connick performed "Tonight" (from West Side Story), "Give My Regards to Broadway" (from Little Johnny Jones), and "There's No Business Like Show Business" (from Annie Get Your Gun).

Performances

New Musicals

Revivals

Presenters

Source: tonyawards.com

New category

Beginning with the 2006 awards, an additional category was added on a trial basis for the 2005–2006, 2006–2007 and 2007–2008 seasons: Best Recreation of a Leading Role by an Actor/Actress. This category was intended to honor actors and actresses who were cast as replacements and joined a long-running show after its official opening, and would not have otherwise had the chance to be recognized for a potentially Tony-worthy performance. This award may or may not have been given in any particular year. Shows were to submit replacements they deemed worthy of consideration and a twenty-four-member committee, The Tony Awards Administration Committee, were to attend the shows and evaluate the performances. No award was given in 2006, because neither of the two performers nominated, Jonathan Pryce and Harvey Fierstein, received the necessary sixteen votes for a win. Following the 2006 Tony Awards, the Administration Committee voted unanimously to abandon the category.

Winners and nominees

Sources:Playbill New York Times Winners are in bold

Special awards

Multiple nominations and awards

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