Why Tony Awards?

The Tony Awards are a ceremony that is organized annually in celebration of great achievement in theatre. Hosted in New York City the awards are given out by The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League for performances and productions made for Broadway. But why Tony Awards?

The Tony Awards have a long standing history that has achieved 65 shows in 2011 and it all started with Antoinette Perry. She was an incredibly talented and hardworking actress from Denver who later turner to be one of the first women in theater production and direction. In honor of the great achievement of going where no other woman of her time ventures, Perry has been remembered in the form of the most prestigious award in theater.

Antoinette Perry’s story starts at the age of three, when she first showed talent for performing and in 1935 she recalled wanting to be an actress from the very beginning. The beautiful actress joined a touring company belonging to George Wessells when she was 15. Taking in all she could see, she learned by watching and ventured out to Chicago in pursuit of her very first role on stage in 1905.

Her first role opposite actor David Warfield led her to New York and to form a friendship with Warfield and meet future husband, Frank Frueauff. She married and became a widow but never gave up acting completely and was only forced to do so years later after her face became paralyzed due to a stroke. Following a severe depression she started reading and learning and made a decision to direct her own plays.

Many years followed and many trials for Antoinette Perry, however her creativity and talent never left her as she put everything into her passion, making her a great example and one of the pillars of theatre today. It is in her honor that the Tony Awards were named.