The 2nd Tony Awards were held on March 28, 1948, at the

Waldorf-Astoria The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Street (Manhattan), 50th Streets, is a 47-story ...

Grand Ballroom in New York City, and broadcast on radio station WOR and the

Mutual Network The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

. The Masters of Ceremonies were

Harry Hershfield Harry Hershfield (October 13, 1885 – December 15, 1974) was an American cartoonist, humor writer and radio personality. He was known as "the Jewish Will Rogers". Hershfield also was a columnist for the ''New York Daily Mirror''. His books ...

Bert Lytell Bertram Mortimer Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films. Background Born in New York ...

, and

Hiram Sherman Hiram Sherman (February 11, 1908 – April 11, 1989) was an American actor. Biography Hiram Sherman was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Clifford Leon Sherman, worked in the art department of ''The Boston Globe''. He made his Bro ...

. The

Antoinette Perry Mary Antoinette "Tony" Perry (June 27, 1888June 28, 1946) was an American actress, producer, director and administrator, known for her work in theatre, she was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing and is the namesake of the To ...

Awards for Excellence in Theatre, or more commonly, the

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

, recognize achievement in live

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

productions and performances, plus several non-competitive Special Awards (such as the Regional Theatre Award). They are presented by the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

and the

League of American Theatres and Producers The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York City. Its members include theatre ow ...

at an annual ceremony in New York City.

Ceremony

The award for the women was a gold bracelet, with a disc inscribed with the actress' initials and the name of the prize, and the men received a gold bill clip, similarly inscribed. Performers and performances were: ''

High Button Shoes ''High Button Shoes'' is a 1947 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel ''The Sisters Liked Them Handsome'' by Stephen Longst ...

'' (

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (July 19, 1926 – November 24, 2024) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She received three Daytime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Donaldson Award, and a Drama Desk Award. Gallagher's work on the New York stages spa ...

, and

Donald Saddler Donald Edward Saddler (January 24, 1918 – November 1, 2014) was an American choreographer, dancer, and theatre director. Biography Born in Van Nuys, California, Saddler studied dance at an early age to regain his strength after a bout of scarl ...

), '' Make Mine Manhattan'' ( Kyle MacDonnell and

Joshua Shelley Joshua Shelley (born Joshua Kurzweil; January 27, 1920 – February 16, 1990) was one of the actors blacklisted by movie studios as a result of the House Un-American Activities Committee's (HUAC) investigation of the Communist Party in Hollywood ...

), ''Look Ma I'm Dancin'!'' ( Virginia Gorski and Don Liberto), Forest Bonshire,

Jack Carter Jack Carter may refer to: * Jack Carter (stage actor) (c. 1902–1967), American actor * Jack Carter (cricketer) (1907–1995), Australian cricketer * Jack Carter (footballer) (1910–1992), English footballer * Jack Carter (comedian) (1922–2015) ...

, Stan Fisher,

Lisa Kirk Lisa Kirk (born Elsie Kirk; February 25, 1925 – November 11, 1990) was an American actress and singer noted for her comic talents and rich contralto (her voice was called a husky alto). Career Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania as Elsie Kir ...

, Kathryn Lee, Jack McCauley,

Lucy Monroe Lucy Monroe (October 23, 1906 – October 13, 1987) was an American operatic soprano and dancer. She was noted for her performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States, which she performed for Presidents and at ...

Ferruccio Tagliavini Ferruccio Tagliavini (; 14 August 191329 January 1995) was an Italian operatic lyric tenor mainly active in the 1940s and 1950s. Tagliavini was hailed as the heir apparent to Tito Schipa and Beniamino Gigli in the lyric-opera repertory due to t ...

and

Pia Tassinari Pia Tassinari (15 September 1903, Modigliana, near Forlì – 15 May 1995, Faenza) was an Italian soprano and later mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertories. Life and career Born Domenica Tassinari, she stu ...

(of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

Maggie Teyte Dame Maggie Teyte (born Margaret Tate; 17 April 188826 May 1976) was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song. Early years Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a suc ...

(City Center Opera).Calta, Louis. ''The New York Times'', March 17, 1948, p. 10

Winners and nominees

Source:Tony AwardsTony Awards History
tonyawards.com ''Note: There were no pre-announced Tony nominees prior to 1956''

Production

Performance

Craft

Special Awards

Multiple nominations and awards

The following productions received multiple awards. *''3 wins:'' '' Mister Roberts'' *''2 wins:'' ''

Angel in the Wings ''Angel in the Wings'' is a 1947 musical revue with songs by Bob Hilliard and Carl Sigman and sketches by Hank Ladd, Ted Luce, Paul Hartman, and Grace Hartman. History In addition to contributing sketches, the Hartmans headlined the original ...

'', '' Command Decision'' and ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry Jam ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony Awards, 02 Tony Awards ceremonies 1948 in theatre 1948 awards 1948 in the United States 1948 in New York City March 1948 in the United States