# Tony Award for Best Original Score

The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical or play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be eligible, a score must be written specifically for the theatre and must be original; compilations of non-theatrical music or compilations of earlier theatrical music are not eligible for consideration.

## History

The award has undergone a number of minor changes. In 1947, 1950, 1951, and 1962, the award went to the composer only. Otherwise, the award has gone to the composer and lyricist for their combined contributions, except for 1971 when the two awards were split (although Stephen Sondheim won both, for Company).
The only tie in this category occurred in 1993, when Fred Ebb & John Kander (Kiss of the Spider Woman) and Pete Townshend (The Who's Tommy) shared the award.
In only ten years have non-musical plays been nominated for Tony Awards in this category: Much Ado About Nothing in 1973; The Good Doctor in 1974; The Song of Jacob Zulu in 1993; Twelfth Night in 1999; Enron and Fences in 2010; Peter and the Starcatcher and One Man, Two Guvnors in 2012; Angels in America in 2018; To Kill a Mockingbird in 2019; A Christmas Carol, The Inheritance, The Rose Tattoo, Slave Play, and The Sound Inside in 2020; and Stereophonic in 2024. Because the Broadway season of 2019-2020 was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only four musicals were eligible for Tony Awards; three were jukebox musicals and the fourth was The Lightning Thief, the only musical of the season with original music. The Lightning Thief was not nominated for any Tony Awards, meaning that every nominee in this category in 2020 was a play rather than a musical.
In 2013, Cyndi Lauper became the first woman to win the award solo for Kinky Boots. In 2015, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori became the first all-woman team to win the award for Fun Home.
Toby Marlow is the youngest person to win the award; he was 27 when he won in tandem with Lucy Moss for Six. Adolph Green is the oldest person to win the award; he was 76 when he won for The Will Rogers Follies. If T. S. Eliot were alive when he won for Cats, he would have been 94. Eliot is one of two people to receive the award posthumously, the other being Jonathan Larson, who won for Rent. He would have been 36.

## Winners and nominees
### 1940s

| Year | Musical | Music | Lyrics |
| 1947 (1st) |
| 1947 (1st) | Street Scene | Kurt Weill | Langston Hughes |
| 1949 (3rd) |
| 1949 (3rd) | Kiss Me, Kate | Cole Porter | Cole Porter |

### 1950s

| Year | Musical | Music | Lyrics |
| 1950 (4th) |
| 1950 (4th) | South Pacific | Richard Rodgers | Oscar Hammerstein II |
| 1951 (5th) |
| 1951 (5th) | Call Me Madam | Irving Berlin | Irving Berlin |

### 1960s

| Year | Musical | Music | Lyrics |
| 1962 (16th) |
| 1962 (16th) | No Strings | Richard Rodgers | Richard Rodgers |
| 1962 (16th) | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | Frank Loesser | Frank Loesser |
| 1962 (16th) | Kwamina | Richard Adler | Richard Adler |
| 1962 (16th) | Milk and Honey | Jerry Herman | Jerry Herman |
| 1963 (17th) |
| 1963 (17th) | Oliver! | Lionel Bart | Lionel Bart |
| 1963 (17th) | Bravo Giovanni | Milton Schafer | Ronny Graham |
| 1963 (17th) | Little Me | Cy Coleman | Carolyn Leigh |
| 1963 (17th) | Stop the World – I Want to Get Off | Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley | Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley |
| 1964 (18th) |
| 1964 (18th) | Hello, Dolly! | Jerry Herman | Jerry Herman |
| 1964 (18th) | Funny Girl | Jule Styne | Bob Merrill |
| 1964 (18th) | High Spirits | Timothy Gray & Hugh Martin | Timothy Gray & Hugh Martin |
| 1964 (18th) | 110 in the Shade | Harvey Schmidt | Tom Jones |
| 1965 (19th) |
| 1965 (19th) | Fiddler on the Roof | Jerry Bock | Sheldon Harnick |
| 1965 (19th) | Do I Hear a Waltz? | Richard Rodgers | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1965 (19th) | Half a Sixpence | David Heneker | David Heneker |
| 1965 (19th) | The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd | Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley | Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley |
| 1966 (20th) |
| 1966 (20th) | Man of La Mancha | Mitch Leigh | Joe Darion |
| 1966 (20th) | Mame | Jerry Herman | Jerry Herman |
| 1966 (20th) | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | Burton Lane | Alan Jay Lerner |
| 1966 (20th) | Sweet Charity | Cy Coleman | Dorothy Fields |
| 1967 (21st) |
| 1967 (21st) | Cabaret | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 1967 (21st) | The Apple Tree | Jerry Bock | Sheldon Harnick |
| 1967 (21st) | I Do! I Do! | Harvey Schmidt | Tom Jones |
| 1967 (21st) | Walking Happy | Jimmy Van Heusen | Sammy Cahn |
| 1968 (22nd) |
| 1968 (22nd) | Hallelujah, Baby! | Jule Styne | Betty Comden & Adolph Green |
| 1968 (22nd) | The Happy Time | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 1968 (22nd) | How Now, Dow Jones | Elmer Bernstein | Carolyn Leigh |
| 1968 (22nd) | Illya Darling | Manos Hatzidakis | Joe Darion |

### 1970s

| Year | Production (Musical or Play) | Music | Lyrics |
| 1971 (25th) |
| 1971 (25th) | Company | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1971 (25th) | The Me Nobody Knows | Gary William Friedman | Will Holt |
| 1971 (25th) | The Rothschilds | Jerry Bock | Sheldon Harnick |
| 1972 (26th) |
| 1972 (26th) | Follies | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1972 (26th) | Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death | Melvin Van Peebles | Melvin Van Peebles |
| 1972 (26th) | Jesus Christ Superstar | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Tim Rice |
| 1972 (26th) | Two Gentlemen of Verona | Galt MacDermot | John Guare |
| 1973 (27th) |
| 1973 (27th) | A Little Night Music | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1973 (27th) | Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope | Micki Grant | Micki Grant |
| 1973 (27th) | Much Ado About Nothing | Peter Link | — |
| 1973 (27th) | Pippin | Stephen Schwartz | Stephen Schwartz |
| 1974 (28th) |
| 1974 (28th) | Gigi | Frederick Loewe | Alan Jay Lerner |
| 1974 (28th) | The Good Doctor | Peter Link | Neil Simon |
| 1974 (28th) | Raisin | Judd Woldin | Robert Brittan |
| 1974 (28th) | Seesaw | Cy Coleman | Dorothy Fields |
| 1975 (29th) |
| 1975 (29th) | The Wiz | Charlie Smalls | Charlie Smalls |
| 1975 (29th) | A Letter for Queen Victoria | Alan Lloyd | Alan Lloyd |
| 1975 (29th) | The Lieutenant | Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman & Chuck Strand | Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman & Chuck Strand |
| 1975 (29th) | Shenandoah | Gary Geld | Peter Udell |
| 1976 (30th) |
| 1976 (30th) | A Chorus Line | Marvin Hamlisch | Edward Kleban |
| 1976 (30th) | Chicago | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 1976 (30th) | Pacific Overtures | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1976 (30th) | Treemonisha | Scott Joplin | Scott Joplin |
| 1977 (31st) |
| 1977 (31st) | Annie | Charles Strouse | Martin Charnin |
| 1977 (31st) | Godspell | Stephen Schwartz | Stephen Schwartz |
| 1977 (31st) | Happy End | Kurt Weill | Bertolt Brecht & Michael Feingold |
| 1977 (31st) | I Love My Wife | Cy Coleman | Michael Stewart |
| 1978 (32nd) |
| 1978 (32nd) | On the Twentieth Century | Cy Coleman | Betty Comden & Adolph Green |
| 1978 (32nd) | The Act | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 1978 (32nd) | Runaways | Elizabeth Swados | Elizabeth Swados |
| 1978 (32nd) | Working | Susan Birkenhead, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Stephen Schwartz & James Taylor | Susan Birkenhead, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Stephen Schwartz & James Taylor |
| 1979 (33rd) |
| 1979 (33rd) | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1979 (33rd) | Carmelina | Burton Lane | Alan Jay Lerner |
| 1979 (33rd) | Eubie! | Eubie Blake | Johnny Brandon, Jim Europe, F. E. Miller, Andy Razafe & Noble Sissle |
| 1979 (33rd) | The Grand Tour | Jerry Herman | Jerry Herman |

### 1980s

| Year | Production (Musical or Play) | Music | Lyrics |
| 1980 (34th) |
| 1980 (34th) | Evita | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Tim Rice |
| 1980 (34th) | A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine | Frank Lazarus | Dick Vosburgh |
| 1980 (34th) | Barnum | Cy Coleman | Michael Stewart |
| 1980 (34th) | Sugar Babies | Artie Malvin | Artie Malvin |
| 1981 (35th) |
| 1981 (35th) | Woman of the Year | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 1981 (35th) | Charlie and Algernon | Charles Strouse | David Rogers |
| 1981 (35th) | Copperfield | Joel Hirschhorn & Al Kasha | Joel Hirschhorn & Al Kasha |
| 1981 (35th) | Shakespeare's Cabaret | Lance Mulcahy | — |
| 1982 (36th) |
| 1982 (36th) | Nine | Maury Yeston | Maury Yeston |
| 1982 (36th) | Dreamgirls | Henry Krieger | Tom Eyen |
| 1982 (36th) | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Tim Rice |
| 1982 (36th) | Merrily We Roll Along | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1983 (37th) |
| 1983 (37th) | Cats | Andrew Lloyd Webber | T. S. Eliot |
| 1983 (37th) | A Doll's Life | Larry Grossman | Betty Comden & Adolph Green |
| 1983 (37th) | Merlin | Elmer Bernstein | Don Black |
| 1983 (37th) | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | Gene de Paul, Joel Hirschhorn & Al Kasha | Hirschhorn, Kasha & Johnny Mercer |
| 1984 (38th) |
| 1984 (38th) | La Cage aux Folles | Jerry Herman | Jerry Herman |
| 1984 (38th) | Baby | David Shire | Richard Maltby Jr. |
| 1984 (38th) | The Rink | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 1984 (38th) | Sunday in the Park with George | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1985 (39th) |
| 1985 (39th) | Big River | Roger Miller | Roger Miller |
| 1985 (39th) | Grind | Larry Grossman | Ellen Fitzhugh |
| 1985 (39th) | Quilters | Barbara Damashek | Barbara Damashek |
| 1986 (40th) |
| 1986 (40th) | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Rupert Holmes | Rupert Holmes |
| 1986 (40th) | The News | Paul Schierhorn | Paul Schierhorn |
| 1986 (40th) | Song and Dance | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Don Black & Richard Maltby Jr. |
| 1986 (40th) | Wind in the Willows | William P. Perry | Roger McGough |
| 1987 (41st) |
| 1987 (41st) | Les Misérables | Claude-Michel Schönberg | Herbert Kretzmer & Alain Boublil |
| 1987 (41st) | Me and My Girl | Noel Gay | Douglas Furber & L. Arthur Rose |
| 1987 (41st) | Rags | Charles Strouse | Stephen Schwartz |
| 1987 (41st) | Starlight Express | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Richard Stilgoe |
| 1988 (42nd) |
| 1988 (42nd) | Into the Woods | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1988 (42nd) | The Phantom of the Opera | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Charles Hart & Richard Stilgoe |
| 1988 (42nd) | Romance/Romance | Keith Herrmann | Barry Harman |
| 1988 (42nd) | Sarafina! | Hugh Masekela & Mbongeni Ngema | Hugh Masekela & Mbongeni Ngema |

### 1990s

| Year | Production (Musical or Play) | Music | Lyrics |
| 1990 (44th) |
| 1990 (44th) | City of Angels | Cy Coleman | David Zippel |
| 1990 (44th) | Aspects of Love | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Don Black & Charles Hart |
| 1990 (44th) | Grand Hotel | Chet Forrest, Bob Wright & Maury Yeston | Chet Forrest, Bob Wright & Maury Yeston |
| 1990 (44th) | Meet Me in St. Louis | Ralph Blane & Hugh Martin | Ralph Blane & Hugh Martin |
| 1991 (45th) |
| 1991 (45th) | The Will Rogers Follies | Cy Coleman | Betty Comden & Adolph Green |
| 1991 (45th) | Miss Saigon | Claude-Michel Schönberg | Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby Jr. |
| 1991 (45th) | Once on This Island | Stephen Flaherty | Lynn Ahrens |
| 1991 (45th) | The Secret Garden | Lucy Simon | Marsha Norman |
| 1992 (46th) |
| 1992 (46th) | Falsettos | William Finn | William Finn |
| 1992 (46th) | Jelly's Last Jam | Luther Henderson & Jelly Roll Morton | Susan Birkenhead |
| 1992 (46th) | Metro | Janusz Stokłosa | Agata, Maryna Miklaszewska & Mary Bracken Phillips |
| 1992 (46th) | Nick & Nora | Charles Strouse | Richard Maltby Jr. |
| 1993 (47th) |
| 1993 (47th) | Kiss of the Spider Woman | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 1993 (47th) | The Who's Tommy | Pete Townshend | Pete Townshend |
| 1993 (47th) | Anna Karenina | Daniel Levine | Peter Kellogg |
| 1993 (47th) | The Song of Jacob Zulu | Ladysmith Black Mambazo | Ladysmith Black Mambazo & Tug Yourgrau |
| 1994 (48th) |
| 1994 (48th) | Passion | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim |
| 1994 (48th) | Beauty and the Beast | Alan Menken | Howard Ashman & Tim Rice |
| 1994 (48th) | Cyrano: The Musical | Ad van Dijk | Sheldon Harnick, Peter Reeves & Koen van Dijk |
| 1995 (49th) |
| 1995 (49th) | Sunset Boulevard | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Don Black & Christopher Hampton |
| 1996 (50th) |
| 1996 (50th) | Rent | Jonathan Larson | Jonathan Larson |
| 1996 (50th) | Big: the musical | David Shire | Richard Maltby Jr. |
| 1996 (50th) | Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk | Ann Duquesnay, Zane Mark & Daryl Waters | Duquesnay, Reg E. Gaines & George C. Wolfe |
| 1996 (50th) | State Fair | Richard Rodgers | Oscar Hammerstein II |
| 1997 (51st) |
| 1997 (51st) | Titanic | Maury Yeston | Maury Yeston |
| 1997 (51st) | Juan Darién | Elliot Goldenthal | Elliot Goldenthal |
| 1997 (51st) | The Life | Cy Coleman | Ira Gasman |
| 1997 (51st) | Steel Pier | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 1998 (52nd) |
| 1998 (52nd) | Ragtime | Stephen Flaherty | Lynn Ahrens |
| 1998 (52nd) | The Capeman | Paul Simon | Simon & Derek Walcott |
| 1998 (52nd) | The Lion King | Elton John, Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin & Hans Zimmer | Tim Rice, M., Mancina, Rifkin & Julie Taymor |
| 1998 (52nd) | Side Show | Henry Krieger | Bill Russell |
| 1999 (53rd) |
| 1999 (53rd) | Parade | Jason Robert Brown | Jason Robert Brown |
| 1999 (53rd) | The Civil War | Frank Wildhorn | Jack Murphy |
| 1999 (53rd) | Footloose | Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, Tom Snow & Jim Steinman | Carmen, Hagar, Loggins, Dean Pitchford & Steinman |
| 1999 (53rd) | Twelfth Night | Jeanine Tesori | — |

### 2000s

| Year | Musical | Music | Lyrics |
| 2000 (54th) |
| 2000 (54th) | Aida | Elton John | Tim Rice |
| 2000 (54th) | James Joyce's The Dead | Shaun Davey | Davey & Richard Nelson |
| 2000 (54th) | Marie Christine | Michael John LaChiusa | Michael John LaChiusa |
| 2000 (54th) | The Wild Party | Michael John LaChiusa | Michael John LaChiusa |
| 2001 (55th) |
| 2001 (55th) | The Producers | Mel Brooks | Mel Brooks |
| 2001 (55th) | A Class Act | Edward Kleban | Edward Kleban |
| 2001 (55th) | The Full Monty | David Yazbek | David Yazbek |
| 2001 (55th) | Jane Eyre | Paul Gordon | John Caird & Gordon |
| 2002 (56th) |
| 2002 (56th) | Urinetown | Mark Hollmann | Hollmann & Greg Kotis |
| 2002 (56th) | Sweet Smell of Success | Marvin Hamlisch | Craig Carnelia |
| 2002 (56th) | Thoroughly Modern Millie | Jeanine Tesori | Dick Scanlan |
| 2002 (56th) | Thou Shalt Not | Harry Connick Jr. | Harry Connick Jr. |
| 2003 (57th) |
| 2003 (57th) | Hairspray | Marc Shaiman | Shaiman & Scott Wittman |
| 2003 (57th) | Amour | Michel Legrand | Jeremy Sams & Didier Van Cauwelaert |
| 2003 (57th) | Urban Cowboy | Danny Arena, Clint Black, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Jason Robert Brown, Roger Brown, Carl L. Byrd, Pevin Byrd-Munoz, Jerry Chesnut, Tommy Conners, Tom Crain, Charlie Daniels, Taz DiGregorio, Ronnie Dunn, Fred Edwards, Skip Ewing, Wayland Holyfield, Bob Lee House, Marcus Hummon, Sara Light, Lauren Lucas, Martie Maguire, Wanda Mallette, Jim Marshall, Bob Morrison, James Hayden Nicholas, Luke Reed, Patti Ryan, Jerry Silverstein & Bob Stillman | Danny Arena, Clint Black, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Jason Robert Brown, Roger Brown, Carl L. Byrd, Pevin Byrd-Munoz, Jerry Chesnut, Tommy Conners, Tom Crain, Charlie Daniels, Taz DiGregorio, Ronnie Dunn, Fred Edwards, Skip Ewing, Wayland Holyfield, Bob Lee House, Marcus Hummon, Sara Light, Lauren Lucas, Martie Maguire, Wanda Mallette, Jim Marshall, Bob Morrison, James Hayden Nicholas, Luke Reed, Patti Ryan, Jerry Silverstein & Bob Stillman |
| 2003 (57th) | A Year with Frog and Toad | Robert Reale | Willie Reale |
| 2004 (58th) |
| 2004 (58th) | Avenue Q | Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx | Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx |
| 2004 (58th) | Caroline, or Change | Jeanine Tesori | Tony Kushner |
| 2004 (58th) | Taboo | Boy George | Boy George |
| 2004 (58th) | Wicked | Stephen Schwartz | Stephen Schwartz |
| 2005 (59th) |
| 2005 (59th) | The Light in the Piazza | Adam Guettel | Adam Guettel |
| 2005 (59th) | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | David Yazbek | David Yazbek |
| 2005 (59th) | Spamalot | John Du Prez & Eric Idle | Idle |
| 2005 (59th) | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | William Finn | William Finn |
| 2006 (60th) |
| 2006 (60th) | The Drowsy Chaperone | Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison | Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison |
| 2006 (60th) | The Color Purple | Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell & Allee Willis | Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell & Allee Willis |
| 2006 (60th) | The Wedding Singer | Matthew Sklar | Chad Beguelin |
| 2006 (60th) | The Woman in White | Andrew Lloyd Webber | David Zippel |
| 2007 (61st) |
| 2007 (61st) | Spring Awakening | Duncan Sheik | Steven Sater |
| 2007 (61st) | Curtains | John Kander | Fred Ebb, Kander & Rupert Holmes |
| 2007 (61st) | Grey Gardens | Scott Frankel | Michael Korie |
| 2007 (61st) | Legally Blonde | Nell Benjamin & Larry O'Keefe | Nell Benjamin & Larry O'Keefe |
| 2008 (62nd) |
| 2008 (62nd) | In the Heights | Lin-Manuel Miranda | Lin-Manuel Miranda |
| 2008 (62nd) | Cry-Baby | David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger | David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger |
| 2008 (62nd) | The Little Mermaid | Alan Menken | Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater |
| 2008 (62nd) | Passing Strange | Heidi Rodewald & Stew | Stew |
| 2009 (63rd) |
| 2009 (63rd) | Next to Normal | Tom Kitt | Brian Yorkey |
| 2009 (63rd) | Billy Elliot the Musical | Elton John | Lee Hall |
| 2009 (63rd) | Shrek the Musical | Jeanine Tesori | David Lindsay-Abaire |
| 2009 (63rd) | 9 to 5 | Dolly Parton | Dolly Parton |

### 2010s

| Year | Production (Musical or Play) | Music | Lyrics |
| 2010 (64th) |
| 2010 (64th) | Memphis | David Bryan | Bryan & Joe DiPietro |
| 2010 (64th) | The Addams Family | Andrew Lippa | Andrew Lippa |
| 2010 (64th) | Enron | Adam Cork | Lucy Prebble |
| 2010 (64th) | Fences | Branford Marsalis | — |
| 2011 (65th) |
| 2011 (65th) | The Book of Mormon | Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone | Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone |
| 2011 (65th) | The Scottsboro Boys | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 2011 (65th) | Sister Act | Alan Menken | Glenn Slater |
| 2011 (65th) | Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown | David Yazbek | David Yazbek |
| 2012 (66th) |
| 2012 (66th) | Newsies | Alan Menken | Jack Feldman |
| 2012 (66th) | Bonnie & Clyde | Frank Wildhorn | Don Black |
| 2012 (66th) | One Man, Two Guvnors | Grant Olding | Grant Olding |
| 2012 (66th) | Peter and the Starcatcher | Wayne Barker | Rick Elice |
| 2013 (67th) |
| 2013 (67th) | Kinky Boots | Cyndi Lauper | Cyndi Lauper |
| 2013 (67th) | A Christmas Story: The Musical | Benj Pasek & Justin Paul | Benj Pasek & Justin Paul |
| 2013 (67th) | Hands on a Hardbody | Trey Anastasio & Amanda Green | Green |
| 2013 (67th) | Matilda the Musical | Tim Minchin | Tim Minchin |
| 2014 (68th) |
| 2014 (68th) | The Bridges of Madison County | Jason Robert Brown | Jason Robert Brown |
| 2014 (68th) | Aladdin | Alan Menken | Howard Ashman, Tim Rice & Chad Beguelin |
| 2014 (68th) | A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder | Steven Lutvak | Robert L. Freedman & Lutvak |
| 2014 (68th) | If/Then | Tom Kitt | Brian Yorkey |
| 2015 (69th) |
| 2015 (69th) | Fun Home | Jeanine Tesori | Lisa Kron |
| 2015 (69th) | The Last Ship | Sting | Sting |
| 2015 (69th) | Something Rotten! | Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick | Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick |
| 2015 (69th) | The Visit | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
| 2016 (70th) |
| 2016 (70th) | Hamilton | Lin-Manuel Miranda | Lin-Manuel Miranda |
| 2016 (70th) | Bright Star | Edie Brickell | Brickell & Steve Martin |
| 2016 (70th) | School of Rock | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Glenn Slater |
| 2016 (70th) | Waitress | Sara Bareilles | Sara Bareilles |
| 2017 (71st) |
| 2017 (71st) | Dear Evan Hansen | Benj Pasek & Justin Paul | Benj Pasek & Justin Paul |
| 2017 (71st) | Come from Away | David Hein & Irene Sankoff | David Hein & Irene Sankoff |
| 2017 (71st) | Groundhog Day | Tim Minchin | Tim Minchin |
| 2017 (71st) | Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 | Dave Malloy | Dave Malloy |
| 2018 (72nd) |
| 2018 (72nd) | The Band's Visit | David Yazbek | David Yazbek |
| 2018 (72nd) | Angels in America | Adrian Sutton | — |
| 2018 (72nd) | Frozen | Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez | Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez |
| 2018 (72nd) | Mean Girls | Jeff Richmond | Nell Benjamin |
| 2018 (72nd) | SpongeBob SquarePants | Yolanda Adams, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Domani, Alex Ebert, The Flaming Lips, Rob Hyman, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Lil'C, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T's, Joe Perry, They Might Be Giants, T.I. & Steven Tyler | Yolanda Adams, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Domani, Alex Ebert, The Flaming Lips, Rob Hyman, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Lil'C, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T's, Joe Perry, They Might Be Giants, T.I. & Steven Tyler |
| 2019 (73rd) |
| 2019 (73rd) | Hadestown | Anaïs Mitchell | Anaïs Mitchell |
| 2019 (73rd) | Be More Chill | Joe Iconis | Joe Iconis |
| 2019 (73rd) | Beetlejuice | Eddie Perfect | Eddie Perfect |
| 2019 (73rd) | The Prom | Matthew Sklar | Chad Beguelin |
| 2019 (73rd) | To Kill a Mockingbird | Adam Guettel | — |
| 2019 (73rd) | Tootsie | David Yazbek | David Yazbek |

### 2020s

| Year | Production (Musical or Play) | Music | Lyrics |
| 2020 (74th) |
| 2020 (74th) | A Christmas Carol | Christopher Nightingale | — |
| 2020 (74th) | The Inheritance | Paul Englishby | — |
| 2020 (74th) | The Rose Tattoo | Fitz Patton & Jason Michael Webb | — |
| 2020 (74th) | Slave Play | Lindsay Jones | — |
| 2020 (74th) | The Sound Inside | Daniel Kluger | — |
| 2022 (75th) |
| 2022 (75th) | Six | Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss | Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss |
| 2022 (75th) | Flying Over Sunset | Tom Kitt | Michael Korie |
| 2022 (75th) | Mr. Saturday Night | Jason Robert Brown | Amanda Green |
| 2022 (75th) | Paradise Square | Jason Howland | Masi Asare & Nathan Tysen |
| 2022 (75th) | A Strange Loop | Michael R. Jackson | Michael R. Jackson |
| 2023 (76th) |
| 2023 (76th) | Kimberly Akimbo | Jeanine Tesori | David Lindsay-Abaire |
| 2023 (76th) | Almost Famous | Tom Kitt | Cameron Crowe & Kitt |
| 2023 (76th) | KPOP | Helen Park & Max Vernon | Helen Park & Max Vernon |
| 2023 (76th) | Shucked | Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally | Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally |
| 2023 (76th) | Some Like It Hot | Marc Shaiman | Shaiman & Scott Wittman |
| 2024 (77th) |
| 2024 (77th) | Suffs | Shaina Taub | Shaina Taub |
| 2024 (77th) | Days of Wine and Roses | Adam Guettel | Adam Guettel |
| 2024 (77th) | Here Lies Love | David Byrne & Fatboy Slim | Byrne |
| 2024 (77th) | The Outsiders | Jamestown Revival & Justin Levine | Jamestown Revival & Justin Levine |
| 2024 (77th) | Stereophonic | Will Butler | Will Butler |

## Female winners

Only nine women have won this award, six of whom won without male writing partners, and for eleven shows:
* Betty Comden – Hallelujah, Baby! (1968), On the Twentieth Century (1978), and The Will Rogers Follies (1991), becoming the first woman to win this Tony multiple times.
* Lynn Ahrens – Ragtime (1998)
* Lisa Lambert – The Drowsy Chaperone (2006)
* Cyndi Lauper – Kinky Boots (2013), becoming the first woman to win this Tony without a writing partner
* Jeanine Tesori – Fun Home (2015) and Kimberly Akimbo (2023)
* Lisa Kron – Fun Home (2015), Kron and Jeanine Tesori becoming the first all-female songwriting team (music and lyrics) to win this Tony.
* Anaïs Mitchell – Hadestown (2019)
* Lucy Moss – Six (2022)
* Shaina Taub - Suffs (2024)