Before the nationwide telecast of the Tony Awards, the awards used to be held in a hotel ballroom in the midtown area. Before Alexander Cohen turned it into the event it became, it was a simple affair and there were no performances. The ceremony was telecast locally in NY, and here is a quick sample of 1959’s winner for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Patricia Neway, accepting for the original production of The Sound of Music, in which she played the Mother Abbess.
Included after the Tony footage is a photo montage of Neway set to a live recording of the act one finale of The Sound of Music from 1960 (For the neophytes: she sings “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” to dramatically bring down the curtain on act one). Enjoy:
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Thank you so much for this wonderful tribute to my most memorable Broadway experience! I was 8 when I saw “The Sound of Music.” My mother’s first cousin, Patricia Neway, took my sisters and brothers and me backstage to meet Mary Martin & Theodore Bikel. What a thrill! Of course, we’ve been bragging all our lives about being related to Pat Neway. I actually spoke with her just last week to tell her the sad news of our mother’s passing. She is still such an elegant, gracious lady.