Jonathan Tunick Wins Second Tony Award for Merrily We Roll Along Orchestrations

Jonathan Tunick, one of Broadway’s most beloved orchestrators, has won his second Tony Award, for Merrily We Roll Along.

The Tony Award for Best Orchestrations was first introduced in 1997. Tunick won that year for his majestic work on Maury Yeston’s Titanic, which can currently be heard at New York City Center.

In the ensuing decades, Tunick received 11 additional nominations, including this year for Merrily, but hadn’t won since. This award represents his only Tony for a musical by his longtime collaborator Stephen Sondheim. Tunick was Sondheim’s orchestrator of choice; their collaboration began in 1970 with Company and ended with Sondheim’s death in 2021. He orchestrated the original production of Merrily We Roll Along in 1981.

Tunick is only one of 19 recipients of the coveted EGOT status, having won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tonys over his career.