Joanna Gleason wins 1988 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical

Joanna Gleason wins the 1988 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as the Baker's Wife in Into the Woods.

[@yippedoodah]

"Thank you for the slipper" I almost cried.

[@manuelorozco7760]

Now that's what I would like to call a good joke! I actually think Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a better stage portrayal of the classic story than Into the Woods.

[@SDoesNotKnow]

Well, Into the Woods wasn't really about recreating the nice version of the Cinderella fairy tale but was using it to make a bigger, more real world point.

[@manuelorozco7760]

SDoesNotKnow Did not occur to me before

[@SDoesNotKnow]

This is one of the most deserved Tony wins ever. Joanna Gleason gave a masterful and yet natural stage performance as the Baker's Wife. Nobody I've seen has come close to bringing to the role what she brought to the role.

[@this_Joe_Smith]

Agreed

[@henryalmoney2917]

i agree 100%, i just wished anything goes was another year because she did great, they both deserve the world

[@kamarimarley617]

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[@lylemichael5113]

@Kamari Marley instablaster ;)

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[@HagenIsNotAKitty]

Okay but can we talk about how classy Bernadette Peters looks omg.

[@eroupopper]

Still looks beautiful to this day!! I love that dress!!!

[@bam9480]

as always ✨

[@BlueYoshi85]

Always

[@bmyra]

Yes. I can never take my eyes off Bernadette Peters. My favorite.

[@mariposa8430]

I'm SO happy that Joanna won, and I think that it's so cute how excited Bernadette was that she did win. I've actually met Joanna once, and she is so sweet, and beautiful, and it was one of the greatest moments in my life meeting her.

[@_vodkamartini_]

You could just see the determination is Patti's face! I loved the excitement between Bernadette and Joanna when she recieved the award, it was cute :)

[@willisthrilled]

+Noah Servilican in her memoir she said she expected to win and was shocked when she didn't…i don't understand why… in Into the Woods Joanna WAS the Baker's Wife…in Anything Goes, Patti LuPone was Patti LuPone

[@boynamedalexxx]

@@willisthrilled she also explains that everyone around her told her she had it in the bag, so she believed them. She said the same thing happened when she did ‘Sweeney Todd’ (though she would have deserved it-she was fantastic in that revival)

[@tynielsen]

If you’ve seen the full show on KZbin, you know she ABSOLUTELY deserved it! She was perfectly cast as the Baker’s Wife.

[@AuntieMamie]

This is one of our most talented performers. So happy for her.

[@pallafox]

Gleason deserved this win. Her portrayal of the baker's wife was iconic I don't think Sutton was able to identify herself with the character as much as she did as Fiona or even Millie. Lupone, God bless this woman, would later be more enraged after filing lawsuit against Webber for firing her. Ahh the drama in theatre, shit like this doesn't happen anymore.

[@simeonwitten3636]

i love patti lupone, but im so ecstatic Johanna Gleason won this. Into The Woods changed my life, and this moment with two alumni from the show celebrating what made it possible is so beautiful

[@TheVioletOwl94]

Patti Lupone's face was beat for the gods lol

[@MaAniFantasy]

Awww this is so great! She really deserved this, her performance was amazing amd made the baker´s wife my favorite in the whole play. Also she seems to be such a lovely woman! So cute that Bernadette could give her the award, you could see how happy that made both of them

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

Patti LuPone was so disappointed she lost. In her 2010 memoir, she focuses a great deal on that night and the days/months leading up to it. She won Drama Desk and said everyone told her she had it in the bag, so she was expecting it. Gleason won Drama Desk, too, but in the Featured Actress category.

[@this_Joe_Smith]

Wow -- love the stuff you know

[@melmingin8445]

I would prefer Patti LuPone over Gleason ,but both were good.

[@eroupopper]

@@melmingin8445 it was a hard pick. But she was stellar in Into the Woods.

[@MrYonexguy63]

Both great performances. Gleasons acting was really special.

[@jasonhurd4379]

@@MrYonexguy63 It really was. When she sings 'Sometimes people leave you/Halfway through the wood', I just bawl. What a performance.

[@KaioSerafim]

Oh, she’s so beautiful! ❣️

[@thedogdogification]

Such amazing actresses she was up against. I've seen videos of most of those nominated performances and didn't realize they were all in the same year...how do you even choose? But Joanna Gleason was simply spectacular as the Baker's Wife. Every emotion the musical called on her to express was conveyed clearly without being overplayed. Such a natural and effortlessly funny performance.

[@felixettos]

I just want to point out how Alison Fraser was also nominated this year which is kind of funny since she played Chip Zien's wife in the past too, not even in one, but in two musicals (In trousers and March of the falsettos)

[@artemisiajoy]

i truly think this was one of the most deserved tonys ever. joanna MADE that role. no one has ever played it quite like her

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

I wish the Tonys did split screens like the Oscars, so we could see the other nominee's reactions when the winner is called. In particular, I would be interested in seeing Patti LuPone's face, since she was so sure she was gonna win this.

[@jrwxtx]

Actually, I would prefer there was a rule the TV producers had to never show the nominees that did not win--audience reaction shots should be only supportive friends and family. Who wants to see Bill Murray cringe?

[@batekush8135]

You can see Patti’s face in the background when Joanna wins x

[@kennethbrady]

Damn her. Something got in my eye.

[@justuhbill713]

Love her and love her performance.

[@fistyann8434]

My favorite show, and my favorite cast. I only ever wanted to play the Baker's Wife. And I still crush on Chip Zien.

[@this_Joe_Smith]

First thing i ever saw her in was "Boogie Nights" as Dirk Diggler's angry mom. I was entranced to later watch their version of Into the Woods to discover what a badass she truly has been -Always!

[@oscarlover100]

OH THANK YOU SO MUCH, BEEN WAITING FOR A WHILE!!! Gleason deserved it!

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

Aww, she thanked her husband Michael Bennahum, but just two years later they would divorce in 1990 after six years of marriage. In 1994, she married actor and Susan's ex Chris Sarandon (DOG DAY AFTERNOON, FRIGHT NIGHT, THE PRINCESS BRIDE) and they're still together 20 years later.

[@this_Joe_Smith]

Wow! Never knew!!

[@eroupopper]

Yikes! Well at least she found love the second time around

[@MrDuboce]

This is the FIRST Broadway show I saw when I moved to NYC and after I saw Into the Woods I said, "Joanna Gleason is going to win a Tony, that was fantastic."

[@dottiedots221]

What an awesome audience reaction! She must had been pretty damn good then

[@scottw9318]

She was. The first time I watched the musical, I became obsessed with her character, her voice, her acting...and was truly shocked when I saw what happened to her character in the second act...

[@AARONDAVIDGLEASON]

i love this

[@SFKelvin]

Classy ... and a great performance.

[@soaribb32]

...I felt like Cinderella at the ball, thanks for the slipper. Isn't she the cutest?

[@alanwong8195]

RIP Monty Hall, Joanna Gleason's father

[@this_Joe_Smith]

Omg wow ...i never knew!

[@TheKelJacob]

I love Lupone AND Gleason, for very different reasons, although they are both fantastic actresses. I think Gleason deserved the accolades & the Award. Lupone deserved the two she did receive. She was riveting live in Gypsy. I just wish I'd gotten to see the original ITW, but I did see the revival wherein the stars of that production were Cinderella & the Prince.

[@manuelorozco7760]

Does anyone find it crazy that both Lupone and Gleason appeared on Friends? I thought Into the Woods was all right when I saw the filmed performance with the OBC. If I had a time machine, I would have liked to see Ms. Lupone in Anything Goes.

[@BOB1974_]

@@manuelorozco7760 Lupone was never on Friends.

[@manuelorozco7760]

Bridges of Wake County That was a misunderstanding

[@saschahoupt6177]

She’s amazing but that introduction speech is so inspiring.

[@manuelorozco7760]

I saw Ms. Gleason a couple times on Friends! It must have felt special for Joanna to receive the Tony from her former co-star in Into the Woods. Speaking of Bernadette, does anyone find it surreal that ten years after she played the Witch, she would be Cinderella's stepmother clashing with Brandy?

[@helloworld-sl2lw]

That presenter is so charming

[@alwaysnew189]

[@hannae9872]

On all the comments about Patti, I don't know her work, but if she needs an award to reassure herself she should be in another profession. At least that's my opinion. One shouldn't expect any thankfulness from others, you should just give what you feel is the best you have got and everything else above that should be appreciated but not expected. At least that's what I'm trying to learn. Joanna is awesome in ITW btw and Bernadette is always marvelous!!

[@Dan_G.R.S.]

She has two Tony's on her way to a possible third one and won this same category on another award (Joanna won featured actress) hence why she had high expectations to win this but didn't. She was just disappointed she lost. Both were brilliant that year

[@caedwinred2103]

The Baker's Wife!

[@jimmygutierrez6691]

Wait, is that Joel Grey?

[@Julia.becker97]

yes it is!

[@xr7t7]

Now, that's how you give an acceptance speech. Right up there with Jodie Foster's Oscar acceptance speech for The Accused.

[@tor4049]

That dress was definitely a CHOICE though 🤭

[@RSmith6948]

Ah, these were the days before winners thanked their agents, managers, business managers, lawyers, divorce lawyers, publicists, dressers . . .

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

Monty Hall's daughter, eh?

[@hinkhall5291]

I always thought Joanna Gleason was hot.

[@andyiswonderful]

That dress! The shoulders! JV Football.

[@AnjoMalunes]

The witch gave the award to the baker's wife.

[@garydeblasio8810]

Did this woman portray Mark Wahlberg' s mom in the movie "Boogie Nights"?

[@this_Joe_Smith]

Yes, that's her!

[@CitzenVain714]

"And Patti Lupone for 'TOO MUCH MAKE-UP'"

[@joeburinskas8672]

Well deserved...she was the only one who shined in this trainwreck

[@shawnpavlik1293]

Remember when acceptance speeches were just thank you's to those who helped get them there?

[@wolfwind1]

What a ridiculous intro.

[@bam9480]

what a ridiculous comment

[@alexi8741]

No tea but patti should’ve won. What she did with Anything Goes was way more original and impressive than what Joanna did with Into the Woods

[@beaellie9766]

Kuhn's singing of "CHESS" is worthy of note, too! I think she may have stole some of LuPone's votes

[@eduardomatospereira6528]

Teu gave the tony to the wrong baker's wife,lupone deserved the tony! Joana's role was a featured role! Not a LEADING ROLE

[@crazyguy98456978]

Joana was more of a lead role than Bernadette was. Yes Bernadette got all the hype, but The Baker's Wife is an essential role it makes or breaks the production in my opinion

[@colorpurplelover8571]

Pauly- Walnuts EXACFLY

[@pumbaaj]

"Let me tell you goodbye doesn't mean forever..."