The (Imaginary) Tony Award for Best Song: 2014-2025

A thought experiment from the Intelligent Showmosexual between reviews...

Mar 25, 2026

The inspiration for this piece: Seth Rudetsky at the piano and Kerry Butler at the mic, backed by the South Shore Symphony, during Seth Rudetsky and Friends at Carnegie Hall — The inspiration for this piece: Seth Rudetsky at the piano and Kerry Butler at the mic, backed by the South Shore Symphony, during *Seth Rudetsky and Friends* at Carnegie Hall | Photo: Jen Voce-Nelson

A few months ago, my friend Andrew invited me to be his guest for Seth Rudetsky and Friends at Carnegie Hall. Andrew is a genuine rarity—and not just because he’s a brilliant lyricist and librettist…because he’s a straight man who loves musical theatre as much as I do. Usually, if a man offers me a comp, I figure he’s asking for nothing less than a handie to go with it. But with Andrew, I could enjoy the show knowing that the only post-performance passion to navigate would be a heated debate about the option-up at the end of “Meadowlark.”

Rudetsky’s persona is built on being the same sort of diehard fan of musicals. He too backs up his enthusiasm with incredible talent. He’s a gifted musician with an encyclopedic knowledge of theatre history, which, in combination with his quintessentially queer wit, he has parlayed into a career as an Emmy-winning writer, Sirius Satellite Radio host, and emcee/music director/producer of cabarets and concerts starring such Broadway A-listers as Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone, Jane Krakowski, Lillias White, and Vanessa Williams. His Carnegie Hall debut was a delightful display of The Rudetsky Brand, including his deconstruction of “Another Hundred People” from Company; dishy showbiz anecdotes. like the lie-by-omission he told to get a gig on The Rosie O’Donnell Show; and, perhaps most memorably, thrilling performances with top-notch Broadway talents like Norm Lewis, Jessie Mueller, Javier Muñoz, and Kerry Butler.

Rudetsky introduced one of Butler’s big numbers (“Fly, Fly Away” from Catch Me If You Can) with an animated aside about how there should be a Tony Award for Best Song—a topic that’s occasionally debated by musical theatre aficionados. I’ve always sided with the predominant school of thought: musicals’ scores should be written to serve their stories and characters, and singling out an individual song undermines the importance of context and cohesion. However, hearing someone with Rudetsky’s expertise make an argument that such an award should exist made me wonder if I should reconsider my position.

The idea reoccurred to me during my recent trip to ~~Ragcrime~~ Ragtime. Maybe Rudetsky popped into my head because I know ~~Gagtime~~ Ragtime to be Andrew’s favorite musical. Then again, maybe his argument was top of mind because I’ve always found ~~Dragslime~~ Ragtime to be a show that has several wonderful songs…and pretty much nothing else.

Taken together, the experiences have really got me thinking: What would my picks be if there were a Tony Award for Best Original Song? I thought sharing them in reverse chronology could be a fun running feature between reviews. It will be even more fun if you sound off in the comments below. So, let me know what you think!

There is no specific criteria. It’s just a vibe.