Claude Rains' Tony Award for Darkness at Noon, with Related Playbill.... (Total: 2 Items)

Description

Claude Rains' Tony Award for Darkness at Noon, with Related Playbill. On January 13, 1951, Claude Rains opened at Broadway's Alvin Theatre in Sidney Kingsley's play Darkness at Noon. The actor's heartbreaking portrayal of Rubashov, an old revolutionary ruthlessly destroyed by a totalitarian state, was the climax of his career, a tour de force performance that won the star six of the season's top acting prizes. On the night of March 25, 1951, Rains received Broadway's highest honor, this Antoinette Perry Tony Award, presented to him by the American Theatre Wing at New York's Waldorf Astoria. The silver award (moderately tarnished) bears the masks of Tragedy and Comedy; engraved on its reverse is a profile of Antoinette Perry and the words, "The American Theatre Wing Presents To Claude Rains This Award for His Performance In Darkness At Noon 1950/1951." The Tony measures 3" wide and sits regally in a 4.5"-wide circular wooden base. Also included is a Playbill program for Darkness at Noon, with a photograph of Rains and co-star Kim Hunter on the cover, the program running 32 pages in length (the front cover is loose and most of the back cover is torn away). This Tony Award was the most prestigious acting honor that Claude Rains ever received (four times nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, he incredibly never won), and he proudly displayed the medal in his various homes for the remaining 16 years of his life. A wonderful relic of theatre history, awarded to one of the truly brilliant actors of the 20th century, in Very Fine condition. From the Claude Rains Estate Archive.

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