Kander and Ebb set new record as Tonys’ biggest losers

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Back in 1976, lyricist Fred Ebb and composer John Kander set a new record as the biggest losers at the Tony Awards when ‘Chicago’ got skunked in 11 categories.

Then, in 1997, they tied that dubious record with ‘Steel Pier.’ Now they exceded it. On Sunday night, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’ was up for 12 nominations but won nothing.

Kander and Ebb (who began working on ‘The Scottsboro Boys’ in 2002 before Ebb died in 2004) have had many Tonys successes. They won best musical and best score for ‘Cabaret’ (1967) plus Tonys for the scores for ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ (1993) and ‘Woman of the Year’ (1983). Kander continues to work in musical theater.

— Tom O’Neil

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