The Roundabout Theatre Company family mourns the passing of the remarkable designer Tony Walton.

Photo credit: Playbill

Tony’s relationship with Roundabout spanned seven Broadway productions, and so much more. Dating back to 1993, his sets and costumes for our shows brought wit, intelligence, and inestimable panache to our stages, and delight to the creative teams with whom he collaborated. His work graced our very first musical productions on Broadway, including She Loves Me, Company, and 1776. He garnered a Tony Award® nomination for our production of Uncle Vanya in 2000. A three-time Tony winner, he was also a multi-hyphenate before we called people such things—even designing the advertising artwork for She Loves Me and A Grand Night for Singing. He triumphed in film and TV as well, winning an Academy Award for All That Jazz and an Emmy Award for the 1985 TV adaptation of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. 

Cast of She Loves Me (1993), Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

As Roundabout grew and we made our home on 42nd Street, of course Tony designed the set for the inaugural production at the American Airlines Theatre℠, The Man Who Came to Dinner, which was later seen on PBS. His support resonated off stage as an artist member of our Leadership Council and a constant champion of all our productions and programs.

Set plans for The Man Who Came to Dinner (1999), Photo Credit: Roundabout Theatre Archives

Tony’s marks on Roundabout and Broadway will never fade, and we treasure every project we shared. We send our thoughts to his family and friends, especially his wife, Gen, and daughter, Emma. 

“One hundred years from now, the people who come after us, for whom our lives are showing the way--will they think of us kindly? Will they remember us with a kind word? I wish to God I could think so.” – Anton Chekov, Uncle Vanya

Cast and Crew of The Man Who Came to Dinner (1999), Photo Credit: Joan Marcus