Tony Awards scandal! Inside why Julie Andrews REJECTED her nomination in protest and ignited a real-life drama that divided Broadway

Broadway fans around the world are on tenterhooks for Sunday's Tony Awards, wondering which of their favorite stars will be rewarded for their talents.

But nearly three decades ago, the Great White Way was plunged into scandal as one of its leading lights turned her back on its highest honor.

Julie Andrews was up for best leading actress in a musical in 1996 - only to dramatically decline her nomination in an act of protest.

Her decision ignited a seething controversy and even generated wild rumors that she would star in a rival broadcast to air the same night as the Tonys.

Now DailyMail.com looks back on the grand gesture that divided Broadway...

Julie Andrews received her third and last Tony nod in 1996 for her leading role in the Broadway musical Victor/Victoria; she is pictured during the curtain call of her final performance

She announced she was declining the nomination during the curtain call of a Victor/Victoria matinee; she is pictured delivering the news onstage on May 8, 1996

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Julie Andrews received her third - and last - Tony nomination in 1996 for her leading role in the Broadway musical Victor/Victoria.

She had previously starred in the 1982 movie musical of the same name, directed by her longtime husband and collaborator Blake Edwards.

The comic storyline, drawn from a 1933 German film, revolves around a down-on-her-luck singer whose gay friend devises an ingenious publicity ploy.

Instead of trying to make her living as a woman, she successfully captivates the audiences of interwar Paris by pretending to be a drag queen.

With music by The Pink Panther composer Henry Mancini and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse of Goldfinger fame, Julie and Blake's film became an instant classic.

Husband and wife teamed up again to bring the musical to Broadway in 1995, and Julie's acclaimed performance earned her a Tony nod.

She had previously been nominated decades earlier for two Lerner & Loewe musicals, My Fair Lady and Camelot, but never won the prize.

However, when she was handed one last chance to secure the coveted Tony Award, Julie decided to cast the opportunity aside.

Hers was the only Tony nomination that Victor/Victoria received, and she was so outraged that her colleagues were snubbed, she rejected her own nod in protest

She had previously starred in the 1982 movie musical of the same name, directed by her longtime husband and collaborator Blake Edwards

The comic storyline, originally drawn from a 1933 German film, revolves around a down-on-her-luck singer whose gay friend devises an ingenious publicity ploy

Instead of trying to make her living as a woman, she successfully captivates the audiences of interwar Paris by pretending to be a drag queen

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Hers was the only Tony nomination that Victor/Victoria received, and she was so outraged that her colleagues were snubbed, she rejected her own nod in protest.

She announced her decision during the curtain call of a Victor/Victoria matinee, days after the nominations went public.

'I have searched my conscience and my heart and find that I cannot accept this nomination, and prefer instead to stand with the egregiously overlooked...,' she began, before being interrupted by an outbreak of cheers and applause.

After she declared that she was declining her nomination, the New York Post ran the headline Julie Andrews: 'Take This Tony And....'

The industry was polarized by her gesture, with some luminaries springing to her defense as others reacted with open derision.

David Letterman took the second option, joking on the air that he was turning down a Tony nomination that he had not, in fact, gotten to begin with.

Writer Michael Musto joked: 'You can't get mad every time someone you think deserves an honor doesn't get one, or Jennifer Jason Leigh would be a serial killer.'

Charlton Heston, however, wrote a letter to the New York Times showering praise on Julie for the 'courage' he felt she had demonstrated.

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Donna Murphy ultimately won best lead actress in a musical for a revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic The King And I; pictured giving her acceptance speech

'I've found over many years that critics are repelled by success, unless they themselves first anoint it,' the Ben-Hur star added.

'Even among the people who make the plays, those who haven't had the thrill of a smash hit resent those who have, particularly if their successes include the movies.'

The Phantom Of The Opera director Hal Prince, who was himself the winner of a record 20 Tony Awards by that point, said that the nominations did 'not reflect the opinion of majority of those of us working on Broadway.'

Andrew Lloyd Webber on the other hand expressed sympathy with Julie but argued that 'everyone involved in Broadway theater must support the Tonys.'

As the furor gathered steam, Victor/Victoria producer John Scher announced that the team would not even allow a segment of the show to air during the Tony Awards.

Evidently, they were only offered one minute of a larger montage and 'didn't feel we could present our show as part of a medley,' the producer sniffed.

Sensational rumors began swirling that Julie and a number of other Broadway names were in talks to star in a rival TV broadcast that would air the same night as the Tony Awards, according to Playbill. In the end, no such special materialized.

At any rate, the controversy drummed up enough buzz to benefit both sides financially - ticket sales jumped for both the Tony Awards and Victor/Victoria.

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Julie ultimately left the show because of her vocal problems, and for her last curtain call, she received a surprise visit from her The Sound Of Music co-star Christopher Plummer

Donna Murphy ultimately won best lead actress in a musical for a revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic The King And I.

However the drama surrounding Julie's run in Victor/Victoria failed to end there, as she had to exit the show in 1997 because of her mounting vocal problems.

Julie was eventually informed that she had developed a lesion on her vocal cords and had to undergo an operation to have it removed.

The lesion was surgically extracted, but Julie emerged from anesthesia and discovered that her singing voice was also gone.

She sued the surgeon for malpractice and netted a $20 million settlement, but in the nearly three decades since, she has never returned to Broadway.