Cherry Jones (A'78), a graduate of Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama, won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her performance in the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Doubt." In all, "Doubt" won four awards, including Best Play, and Best Director of a Play and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for director Doug Hughes and Adriane Lenox, respectively.

In "Doubt," Jones plays a stern Bronx nun who bends the rules to investigate the relationship between a young priest and an isolated male student in a 1964 Catholic school. Her Tony for "Doubt" is the second for the actress, who earned a Best Actress nod in 1995 for her performance in "The Heiress." Jones also received Tony nominations for her work in "Our Country's Good" in 1991 and a revival of Eugene O'Neil's "A Moon for the Misbegotten" in 2000.

"Doubt" has enjoyed great success since its Off-Broadway debut last October. The play moved to Broadway in March, receiving glowing reviews and garnering nominations in every award category for which it was eligible. Jones herself entered the race for the Tony Award having already captured the Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics, Obie, Drama Desk and Drama League awards for her portrayal of Sister Aloysius.

In addition to her work in the theater, Jones has enjoyed an active film career with roles in "Signs" (2002), "Erin Brockovich" (2000) and "The Perfect Storm" (2000), to name a few. For more on this year's Tony Awards, visit http://www.tonyawards.com.

Eric Sloss
June 6, 2005