CMU Alumni Top Tonys

Times Square NYC

Patina Miller and Billy Porter

Judith Light

Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer

In an unprecedented year, Carnegie Mellon University alumni stole the spotlight at the 67th Annual Tony Awards, winning eight awards across six categories. From award winners to featured performers/presenters, the School of Drama was part of the biggest night on Broadway.

Peter Cooke, head of CMU's School of Drama, said the evening was a wonderful celebration of CMU's talent. "Artists from across many disciplines and years won Tony Awards in their specialized categories, which in turn speaks to the strength of conservatory training — the hallmark of the CMU School of Drama."

Recognized for excellence in acting, costume design, sound and lighting, the nominees reflected the breadth of drama education at CMU, and the range of impact graduates are having on the Broadway stage.

The awards were given to the following:

Jules Fisher (A'60, H'13) and Peggy Eisenhauer (A'83): Best Lighting Design of a Play for "Lucky Guy";
Judith Light (A'70): Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for her role in "The Assembled Parties." Light is celebrating back-to-back wins. In 2012, she won the same award for "Other Desert Cities";
Patina Miller (A'06): Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for "Pippin," penned by Stephen Schwartz (A'68) while a student at CMU;
Martin Platt (A'71) and Jamie deRoy (A'67): Best Play as producer for "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike";
Billy Porter (A'91): Best Performance in a Leading Role in a Musical for "Kinky Boots"; and
Ann Roth (A'53, H'00): Best Costume Design of a Play for "The Nance".

Peter Hylenski (A'97) also was nominated for Best Sound Design of a Musical for "Motown The Musical."

In addition, several of their classmates and colleagues were presenters and performers for the evening. They included "Newsies" lead Corey Cott (A'12), Zachary Quinto (A'99), Andrew Gehling (A'05) and Megan Hilty (A'04), who recently wrapped up the second season of NBC's "Smash."

The Hollywood Reporter recently rated Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama among the world's best drama schools with a No. 4 ranking in its top 25.

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