Carnegie Mellon Congratulates Borle, Schwartz on Tony Awards Recognition
CMU, Tonys Also To Select First Education Award Winner Among More Than 4,000 Applicants
By Ken Walters / 412-268-1151 / walters1@andrew.cmu.edu / and Pam Wigley / 412-268-1047 / pwigley@andrew.cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon University congratulates alumni Christian Borle and Stephen Schwartz, who were recognized by the Tony Awards this morning in New York. Borle (below left) has been nominated for best performance by a featured actor in a musical for “Something Rotten!” and Schwartz (below right) has been named this year’s recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award.
As part of this year’s award show, the Tony Awards in partnership with CMU will announce the recipient of the inaugural “Excellence in Theatre Education Award.” The award is the first, national recognition program to honor K-12 theatre educators.
There have been more than 4,000 applications for this year’s educator award, with nominees from across the country. This annual award will recognize theatre educators in the U.S. who demonstrate monumental impact on the lives of students and who embody the highest standards of the profession. A panel of judges comprising representatives of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon University and other leaders from the theatre industry will select the finalists and winner. Tony Award-winning actress and CMU alumna Judith Light and CMU School of Drama Head Peter Cooke are two of the six serving on the judging panel.
The award finalists will be announced in the next few weeks and each will receive an honorarium. A single winner will be selected to receive the Excellence in Theatre Education Award and recognized at the 69th Annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7. The award has been designed by William Ivey Long, chairman of the American Theatre Wing and a Tony Award-winning costume designer.
CMU is the first, exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards. Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama is the oldest drama degree-granting program in the United States and celebrated its centennial in 2014. Recognized as an international leader in the arts and technology, CMU’s Drama School consistently ranks as one of the world’s best and has produced hundreds of Tony nominees and its alumni have won 40 awards to date.
Many CMU alumni are supporting this one-of-a-kind partnership by serving as ambassadors for the Educator Award program. CMU alumni ambassadors include Light, Josh Gad, Paula Wagner, Matt Bomer, Billy Porter, Christian Borle, Patina Miller, Sutton Foster, Leigh Silverman, Joe Manganiello, Rory O’Malley, Dagmara Dominczyk and Patrick Wilson.
Borle, Schwartz Honored by Tonys
Schwartz is best known for his music and lyrics for such shows as Godspell, Pippin and Wicked. He will receive the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award, which is presented annually to a member of the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations. The Tonys announced that Schwartz will be presented the award for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent through his work with ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, ASCAP Foundation and helping develop new partnerships as President of the Dramatists Guild. Schwartz will receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at CMU's commencement on May 17.
Borle was nominated for best performance by a featured actor in a musical for “Something Rotten!” He won the Tony and Lucille Lortel awards for his performance as Black Stache in 2012’s “Peter and the Starcatcher.” He was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Emmet Forrest in 2007’s “Legally Blonde.” Additionally, Borle has numerous film and TV credits to his name, most notably his role in the NBC musical television program “Smash.”
The 2015 Tony Awards, which will be hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming, will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on Sunday, June 7 (8 – 11 p.m. EDT/PT time delay) on the CBS Television Network.