Carnegie Mellon University

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May 06, 2014

Applause, Applause

CMU Partners with the Tony Awards; 
Six Alumni Snag Tony Nominations

This three-act play drew rave reviews on Broadway.

Act 1: It is announced that Carnegie Mellon becomes the first exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards®.

Act 2: As part of the partnership, Carnegie Mellon and the Tonys will jointly create and launch the “Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre 
Education,” the first national recognition program to honor K-12 theatre educators.

Act 3: A day after the partnership 
is formally announced, six alumni from Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama are nominated for 2014 Tony Awards, Broadway’s highest honor.

And the nominees are:

•    Jamie DeRoy (A’67), (producer) Best Musical, “A Gentleman’s 
Guide To Love and Murder”;
•    Sutton Foster, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, “Violet”;
•    Peter Hylenski (A’97), Best Sound Design of a Musical, “After Midnight”;
•    Cherry Jones (A’78), Best Performance by an Actress 
in a Leading Role in a Play,

        “The Glass Menagerie”;
•    Leigh Silverman (A’96), Best Direction of a Musical, “Violet”; and
•    Paula Wagner, (producer) Best Play, “Mothers and Sons.”

Tony Nominees

A day after Carnegie Mellon became the first exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards, six CMU alumni were nominated for 2014 Tonys. They are: (clockwise from top left): Jamie DeRoy, Cherry Jones, Leigh Silverman, Paula Wagner, Peter Hylenski and Sutton Foster.

In addition, shows nominated for Best Musical include CMU alumni. Catherine Walker (A’01) is an ensemble cast member of “A Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder,” and Daisy Hobbs (A’10) is an ensemble cast member of “Aladdin.”

“The Glass Menagerie” received seven nominations. CMU cast members along with Jones were Zachary Quinto (A’99) and Nicholas Rehberger (A’13).

“Act One” received five nominations. CMU cast members include Bob Ari (A’71, ’95) and Will Brill (A’09).

“With the centennial celebration of the School of Drama, this year’s Tony Award nominations are particularly gratifying. It’s wonderful to see how alumni have helped shape this year’s season on Broadway,” said Peter Cooke, head of the School of Drama.

As the oldest drama degree-granting program in the United States, CMU has produced hundreds of Tony nominees and 31 Tony winners — eight in 2013 alone.

The 2014 Tony Awards, hosted by Hugh Jackman, will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 8, on CBS.

The broadcast will feature an on-air tribute to CMU’s century of producing top theatre talent, from actors and musicians, producers to technicians, backstage to front office and everywhere 
in between.

Tony Awards, CMU Will 
Recognize Theatre Educators 
in 2015

Nominations for the “Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre Education” will 
be open to the public and accepted 
starting in September 2014 at tonyawards.com and cmu.edu. A panel of judges comprised of leaders from the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, CMU and others from the 
theatre industry will select the finalists and winner based on criteria set forth 
by the committee. Demonstrating a positive impact on the lives of students, advancing the theatre profession and a commitment to excellence will be among the qualifications.

“Throughout its history, Carnegie Mellon has been home to many talented and inspirational faculty, so we understand the important role teachers play in transforming lives,” said CMU President Subra Suresh. “Behind every Tony winner is a teacher who inspired and nurtured a young talent to grow, to pursue big dreams and accomplish great things. We are excited to bring those heroes into the Tony spotlight.”

The winning teacher will receive the award on stage at the 2015 Tony Awards. The trip to New York City will be included, plus a financial contribution will be made to the theatre arts program at the winner’s school.

Online: Watch the 
nominations at www.cmu.edu/tony-awards.

Tony Announcements

Jonathan Groff, Hugh Jackman and Lucy Liu co-hosted the Tony nominations broadcast.