Four Carnegie Mellon Alumni Nominated for Seven Tony Awards

When the 76th Annual Tony Awards air on Sunday, June 11, several excited Tartans will be among the black-tie crowd at United Palace in New York City’s Washington Heights.

Nominations for the 2023 Tony Awards, which honor theater professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, were announced on CBS Mornings on May 2, and four Carnegie Mellon University alumni have been nominated for seven Tony Awards. This marks 14 consecutive years in which Carnegie Mellon alumni have earned Tony nominations.

• Actor Christian Borle, 1995 School of Drama alumnus, was nominated for his role as Joe/Josephine in “Some Like It Hot” (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical)
• Actress Nikki Crawford, 1993 School of Drama alumna, was nominated for her role as Tedra in “Fat Ham” (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play)
• Producer Jamie deRoy, 1967 Carnegie Mellon alumna, received a total of four nominations in four categories: “Leopoldstadt” (Best Play); “New York, New York” (Best Musical); “August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson” (Best Revival of a Play); and “Parade” (Best Revival of a Musical)
• Actor Josh Groban, 2003 Carnegie Mellon alumnus, was nominated for his role as Sweeney Todd in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical).

“Carnegie Mellon congratulates all of the 2023 Tony Award nominees, especially our Tartans, for their tremendous contributions to advancing the art and business of theater,” said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. “Our entire community is proud of our talented alumni’s extraordinary creativity and dedication to excellence, and we look forward to celebrating with them during one of theater’s biggest nights of the year.”

Carnegie Mellon alumni have won 58 Tony Awards to date. CMU’s School of Drama was the first degree-granting drama program in the U.S. and is recognized as one of the world’s best drama schools.

Since 2014, Carnegie Mellon has been the exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards. This collaboration is the first of its kind for the Tonys and was created as part of the commemoration of the School of Drama’s 100th anniversary.

Through the partnership, the Tonys and CMU co-created the annual Excellence in Theatre Education Award, which has been presented since 2015. In partnership with The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, CMU and the Tonys annually recognize an exemplary K-12 theater teacher selected from a nationwide search. The Excellence in Theatre Education Award winner’s work demonstrates monumental impact on the lives of students, while embodying the highest standards of the profession.

The 2023 award will be presented during the June 11 ceremony to one of theater’s unsung heroes — a performing arts teacher from somewhere in the U.S. The winner will be feted alongside the evening’s other nominees and winners.