Five Carnegie Mellon Alumni Nominated for 11 Tony Awards

Judith Light to receive humanitarian award

Five Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama alumni received a total of 11 Tony Award nominations this morning for their Broadway work behind the scenes. This marks the 11^th consecutive year that at least one Carnegie Mellon graduate has received a nomination.

The nominations were announced at the Lincoln Center in New York.

Producer Jamie deRoy, a 1967 Carnegie Mellon alumna, led the way with a total of six nominations in three categories. Tootsie, Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations and Beetlejuice were nominated for Best Musical. Nominated for Best Play were The Ferryman and Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus. The Waverly Gallery was nominated for Best Revival of a Play.

Costume designer Ann Roth, a 1953 alumna, earned two nominations for Best Costume Design of a Play for her work in To Kill a Mockingbird and Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus. 

Sound designer Peter Hylenski, a 1997 alumnus, earned two nominations for Best Sound Design of a Musical for Beetlejuice and King Kong.

Lighting designers Peggy Eisenhauer, a 1983 alumna, and Jules Fisher, Class of 1960, were nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Play in Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.

In addition to the nominees, Judith Light, a 1970 alumna and two-time Tony Award winner, will receive this year’s Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for her advocacy to end HIV/AIDS and her support for the LGBTQ+ community. Michael McElroy, a 1990 CMU graduate, will be awarded a Tony Honor for Excellence for founding Broadway Inspirational Voices, a professional choir of Broadway artists united to change lives through music and service. 

"Every year, several of our alumni join the ranks of Broadway’s best as Tony Award nominees, and we couldn’t be prouder of their accomplishments," said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. "We are particularly pleased that members of the Carnegie Mellon community are consistently recognized for their work, illustrating our commitment to educating the next generation of entertainment industry talent across a wide array of professions within the field."

Carnegie Mellon alumni have won 47 Tony Awards. Last year, alumna and producer Jamie deRoy took home three Tony Awards, including Best Musical for The Band's Visit, Best Revival of a Play for Angels in America and Best Revival of a Musical for Once on This Island.

The 73rd Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. Sunday, June 9, from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

During the show, Carnegie Mellon will present the fifth annual Excellence in Theatre Education Award, the first national honor to recognize K-12 theatre educators. The award recognizes a teacher who demonstrates monumental impact on the lives of drama students, while also embodying the highest standards of the profession. CMU is the exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards, and the two organizations presented the first award in 2015 as part of the collaboration.

CMU's School of Drama consistently ranks as one of the world's best drama schools and is the first degree-granting drama program in the United States. The school is recognized as an international leader in arts and technology. Year after year, the School of Drama produces graduates who go on to do award-winning work, both on stage and behind the scenes.

"On behalf of the entire School of Drama, I extend my congratulations to the Tony Awards Class of 2019 Nominees," said Peter Cooke, head of the School of Drama. "We know the tremendous amount of preparation and hard work it takes to make your mark on Broadway, and we are extremely proud of all our graduates. To those who have been nominated, it’s an additional nod to their expertise, diligence and dedication to their craft."

Tony Award Nominees

The following CMU College of Fine Arts alumni, presented in alphabetical order, have been nominated for Tony Awards this year.

Jamie deRoy, Class of 1967, Producer
Best Musical
Tootsie
Ain't Too Proud—The Life And Times Of The Temptations
Beetlejuice

Best Play
The Ferryman
Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus

Best Revival of a Play
The Waverly Gallery

Jamie deRoy is the celebrated host and producer of the critically acclaimed variety show, “Jamie deRoy & friends,” and a six-time Tony Award-winning producer. In total, deRoy has worked on over 50 Broadway, and 40 Off-Broadway productions. An accomplished actress, record producer, comedian and talk show host, she has won eight MAC Awards, four Back Stage Bistro Awards, 11 Telly Awards and CaB Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award for her work on both stage and screen. 

Peggy Eisenhauer, Class of 1983, Lighting Designer
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus

A recipient of three Tony Awards and 12 nominations, Peggy Eisenhauer is one of the most accomplished lighting designers across the theater, film and music industries. She and fellow CMU alumnus Jules Fisher have collaborated on lighting designs for more than 30 years. Eisenhauer has worked on more than 40 Broadway shows and in 2010 was selected as one of Variety’s 100 Women of Impact in Hollywood. Her film credits include School of Rock, Dreamgirls, Enchanted and My Week with Marilyn.

Jules Fisher, Class of 1960, Lighting Designer
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus

One of the world's foremost theatrical lighting designers, Jules Fisher has won a record nine Tony Awards for best lighting design — a category he has been nominated in over 20 times. Credited with lighting designs for more than 200 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions during his 50-year career, Fisher has also worked extensively in film, ballet, opera and television. He and fellow CMU alumna Peggy Eisenhauer have been professional partners since 1985, having formed Third Eye Studio, a firm specializing in entertainment and theater lighting. 

Peter Hylenski, Class of 1997, Sound Designer
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Beetlejuice
King Kong

Peter Hylenski has provided sound designs for over 30 Broadway productions including Shrek the Musical, Cry-Baby, Motown the Musical, The Wedding Singer and Sweet Charity. He received his first of seven Tony nominations in 2009 for his sound design for Rock of Ages. Hylenski has also been nominated for Olivier, Grammy, and Drama-Desk awards. He has designed for Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall and the Kennedy Center. Upcoming projects include the Broadway premiere of Moulin Rouge! set to open July 25.

Ann Roth, Class of 1953, Costume Designer
Best Costume Design of a Play
Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
To Kill A Mockingbird

Anne Roth is among the most accomplished and prolific costume designers in history, with more than 100 films and over 50 Broadway credits to her name. She has won Academy, BAFTA, Drama Desk and Tony awards. Her first Tony Award win was in 2013 for The Nance; she has been nominated a total of 11 times. She is also the recipient of an Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest honors in American Costume Design.

Alumna Judith Light To Receive Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award

Two-time Tony Award-winner Judith Light will receive this year’s Isabelle Stevenson Award for her advocacy to end HIV/AIDS and her support for the LGBTQ+ community. The award is presented annually to a member of the theater community who has made a substantial contribution to humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations.

“The HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ communities are inspirations and demonstrations of how to be and live in the world; courageous, honorable and uplifting,” said Light, a 1970 Carnegie Mellon alumna. “They inspire me and it is my privilege to be of service to them.”

CMU alumnus Stephen Schwartz won the award in 2015 for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent through several organizations, including the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Alumnus Michael McElroy To Be Awarded Tony Honor of Excellence

Michael McElroy, a 1990 CMU graduate, will be awarded a Tony Honor for Excellence for founding Broadway Inspirational Voices, a professional choir of Broadway artists united to change lives through music and service. 

McElroy, who became a teacher of musical theater at NYU nine years ago, spoke about the importance of theater education.

"I grew up with the understanding of service and giving back," said McElroy, whose mother was a teacher for 35 years. "For me there's nothing more fulfilling than passing on what you know. Teachers play an incredible role in the lives of young artists."

McElroy said teachers are much like parents, helping to foster, support and challenge their students. 

Excellence in Theatre Education Award Winner Will Be Recognized at the Tony Awards

The Excellence in Theatre Education Award annually recognizes theatre educators in the United States who demonstrate monumental impact on the lives of students and who embody the highest standards of the profession. CMU alumna Chanté Adams is serving as the national award ambassador this year. Adams appeared in the August Wilson play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and currently stars in the Netflix movie Roxanne, Roxanne and the feature film Monsters and Men.

Other ambassadors for the 2019 Excellence in Theatre Education Award program include Ali Stroker (Broadway revival of Oklahoma, Spring Awakening and The Glee Project) and Santino Fontana (Tootsie on Broadway and Disney’s animated feature Frozen); both Stroker and Fontana are longtime advocates of theatre and arts education. 

Additional CMU ambassadors for 2019 include alumni Casey Cott (from the CW’s hit series Riverdale and feature film All the Little Things We Kill) and Rory O’Malley (Tony nominee for The Book of Mormon, host of Geffen Playhouse Unscripted podcast, and star of Hamilton and Lifetime’s upcoming series American Princess.)

A panel of judges comprised of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, CMU and other leaders from the theater industry select the finalists and winner. Cooke and Adams represented CMU as judges. A single winner will be selected to receive the Excellence in Theatre Education Award and recognized at the Tony Awards.