Three UNCSA alumni nominated for four Tony Awards

Three UNCSA alumni have received four Tony Award nominations, and numerous alumni work on Tony-nominated productions. The Tony nominations, which honor theater professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, were announced this morning by actors Adrienne Warren and Joshua Henry. Awards will be announced June 12 in a live telecast.

UNCSA alumni nominated this morning include:

• School of Dance alumna Camille A. Brown (B.F.A ’01), who was nominated in two categories, for best direction of a play and best choreography of a play, both for “for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf,” which received seven nominations, including best revival of a play.
• School of Design and Production (D&P) alumnus and UNCSA trustee Paul Tazewell (B.F.A. ’86), for best costume design of a musical, for “MJ,” which received 10 nominations.
• School of Drama alumna Mary-Louise Parker (College Arts Diploma, ’86) as Li’l Bit, for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play for “How I Learned to Drive,” which received three nominations, including best revival of a play.

“Congratulations to all of our Tony-nominated alumni and those who are working on nominated shows,” said UNCSA Chancellor Brian Cole. “I am so very proud of these amazing alumni, whose graduation dates span five decades; from 1986 to 2020. Because of their talent and the training they received at UNCSA, our alumni continue to lead the comeback of Broadway and all of live theater, dance and music events across the country and around the world.”

Brown, who leads Camille A. Brown and Dancers, has received numerous awards, including Princess Grace, Bessie and Doris Duke. She was the recipient of a 2019 UNCSA Alumni Artpreneur of the Year Award. Tazewell, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for “West Side Story,” won a Tony in 2016 for “Hamilton.” Parker, who is reprising her “Drive” role from the 1997 off-Broadway production, previously won Tonys for “Proof” in 1990 and “The Sound Inside” in 2020.

Other connections of UNCSA alumni with nominated shows include:

• Paul Tazewell (see above) is also costume designer (with Sky Switser) for “Mr. Saturday Night,” which is nominated for best new musical.
• D&P alumna Chia-Chia Feng (M.F.A. ’15) is associate hair & wig designer for “Mr. Saturday Night” and associate wig designer for “MJ.”
• D&P alumnus Craig Stelzenmuller (B.F.A. ’01) is associate lighting designer for “MJ” and “The Minutes,” which is nominated for best new play.
• Drama alumnus Terence Archie (B.F.A. ’98) is Larry in “Company,” which is nominated for best musical revival.
• School of Music alumnus Phillip Boykin (’90) is Olin Britt and Traveling Salesman in “The Music Man,” which is nominated for best musical revival.
• D&P alumna Tracy Cowit (M.F.A. ’16) is assistant sound designer for “The Music Man.”
• Drama alumnus K. Todd Freeman (B.F.A. ’87) is Mr. Blake  in “The Minutes,” which is nominated for best new play.
• D&P alumnus Barclay Stiff (B.F.A. ’00) is production stage manager and fight captain for “Take Me Out,” which is nominated for best revival of a play.
• Drama alumnus Avery Glymph (B.F.A. ’95) is in the Ensemble of “The Skin of Our Teeth,” which received six nominations.
• D&P alumnus Evan Cook (B.F.A. ’17) is the assistant sound designer for “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
• D&P alumnus Harley Haberman (B.F.A. ’20) is the associate hair and wig designer for “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
• Drama alumnus Benton Whitley (High School ’04) is owner of Stewart/Whitley Casting, which did the casting for “Paradise Square,” which is nominated for best musical.
• Dance alumnus Matthew Murphy (High School ’03) is production photographer for “MJ,” “Girl from the North Country,” “Company,” and “Skeleton Crew.”

The 75^th Annual Tony Awards will return to the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 12, in a four-hour television and streaming event that will be broadcast live coast-to-coast for the first time. The Tony Awards ceremony will air at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, with Ariana DeBose, who won an Oscar for “West Side Story,” serving as host of the telecast. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

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