A Carnegie Mellon First: Six Alumni Win Tony Awards

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Jun 10, 2013, 02:03 ET

PITTSBURGH, June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In an unprecedented year, Carnegie Mellon University alumni stole the spotlight at the 67^th Annual Tony Awards. Six CMU alumni, the most ever in one year, received Broadway's highest honor for excellence in acting, costume design, sound and lighting. The winners reflect the breadth of drama education at CMU, and the range of impact graduates are having on the Broadway stage.

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Peter Cooke, head of CMU's School of Drama, said the evening was a wonderful celebration of CMU's talent. "Artists from across many disciplines and years won Tony Awards in their specialized categories, which in turn speaks to the strength of conservatory training – the hallmark of the CMU School of Drama," he said.

From award winners to featured performers and presenters, CMU's School of Drama was part of the biggest night on Broadway. The award winners included:

Billy Porter (A'91) for Best Performance in a Leading Role in a Musical for "Kinky Boots";
Patina Miller (A'06) for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role in "Pippin," penned by Stephen Schwartz (A'68) while a student at CMU;
Judith Light (A'70) for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for her role in "The Assembled Parties" – Light is celebrating back-to-back wins as she won the same award for "Other Desert Cities" in 2012;
Ann Roth (A'53) for Best Costume Design of a Play for "The Nance"; and
Jules Fisher (A'60) and Peggy Eisenhauer (A'83) for Best Lighting Design of a Play for "Lucky Guy."

Peter Hylenski (A'97) also was nominated for Best Sound Design of a Musical for "Motown The Musical." In addition, the Tony Award for "Best Revival of a Musical" went to "Pippin," with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (A'68). The revival's producers, not Schwartz, received the Tony.

In addition, several CMU alumni were presenters and performers for the evening. They included "Newsies" lead Corey Cott (A'12), Zachary Quinto (A'99), Andrew Gehling (A'05) and Megan Hilty (A'04), who recently wrapped up the second season of NBC's "Smash."

The Hollywood Reporter recently rated Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama among the world's best drama schools with a No. 4 ranking in its top 25.

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 12,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Pittsburgh, Pa., California's Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. The university has exceeded its $1 billion campaign, titled "Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University," which aims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements. The campaign closes June 30, 2013.