Six Carnegie Mellon Alumni Nominated for 12 Tony Awards

Nominees represent lighting, sound and costume design; acting and producing

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May 01, 2018, 12:05 ET

PITTSBURGH, May 1, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Six Carnegie Mellon University alumni received a record-breaking 12 Tony Award nominations this morning. School of Drama alumnus and 2016 Tony Award winner Leslie Odom, Jr. and CBS star Katharine McPhee co-hosted the nominations announcement, which aired in part on "CBS This Morning" and in full on the Tony Awards page on Facebook.

Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Grey Henson was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Role in a Musical for his role as Damian Hubbard in “Mean Girls.”

Five alumni were nominated for their outstanding behind-the-scenes work. Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher were nominated for lighting design, and Peter Hylenski and Ann Roth received nominations in sound and costume design, respectively. Producer Jamie deRoy received five nominations.

Grey Henson also was nominated for his featured role in the Broadway musical "Mean Girls."

"CMU congratulates our alumni for their distinctive contributions to Broadway's best productions and to the performing arts more broadly," said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. "Our partnership with the Tony Awards, and commitment to the Excellence in Theatre Education Award, reflects the value we place on arts education and its impact on people and society."

CMU will present the fourth annual Excellence in Theatre Education Award at the Tony Awards this year. The award is the first, national honor to recognize K-12 theatre educators.

CMU alumnus and 2017 Tony nominee Josh Groban will co-host the Tony Awards with singer, songwriter, actress and Tony nominee Sara Bareilles. The 72^nd Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, June 10, from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

"We're extremely proud of the work our alumni are engaged in to earn these nominations," said Dan J. Martin, dean of CMU's College of Fine Arts. "Clearly, our School of Drama prepares our graduates in not only the acting skills to be part of a cast onstage, but also the expertise in those essential elements it takes to make a production come to life — lighting, sound, costumes and producing."

For more information on the nominees and the Excellence in Theatre Education Award, visit CMU's news site.

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University