Have you ever dreamed of winning a Tony Award? Did you ever practice your Tony acceptance speech in the bathroom mirror? Did you grow up watching the Tony Awards every year ? Do you have a collection of Tony Award shows on VHS tape that you refuse to throw out?This is the podcast for you. Every week actress and podcast host Ilana Levine interviews your favorite Tony Award winners and together they go down memory lane as guests share intimate and never before shared details about their Tony experience.You will hear their reactions as they listen to their Tony speech again and feel like you are reliving the experience with them. Tears are shed- laughs are shared and it is a rare glimpse into what it really is to sit in Radio City and hear your name called and all the emotion and relief that comes with that rare moment where fantasy and reality come together and the thing you have wished for your whole life has just come true and suddenly you have to walk down an aisle and step up on that stage and try to put into words how much this award means to you...
https://broadwaypodcastnetwork.com/podcast/and-the-tony-goes-to/
Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 19 hours 52 minutes
episode 9: BD Wong (M. Butterly - 1988)
When BD Wong asked his parents to lend him money to fly to New York for an audition for M. Butterfly he told them he was certain he would not get the job but he could not pass up the opportunity to meet the creative team. Well we know how that story went! Having no Broadway credits he was the first actor cast in the play and was actually involved in the casting process for his co star...
episode 8: John Benjamin Hickey (The Normal Heart - 2011)
When Ilana, host of AND THE AWARD GOES TO.. had the privilege of talking to John Benjamin Hickey - the winner of The Tony Award for The Normal Heart- it was the day after Larry Kramer had died so it was so timely and beautiful to have this conversation while John was still processing this news. John first came to the role of Felix Turner in a reading for charity directed by Joel Grey.
episode 7: Cynthia Nixon (Rabbit Hole - 2006)
A self described “theater junkie” Cynthia Nixon has been in love with the theater for her entire life, She was cast in her first Broadway role at the age of 14- the play was The Philadelphia Story. Her ability to inhabit a role and bring us into the world of the characters she plays with such humanity and integrity makes her one of the most celebrated actresses of her generation. In this episode of And The Award Goes To....
episode 6: Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels- 2005)
Growing up in the midwest the seventh of eleven children- Norbert Leo Butz was surprisingly unaware of The Tony Awards. If he had practiced any speech in his bathroom mirror it most likely would have been for the Academy Awards or Grammy Awards yet here he is - a two time Tony Award winner.
episode 5: Nikki M. James (Book of Mormon - 2011)
When Nikki M. James was in kindergarten her teacher invited her to sing in a school performance. It was obvious to everyone that she was exceptionally talented but what became clear to Nikki, even at this young age, was that she found her passion. That love of performing a song became her obsession and then she found Broadway!
episode 4: Judith Light (Isabelle Stevenson special Tony Award - 2019)
In 2019 Judith Light, one of the most beloved members of the Broadway community, was awarded the Isabelle Stevenson special Tony Award for her fierce advocacy on behalf of those affected by HIV AIDS and the LGBTQ+ community. Her passion for the causes she believes in , her fierce loyalty to the community she loves and her incredible passion for the arts has made her an inspiration for so many...
episode 3: Karen Olivo (West Side Story - 2009)
“This is a story about love” is how Arthur Laurents- writer and director of West Side Story- described the show to Karen Olivo who was cast as Anita. He went on to say “You fight because you love. The hate you feel is because you fear the thing you love will go...
episode 2: James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin - 2014)
James Monroe Iglehart grew up obsessed with Disney and Robin Williams ( the Genie in the film Aladdin) was his childhood hero. At 17 his graduation gift from his mother was going to see Aladdin so clearly the role of the Genie was his destiny but there were many hurdles along the way...
episode 1: Patti LuPone (Gypsy - 2008)
In 2008 Patti LuPone won her second Tony Award. She has been nominated a total of seven times. Join host Ilana Levine and Patti as they listen to Patti’s 2008 acceptance speech and Patti takes listeners on a trip down memory lane, recounting that evening and all that led up to her second Tony win -- 28 years after her first! As an actress Patti has devoted most of her career to Broadway and with Ilana she is astonishingly candid in conversation...