Nominations for the 79th TONY AWARDS showcase the Pittsburgh theater community’s contributions to Broadway, including 11 nominations for the revival of Ragtime. Composer Stephen Flaherty, a Dormont native, won the 1998 Tony for Ragtime’s musical score, and will receive the Richard Rodgers Award on June 12, five days after the 2026 Tonys ceremony, at Pittsburgh CLO’s 80th Anniversary Gala.
For his performance in the current revival of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson, Ruben Santiago-Hudson earned a nomination as Best Featured Actor. He previously won a Tony in that category, in 1996, for Wilson’s Seven Guitars. The play’s five nominations also included Best Costume Design, for Paul Tazewell.
For more local ties and full list of Tony Award nominees, read👇
Tony Awards
Review: Corny As It May Seem, ‘Shucked’ Sows Seeds of Punny Fun
If you love rapid-fire, eye-rolling puns, the North American Tour of “Shucked,” now at the Benedum Center, will fill you to overflowing with “farm to fable” lunacy and laughter.
2025 Tony Award Nominees Include CMU Alums Megan Hilty, Natalie Venetia Belcon
The 78th annual Tony Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, May 1, 2025, with, as is often the case, Carnegie Mellon University alums front and center. Megan Hilty earned her second Tony nod, this time as leading actress in a musical for “Death Becomes Her.” Natalie Venetia Belcon is nominated in the featured actress category for “The Buena Vista Social Club.”
Review: ‘Some Like It Hot’ Dances Up a Storm to Reheat a Film Classic
“Some Like It Hot,” the musical, pays tribute to the “enduring treasure” of a film, with antics and jokes that are a throwback to the Roaring ’20s, plus an updated twist or two, for a rollicking, old-fashioned, good-time night at the theater.
‘Some Like It Hot’ Musical Swings Into Pittsburgh
By SHARON EBERSON Some Like It Hot is a movie with music that swings, and the musical based on the movie takes that to heart. Set in the Prohibition era, the stage production dances and sings its way from beginning… Read More ›
Young Star of Broadway’s ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ Returns to Tony-Nominated Role for Tour
By SHARON EBERSON Justin Cooley speaks in the most humble terms of leap-frogging past college, from high school to Broadway, as a “strange transition.” Most people would call his life of the past four years a series of one amazing… Read More ›
Front Porch Theatricals Brings Home ‘Baby’ and ‘Sunday in the Park With George’ in 2025
By SHARON EBERSON On a celebratory night of songs and surprises, Front Porch Theatricals announced the company’s 2025 summer shows, both Tony Award rivals for best musical in 1984. They are: Baby, a seven-time Tony nominee, comes to the New… Read More ›
Billy Porter Honored for Activism and Advocacy With 2024 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Pittsburgh native Billy Porter has been named the 2024 recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award, “in recognition of his outstanding dedication and contributions as an activist and spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ communities, including his work with The Elizabeth Taylor… Read More ›
Leslie Odom Jr., ‘Stereophonic’ Actors and More Among CMU 2024 Tony Nominees
By SHARON EBERSON The 2024 Tony Award nominations were announced today, with many shows having opened just this month to earn consideration. The mad scramble for Tonys voters included shows that are multiple nominees, including best musical nods for Hell’s… Read More ›
‘Company’s’ Kathryn Allison Revels in Revival’s New Take on Characters
By SHARON EBERSON Before we get to the gender-swapped, contemporized Company that will arrive in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Kathryn Allison is required to talk about being in a room with Stephen Sondheim. “To see him in person was wild,” says the… Read More ›
