Behind the Awards with Eila Mell & Bruce Gotlieb

#29 - Santino Fontana - How many people does it does to take to dress Santino Fontana for the Tony’s?


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Santino Fontana takes us behind the scenes of what it took to get Carol Burnett to introduce the Hal Prince Award at this year’s Drama Desk Awards. Santino describes what it’s like to be in the center of a Tootsie tornado and his secret Frozen identity.

Also in this episode Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Emmy win for Abbott Elementary, Phylicia Rashad, and Summer Binging.

Santino Fontana is an American actor and singer. He began his career in 2006 playing Hamlet at the Guthrie Theater and soon gained wide acclaim for his leading performances on and Off-Broadway. He has received a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Obie Award, and Clarence Derwent Award. In 2019, Fontana won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his lead performance as Michael Dorsey in the stage adaptation of Tootsie.

Fontana is known for his dynamic versatility. In 2016 he appeared opposite Jennifer Lopez in NBC's Shades of Blue. He was awarded the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his work in Brighton Beach Memoirs. David Rooney of Variety wrote, "Fontana brings such strength of character to Stanley that his threatened departure sparks sobs in the audience.” Fontana won a Lucille Lortel, Obie, and Outer Critics Circle Award for his work in the 2011 Off-Broadway production of Sons of the Prophet. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times raved, "The sensitive performance of Santino Fontana, one of the most promising young actors to emerge in the New York theater in recent years is the play's trembling emotional heart. In addition to his stage and TV work, Fontana voiced Prince Hans in Disney's 2013 animated film Frozen.

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y.

Connect with Eila and Bruce:

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  • Eila @eilamell
  • Bruce @cominghomewithbruce
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