Broadway star Ilana Levine returns to The Art of Kindness with Robert Peterpaul to discuss all things kindness during awards season, an amazing Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews story and much more.

Ilana is a Broadway star best known for playing “Lucy Van Pelt” in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. She has also starred in the Broadway productions of Jake’s Women, Wrong Mountain and The Last Night Of Ballyhoo. In addition, she has appeared in many TV shows and films including: Tanner ’88, Law and Order, Damages, The Job, Cashmere Mafia, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Failure To Launch, The Nanny Diaries, Friends With Kids and Five Flights Up. Seinfeld fans will also recognize her from the infamous episode “The Contest.”

Ilana is also a podcast superstar with her show Little Known Facts. Her latest podcast venture is for all those out there who have ever dreamed of winning a Tony Award or Oscar. And the Award Goes To… sees Ilana interview some of the best and brightest in this business as they take a trip down memory lane and relive their winning moment. Guests include Kristin Chenoweth, Patti Lupone, Judith Light and so much more.

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Music:

"Awake" by Ricky Alvarez & "Sunshine" by Lemon Music Studio.

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Katie won a Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2002 for her role as Brooke Ashton in the Broadway revival of Noises Off.

She played a "lovely but dim fashion model" in the original Broadway production of Neil Simon's Proposals in 1997–98, Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret (from November 21, 2000 to January 18, 2001), and call girl Cora in the 1999 Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh, opposite Kevin Spacey. She also has appeared in My Favorite Year with Tim Curry, John Guare's Bosoms and Neglect, and Smell of the Kill, with Kristen Johnston.

Finneran's biggest film role to date may be Judy Rose in the remake of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. Her film credits include You've Got Mail, Chicken Little, Liberty Heights, Bewitched, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, and Death to Smoochy.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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“Please let me standing here be a little sign to you from the universe to make the weird art.”

Deirdre O'Connell has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television. She began her career at Stage One, an experimental theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. She made her Broadway debut in the 1986 revival of The Front Page, and was nominated for the 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the off-Broadway production Love and Anger. She is the recipient of two Drama-Logue Awards and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her stage work in Los Angeles.

She made her screen debut in Tin Men, with additional film credits that include State of Grace, Straight Talk, Leaving Normal, Fearless, City of Angels, Hearts in Atlantis, Imaginary Heroes, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Wendy and Lucy, What Happens in Vegas, Secondhand Lions, and Synecdoche, New York.

She was a regular on L.A. Doctors and has made numerous guest appearances on series such as Kate & Allie, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Six Feet Under, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Nurse Jackie. From 1994 to 2010, O'Connell appeared on six episodes of Law & Order, four of them as Dr. Valerie Knight, Anita Van Buren's oncologist in Season 20.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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Harvey Fierstein is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and movie roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for Torch Song Trilogy. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. Fierstein also wrote the book for the Tony Award-winning musicals Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.

For his role on the television show Cheers, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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In a career spanning three decades, Allison Janney is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award (the subject of this episode now!), a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and seven Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards.

Janney made her professional stage debut with the Off-Broadway production Ladies (1989) before making her Broadway debut with the 1996 revival of Present Laughter. She won two Drama Desk Awards and has been nominated for two Tony Awards: for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the Broadway revival of A View from the Bridge (1997), and for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical 9 to 5 (2009).

Her film roles include Private Parts (1997), Primary Colors (1998), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), American Beauty (1999), Nurse Betty (2000), The Hours (2002), Hairspray (2007), Juno (2007), The Help (2011), The Way, Way Back (2013), Tammy (2014), The Rewrite (2014), Spy (2015), Tallulah (2016), The Girl on the Train (2016), Bad Education (2019) and Bombshell (2019). She voiced roles in Finding Nemo (2003), Over the Hedge (2006), Minions (2015), and The Addams Family (2019). For her performance in the black comedy I, Tonya (2017), Janney won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award, all for Best Supporting Actress.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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Known for his work in musical theater, Matt Doyle made his Broadway debut in 2007 in Spring Awakening as replacement for the role of Hanschen, and later had supporting roles in the Broadway productions of Bye Bye Birdie in 2009 and War Horse in 2011. He joined The Book of Mormon in 2012, replacing Nic Rouleau as Elder Price. Following a period of performing Off-Broadway and regionally, he joined the Broadway transfer of the gender-swapped production of Company in 2021 playing the role originated by Jonathan Bailey in the West End. For his performance, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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Joaquina is best known for playing Nelly O'Brien in the Broadway musical Paradise Square, for which she won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She was also nominated for Best Actress in a Play in 2020 for portraying Kaneisha in Slave Play. In addition to her theatre work, Kalukango has appeared in One Night in Miami and When They See Us.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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Andrea Martin is an actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series SCTV and Great News. She has appeared in films such as Black Christmas (1974), Wag the Dog (1997), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016), and Little Italy (2018). She has also lent her voice to the animated films Anastasia (1997), The Rugrats Movie (1998), and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001).

Andrea has been equally prolific in the world of theater, winning Tony Awards for both My Favorite Year and the 2013 revival of Pippin. Martin also appeared on Broadway in Candide, Oklahoma!, Fiddler on the Roof, Young Frankenstein, Exit the King, and Act One. She has received five nominations for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, more than any other actress in the award's history. She received her first nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the 2016 revival of Noises Off.

This episode dives deep into how director Diane Paulus and Andrea breathed new life into this classic show. It's the idea of circus, and how to bring that to life.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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Julie Taymor made history being the first female director to win a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. One of the most iconic directors of our generation, Julie is also a writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best Director and Costume Designer. Her film Frida, about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including a Best Original Song nomination for Taymor's composition "Burn It Blue". 

Julie has a strong passion for mask work, puppetry work, and why many people who watch The Lion King may not understand the extreme levels of talent required to be a great performer with a mask on. Julie also discusses what the show means to her, why it's so important to the world, and what really drives her.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim wrote three shows together - Sunday In The Park with George , Into The Woods and Passion. In this episode of And The Award Goes To, Lapine shared what made  working with Sondheim so incredible. He admits that when he first met Sondheim he was relatively new to the theater and he describes Sondheim as the person who schooled him in musical theater . "Working with Steve was fun. He is smart, fun, droll and keeps you on your toes but.. he is the most loyal friend you could have.”

The original workshop of Passion was just 60 audience members in a small theater and the intensity and daringness of the workshop was really embraced. Then Sondheim and Lapine got to work on bringing it to Broadway and at the first dress rehearsal they found that the audience was laughing at Fosca which was not their intention. They began to work on creating the show they wanted without dumbing it down and found a way to make Fosca a sympathetic character rather than a comedic one.  Clearly they succeeded because the show won  the Tony award for best musical, best book of a musical , best original score  and Donna Murphy won the Tony for best actress. 

This episode explores the relationship between the great James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim who together made American musical theater history.

Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network.

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