And the Award Goes To... Hosted by Ilana Levine

“I consider myself the luckiest person in the world because my avocation is my occupation” is how Charlotte St. Martin describes what it means to be President of The Broadway League. When Charlotte St. Martin was in high school she went to see her boyfriend in the King and I and that was the beginning of her lifelong love of theater. Even in her previous job in the hospitality business in Dallas she was known as “Broadway Charlotte.” The combination of her having chaired three major trade associations and her love of Broadway made her the perfect candidate for the role that puts her front and center in all that is the business of Broadway.

Along with The Tony Awards and The Jimmy Awards , Charlotte is also tremendously proud of the Broadway Bridges program which will allow for over 70,000 kids a year to see a Broadway show for free.

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

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Tony Award winner Cady Huffman had just driven across the country to come back east after performing with Dame Edna. She has no agent and wasn’t sure what was next and then she got a phone call from a casting director asking her to do a reading for producers of a musical adaptation of the Mel Brooks film , “The Producers.” They rehearsed for just a few days and then did the reading with the glorious Ann Bancroft sitting in the front row. After they did a second reading Mel Brooks told Cady “ Kid when this thing goes- you are in!”

In this episode Cady describes what it was like to watch Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane find their way to the iconic pairing of Bialystock and Bloom and what happens on Tony night when you lose track of your Harry Winston jewels and your body guard !

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

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“Everyone needs a good mole joke” is how five time nominee and two time Tony Award winner Donna Murphy made the audience howl with laughter during her acceptance speech for her stunning portrayal of Fosca in the Sondheim/Lapine musical, Passion. According to Mr. Sondheim when he heard Donna sing at her audition he felt she could have performed in front of an audience immediately - that is how deeply connected and breathtaking she was in the role. In this episode Ms. Murphy takes listeners behind the scenes detailing how she created the role, how Lapine and Sondheim worked seamlessly as a team and how all the designers helped her find what was to become the iconic performance that remains legendary in Broadway history.

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

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On the night John Lloyd Young won his Tony the stars who announced his category were Harry Belafonte and Glenn Close! During his emotional speech where he disclosed that his mother had died when he was only two years old, Mr. Young went on to dedicate his award to his father and spoke of the struggles they had gone through together. As a Commander in the United States military John's father was not encouraging of his son pursuing a life in the arts but after graduating from Brown University John made his way to New York City where he struggled on his own for ten years before he landed the role of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys. His story is at times heartbreaking and completely fascinating but ultimately it is the story of an artist who could not be deterred from following his dreams. 

Welcome John Lloyd Young to the podcast.

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

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The first Tony Awards ceremony took place on Easter Sunday in 1947. It was a small affair where awards were handed out to notable artists of the day. Some of the winners that evening included actress, Patricia Neal and playwright, Arthur Miller. The ceremony was not televised and took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The first awards handed out were a money clip for the men and a make up compact for the women. It took many years until it took the form of an actual award and the only award that spins! Since 2011 Heather Hitchens has been the President and CEO of The American Theater Wing. She herself is an accomplished drummer who started out at a local radio station and then later went into arts management. She counts many women mentors in her life who gave her the confidence to take on leadership roles in the world of arts organizations which is how her career in the arts began at the age of 24.

“The arts is the only sector that I know of that lifts up every sector that it touches.” Heather Hitchens.

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

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Tonya Pinkins had a very complicated journey with the musical Jelly's Last Jam. From the very beginning she felt she was up against a cast that was not happy that she was replacing the original Anita in the show, she was away from home with her nine month old baby and in rehearsal she found herself holding back. But at night she would dream of what the role could be. She wanted to bring the power and vulnerability she remembered so well about her grandmother to the role but it wasn't until the final run thru that she was able to bring all her ideas and show the cast and creative team what she could really do. Tonya shares that she was almost fired multiple times- even when she was in rehearsal for the Broadway production- but somehow she persevered and she won a Tony Award for her portrayal of this raw, powerful and vulnerable woman.

Welcome Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins to the podcast.

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

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Stephanie J. Block was no stranger to playing real people on Broadway having portrayed Liza Minnelli in The Boy From Oz so when director Jason Moore asked her to take on the role of Cher in the Broadway musical The Cher Show, she was quite trepidatious. A long meal with Jason and an unexpected nudge from her Priest changed her mind. Once rehearsals began Stephanie found herself connecting deeply and easily with the role and Cher’s life but the real test came when Cher arrived at the workshop presentation. Stephanie hid in a bathroom not wanting to meet the real Cher until after the performance but she was summoned and that was her first introduction to the woman/icon who would become a lifelong friend. In this episode Stephanie shares  details of her early conversations  with Cher and what tricks she used to  learn to channel and sing like Cher and then what happens when you sing WITH Cher. 

Welcome Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Block to the podcast.

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

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Ruben Santiago-Hudson had dreamed of being in an August Wilson from the first time he was in the audience of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He found himself crying during the play and realized he was not just deeply moved by the play and the actors in it but the tears were connected to this feeling that for the first time in his life he was seeing people on stage who were so familiar to him and he wanted to be a part of that kind of storytelling. It took a few tries but finally he was cast in Wilson’s Seven Guitars and that began a brotherhood and an artistic marriage between Ruben and the great playwright that lasted until the death of August Wilson. It was Wilson who encouraged Ruben not just to act in his work but to be one of the few artists he trusted to direct his work. Since then Ruben has directed his plays on Broadway and adapted Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom for the screen. This is an artistic relationship that will be a part of theater history.

Welcome Tony Award winner  Ruben Santiago Hudson  to the podcast.

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

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Kristin Chenoweth first auditioned for You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, having no idea which character she was reading for. It wasn’t until she got to the first day of rehearsal and she looked at the place card by her seat and it read “Kristin Chenoweth as Sally Brown.” That was the beginning of a journey that took Kristin from working actress to global star. The reaction by audiences and press alike was unprecedented. Her uniquely operatic voice, her comedic timing, her ability to portray a child even though she was an adult- were all the ingredients for a perfect marriage of actress and part but the true game changing moment happened when composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, I Am Harvey Milk) showed up one day with a new song for Kristin called “My New Philosophy “ history was made. 

Welcome Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth to the podcast.

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

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Laura Benanti dreamed of one thing and one thing only- performing on Broadway so winning a Tony Award for her role in Gypsy was the most amazing dream come true and one of the happiest moments of her life. What people may not know is that early on in the rehearsal process she walked out feeling unsupported by the process and it wasn't until she had a deeply honest conversation with it's director, Arthur Laurents, that she returned and from that moment on it was the most joyous professional experience of her life. Find out how the two worked it out and why co- starring with Patti LuPone and Boyd Gaines was such an extraordinary experience on this episode of And The Award Goes To... 

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

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