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

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. All these years later the now very famous actor shares intimate truths about the difficulties he had in the production but also the glorious on stage relationship that developed with the great John Lithgow. Welcome Tony Award winner BD Wong!

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

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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.  The reading was so successful that very quickly a production was mounted this time directed by George C. Wolfe. His friend Joe Mantello encouraged John  to take on the role for the original reading with neither of them ever imagining that as best friends they would go on to be such glorious and devastating scene partners in the play when it  went to Broadway. With only ten days of rehearsal the play was mounted for a full Broadway production with the original idea that different actors would play the roles with a rotating cast perhaps even with scripts in hand but then a few of the actors started to learn the lines very quickly and it evolved into a more traditional production with Ellen Barkin, Jim Parsons and an all star cast. Plus … some incredible words of wisdom shared by the great  director, Mike Nichols.

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

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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.. Cynthia takes us through what it was to take on the role of a grieving mother in the Pulitzer Prize play Rabbit Hole and she finally explains how it all happened that she was famously cast in both The Real Thing and Hurlyburly at 17 ( and we learn  how Whoopi Goldberg was inadvertently part of why that came to be!) that and the time Joseph Papp threw her a graduation party on the set of Romeo and Juliet and so much more on this episode with Tony Award winner, Cynthia Nixon.

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

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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. The win for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was such a joyous win and joyous night for Mr. Butz. It was while Norbert were starring in The Last Five Years that David Yazbek came to him and said he was writing the musical version of Dirty Rotten Schedules and wanted him to be in it. In this episode Norbert is so honest and vulnerable as he describes how often he felt like he didn’t know what he was doing with the role- wasn’t sure he was funny enough ( of course he was !!!) and then we talk about the night Bruce Springsteen came to see the show and how that made him weep for hours after because of the enormous emotional reaction he had to meeting his idol. That and so much more as we deep dive into the life of two time Tony Award winner- Norbert Leo Butz.

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

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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! She dreamed of being a professional actress and of one day winning a Tony Award. Sure- lots of people practice their speech in the bathroom mirror but Nikki is one of those extraordinary talents who actually made it happen. Losing her father at a young age made her all the more focused and devoted to her craft and then a play reading when she was still in high school was the beginning of something that would change her life forever even though she didn’t know it at the time. Her performance in that reading stayed with one audience member- Bobby Lopez ( one of the creators of The Book Of Mormon) and many years later when they were casting for the workshop of the show he thought Nikki would be a great fit. He was right! And what luck for all of us who got to see Nikki be brilliant  in her Tony Award winning role and her performance on the Broadway Cast Album is one of the greatest ever.

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

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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. Her ability to portray roles with her singular talent has made her an actress that every director is honored to work with. She is also one of a very few actors to win back to back Tonys - she won for The Assembled Parties and Other Desert Series.

After decades in Los Angeles she came back to New York uncertain of her place in the theater community- I think we know how that turned out! Welcome Judith Light to AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

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

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“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.” On this episode of “ And The Tony Goes To…” Karen shares details about her complex and close relationship with director Arthur Laurents, with whom she connected deeply and Karen shares how she felt overwhelmed by the expectations of playing Anita- a triple threat role where one is meant to be a great dancer, singer and actress and she describes in detail how Arthur made sure that Karen felt supported in all those areas. To this day when she speaks of Arthur she gets emotional remembering what it was to work with him and how much he meant to her and of course- we talk about how her friend Lin Manuel Miranda was instrumental in her getting the role.

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

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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. In this episode James describes how he fought for the role that made him a household name and a Tony Award winner plus he shares with Ilana the most amazing story of performing at The White House for Barack and Michelle Obama- dreams do come true!

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

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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.   In this premiere episode of “ And The Tony Goes To..” Patti  describes her very fraught and emotionally devastating past with Gypsy scribe, Arthur Laurents, and shares what Scott Rudin told her to do if she wanted  to bring Gypsy back to Broadway.   She also explains why she never really wanted to play the role and why she changed her mind.  All this and more with the extraordinary actress, Patti LuPone.

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

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