Carnegie Mellon alumni bring home 4 awards at 2024 Tonys

On Sunday night, the theater community gathered to celebrate the 77th Tony Awards, which honor the best of the best from the past year’s Broadway season. Included among the nominees for competitive awards were six Carnegie Mellon University alumni, with a total of 11 nominations.

In addition, Pittsburgh native and Carnegie Mellon University graduate Billy Porter was chosen as this year’s recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Award. Presented at the Tonys each year, this honor recognizes a member of the theater community that devotes significant time and effort to volunteerism “on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations.”

Porter won the award as a result of his dedication “as an activist and spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ communities, including his work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and the Entertainment Community Fund, among other organizations,” according to the Tony Awards.

“For me it was really about making sure that I was honoring the moment in what I spoke about. … There’s power in our work, there’s power in our words, there’s power in our dance, there’s power in art, and it heals and it changes things. I’m so grateful to be a part of the creative community,” Porter said in a Tony Awards First Impressions interview after receiving his award.

The 54-year-old actor graduated from Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama in 1991. He won a Best Leading Actor in a Musical Tony Award in 2013 for his role in “Kinky Boots.”

Newer to the awards ceremony is this year’s winner for Best Featured Actor in a Play, Will Brill. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama in 2009. This was both his first nomination and win. He played the bassist of a fictional rock band on the cusp of stardom in the play “Stereophonic.”

“There’s six other people in this play, can you stand up real quick? Look at them … this is really nice,” Brill said in his acceptance speech, clearly stunned and excited at his win.

Producer Jamie deRoy, a 1967 Carnegie Mellon alumna, won twice last night, once for Best Revival of a Musical for “Merrily We Roll Along” and once for Best Play for “Stereophonic.” She is no stranger to the Tonys — last night brought her total up to 14 — and she was nominated five times this year alone.

In addition to boasting an impressive stable of winners, Carnegie Mellon also gives back to the theater community. Since 2014, the university has partnered with the Tony Awards to present the Excellence in Theatre Education Award. This honor uplifts exceptional K-12 drama educators from across the country.

This year’s winner was CJay Philip, founder and creative director of Dance & Bmore Theater Programs in Baltimore.

“There’s such beautiful theater happening in Baltimore. … I’m so proud to represent the Baltimore art scene and theater scene here in New York at the Tonys, and I’m really proud of all of you and the work you’re doing,” she said in a Tony Awards First Impressions interview after receiving her award.

Philip will also receive a $10,000 grant and a master class for her students led by Carnegie Mellon faculty.

The Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama is the oldest degree-granting drama school in the country and the exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards.