LISTEN: Heather Hitchens Talks All Things Tonys on AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

Have you ever dreamed of winning a Tony Award? Did you ever practice your Tony acceptance speech in the bathroom mirror? Did you grow up watching the Tony Awards every year ? Do you have a collection of Tony Award shows on VHS tape that you refuse to throw out?

This is the podcast for you. Every week actress and podcast host Ilana Levine interviews your favorite Tony Award winners and together they go down memory lane as guests share intimate and never before shared details about their Tony experience.

You will hear their reactions as they listen to their Tony speech again and feel like you are reliving the experience with them. Tears are shed- laughs are shared and it is a rare glimpse into what it really is to sit in Radio City and hear your name called and all the emotion and relief that comes with that rare moment where fantasy and reality come together and the thing you have wished for your whole life has just come true and suddenly you have to walk down an aisle and step up on that stage and try to put into words how much this award means to you.

Welcome to "AND THE TONY GOES TO..." By the end of each episode listeners will feel like THEY have just won a Tony!

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.