VIDEO: Theatreworks Silicon Valley Receives 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award

Last night, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley received the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award at the 73rd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, hosted by James Corden and featuring a galaxy of stage and screen stars, including Tina Fey, Laura Linney, Bryan Cranston, Adam Driver, Audra McDonald and hundreds of other famed performers, directors, playwrights and designers. Broadway star Danny Burstein (also a TheatreWorks alumnus) welcomed to the stage TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley, Executive Director Phil Santora, and TheatreWorks's Trustee Chair Judy Heyboer, where they accepted the nation's highest recognition for a regional theatre.

"This award is for generations of collaborators who have grown TheatreWorks for 50 years," said Kelley, who next month launches his 50th and final season as artistic director of the company he founded, concluding one of the longest current tenures in American theater. "We thank our Board, led by Judy Heyboer, our staff, new works directors, arts educators, and the thousands of theatremakers who found an artistic home with us, especially the playwrights and composers who brought 70 world premieres to our stage and developed hundreds of new works that have been produced across America and around the world."

Across the country in Palo Alto, cheers erupted from hundreds of enthusiastic Bay Area fans gathered at the Oshman Family JCC, where artists, staff, and supporters who have worked with the Palo Alto-based company over the past 49 years watched TheatreWorks Silicon Valley accept the award on national television. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli and Marketing and Communications Manager Heather Orth acted as hosts at the viewing party, which also included TheatreWorks trivia, Tony Awards bingo, and raffles. Attendees applauded several other TheatreWorks alumni appearing at the Tonys, including Alex Brightman, nominated for his performance in the titular role of Beetlejuice The Musical, Teal Wicks, who stars in The Cher Show, Best Actor nominee Derrick Baskin, and Celia Keenan-Bolger who was awarded Best Actress in a featured role, among others. TheatreWorks's Director of Development Ronnie Plasters led a raffle for prizes including tickets to TheatreWorks's 50th Anniversary Celebration in November 2019 and a private lunch with Robert Kelley and Phil Santora. Casting Director Jeffrey Lo gave a door prize to the attendee who had attended or participated in TheatreWorks shows for the longest time, which was won by Master Carpenter Bill Roberts who stage managed Odd Bodkins in 1973.

The first California theatre company to win this prestigious award in over 20 years, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley was selected as the recipient of the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award by The Tony Awards® Administration Committee based on the recommendation by the American Theatre Critics Association. The Tony Awards honors theatre professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway with a single recipient each year representing excellence in Regional Theatre. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Launching its 50th Anniversary Season in July 2019 with Julia Cho's The Language Archive, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley currently reaches over 100,000 patrons per year, in addition to programs for some 25,000 students. It has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast locally and from across the country.

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