MMC Alums Rule at the 2023 Tony Awards
2. MMC alum and adjunct faculty member Leigh Goldenberg ’03 is the managing director of the Wilma Theater, a co-producer of FAT HAM. Though the play didn’t take home any trophies, it’s still a game-changer for Philly’s theatre scene: It was the first time a Philadelphia theater has been a Broadway producer and Tony-nominated.
3. Robert Reed-Jones ’05, Vice President and Head of Theater at the advertising agency AKA North America, saw several clients win this season, including Parade; Good Night, Oscar; Prima Facie; and New York, New York.
4. Talent agency The Mine, where director Ellery Sandhu ’01 (left), junior agent Eric Leiggi ’15, and talent coordinator Flynn Navin ’20 are alums, also had several clients who were part of Tony-nominated and winning productions, including Sweeney Todd, Camelot, and Shucked.
5. Jared Grimes ’05, who was nominated last year for his turn as Eddie Ryan in Funny Girl, performed with the show’s cast.
6. The cast and crew of A Doll’s House, which stars Franklin Bongjio ’16 and MMC Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Jesmille Darbouze-Smith, had six nominations in all. MMC students got to hear from the cast in April at a panel discussion Professor Darbouze-Smith organized.
7. Ahead of the Tony’s, photographer Brooke Bell ’20 shot J. Harrison Ghee, who won leading actor in a musical for Some Like It Hot. Ghee and Shucked’s Alex Newell made history as the first nonbinary people to win Tony Awards. Bell works as an assistant for Jenny Anderson, a noted Broadway photographer, and occasionally photographs stars as well!
8. Kendall Edwards ’18 is a Broadway press agent at DKC/O&M, a public relations agency in the arts and culture space. Their clients include A Doll’s House, Shucked, and Parade.
Published: June 29, 2023
