Tony Nominations Announced

May 2011

Sharon Jensen, BA ’69, MA ’71 (theatre), Executive Director of the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts, has been selected to receive a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, in a separate ceremony at the June 11 Tony Awards. The Alliance was created to “achieve a theatre, film, and television industry that reflects American society . . . where the stories being told are drawn from diverse experiences; and where our individual humanity and forms of expression can be celebrated.”

“The best part about it,” Jensen told old friend and former classmate Priscilla Lindsay, Chair of the Department of Theatre & Drama, “is that it belongs to all actors of color and artists with disabilities. This recognition distinguishes and validates their work and efforts.”

“We would not be here without Alan Eisenberg (BA ’56), former Executive Director of Actors Equity,” she added, “who first gave us a desk, a phone, and a home when we were called the Office of Non-Traditional Casting. I am very proud to be a graduate of the University of Michigan!”

Other Tony nominees, announced this past Tuesday include Martin Pakledinaz, MFA ’75, for Best Costume Design of a Musical for Anything Goes. The Araca Group, co-founded by Matthew Rego, BFA ’92, musical theatre, has been nominated as one of the producers for Catch Me if you Can and The Merchant of Venice. Another U-M alum, Jack O’Brien, BA ’61, MM ’62, honorary doctorate ’08, is the director of Catch Me if You Can.