Tag Archives: Will Trice

TONY AWARDS tonight — Some Arkansas connections

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TonyAwards-328x253.328.254The American Theatre Wing and Broadway League present the 67th Antoinette Perry Awards – also known as the Tony Awards – tonight. They will be aired on CBS (THV11 in Central Arkansas) at 7pm CDT.

There are a few Arkansas connections to this year’s nominees of the best of Broadway.

Arkansas natives and previous Tony winners Will Trice and Remmel T. Dickinson are each nominated again this year for producing. Trice is one of the producers of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, nominated for Best Revival of a Play. Dickinson is a producer of Best Musical nominee Matilda. Both of those productions received multiple Tony nominations.

Tony winner Roger Horchow of Texas was married for nearly 50 years to Little Rock native Carolyn Pfeifer, until her 2009 death. Horchow and his daughter Sally are both nominated for producing the revival of Annie which is currently pleasing crowds on Broadway.

Chet Walker is nominated for his choreography for the revival of Pippin. Walker’s parents live in Maumelle. He has been a guest instructor for the Arkansas Dance Network. (Thanks to Christen Burke Pitts–herself an outstanding choreographer–for pointing out this Arkansas connection.)

Japhy Weideman is nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Play for his work on the new play The Nance. This is his first Tony nomination and his first season to be lighting plays on Broadway. He has previously received acclaim for his work Off Broadway. Weideman has been a lighting designer at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in the past.

One final nominee with an Arkansas connection. A couple of years ago, the Clinton School of Public Service brought actor Holland Taylor to Little Rock to discuss her play Ann about Texas Gov. Ann Richards. At that point in time, Ms. Taylor was performing the play throughout the country, but she did not know if it would be performed in New York. It made it to Broadway this season, and she received a Tony nomination for Actress in a Play for her work.

Whether these nominees win or lose tonight, it is a testament to Little Rock’s cultural richness that there are several nominees this year with connections to The Rock.

Two LR theatre alums among 2013 Tony nominees

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The nominations for the 67th Tony Awards were announced this morning.  At least two of the nominees have connections to Little Rock.

Trice at last year's Tony Awards (photo by Lisa Pacino)

Trice at last year’s Tony Awards (photo by Lisa Pacino)

Little Rock native Will Trice, who won a Tony Award last year for producing the revival of Porgy and Bess, has been nominated for producing this season’s revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  That production earned a total of five nominations.

Trice (who is an associate of one of Broadway’s leading producers Jeffrey Richards) was also represented on Broadway this season with a revival of Glengarry Glen Ross and the new play The Anarchist.  He is currently working on projects for next season including a transfer to Broadway of an acclaimed revival of The Glass Menagerie which stars two-time Tony winner Cherry Jones, two-time Tony nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger and Zachary Quinto.

Weideman

Weideman

Japhy Weideman received a Tony nomination for his lighting design of the new play The Nance.  For several seasons, Weideman was a lighting designer at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.  Though he has extensive credits Off Broadway, in regional theatres and in opera, this season is Weideman’s first on Broadway.  He also designed the lighting for a Broadway revival of Cyrano de Bergerac earlier this season.

In 2005 and 2007, Weideman received Drama Desk nominations for his design of Off Broadway productions.  His recent theatre credits include two Pulitzer Prize finalists: 4000 Miles and Sons of the Prophet.  His work has been seen throughout the US, Scotland, England and Greece.