Four Alumni Capture Coveted Tony Nods

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In April alone, 14 musicals and plays opened on Broadway, just shy of the Apr. 25 deadline to be considered for the coveted Tony Award. The honor, bestowed in the form of a nine-inch-tall trophy topped with a medallion depicting the masks of comedy and tragedy, has become theater’s most prestigious prize. 

Four of UC San Diego’s own Department of Theatre and Dance alumni are among the talented directors, actors and scenic designers to be nominated on the 2024 roster. And one of their works—a new musical by singer Alicia Keys called “Hell’s Kitchen”—crowns the list as the musical with the most Tony Award nominations (a humble 13).

Their nominations are a testament to the strength of a program that is grounded in experimentation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Undergraduate and graduate students who envision futures in acting, choreography, scenic design, playwriting, directing and stage management are mentored by distinguished artists and develop transferable skills by working on full-scale productions. 

“Our programs in the School of Arts and Humanities combine theoretical and practical inquiry designed to stimulate creativity and critical thinking as well as promote an ethic of caring for the common good,” said Dean Cristina Della Coletta. “I am delighted that the unique directing, design and acting talents of our alumni are being recognized. They are truly making a mark on Broadway, contributing to the excellence of the field at large.” 

The 2024 Tony Awards will air at 5 p.m. PT on Sunday, June 16 from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. Viewers can watch it live on CBS or stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

In the meantime, we celebrate our Broadway big shots: five-time Tony nominated director Michael Greif, MFA ’85; four-time Tony nominated scenic designer and current Theatre and Dance faculty member Robert Brill, ‘88; two-time Obie Award winning actor Quincy Tyler Bernstine, MFA ’99; and Obie Award winning director Anne Kauffman, MFA ’99.

‘Thrilling from beginning to end’

It was a star-studded evening on Apr. 20 as guests such as former First Lady Michelle Obama and media executive Oprah Winfrey arrived at the Shubert Theatre in New York City for the Broadway premiere of the new musical, “Hell’s Kitchen.” The project was developed over a period of 13 years by Grammy Award-winning artist Alicia Keys, who sought out the best in the business to bring her story to life. That’s when Michael Greif received a ring.

“I was thrilled to get a call to meet Alicia Keys, whose music I loved, and [playwright] Kris Diaz, whose plays I loved, to talk about a new musical involving some of Alicia’s biggest hits,” shared Greif, who earned an MFA in directing from UC San Diego in 1985.

During the initial meetings, Greif learned about Keys’ vision, which was to write new music for the project and focus the narrative on the pivotal relationships that formed her. “…the story [focuses] not on Alicia’s rise in the music industry, but instead on a few chaotic and cathartic months in the life of a fictitious 17-year-old version of Alicia as she navigates and tests relationships with her mother, estranged father, first lover and a piano teacher who becomes an important mentor,” explained Greif, who set a new Broadway record this year for directing three brand new musicals in one season—“Hell’s Kitchen,” “Days of Wine and Roses” and “The Notebook.”

By the fall of 2022, the musical was beginning to take shape. In search of an exceptional scenic designer, Greif reached out to his former UC San Diego peer, Robert Brill. “We were a few years apart—Michael was in his last year of the graduate directing program when I arrived as an undergraduate,” said Brill, who is a professor of scenic design at UC San Diego. “When he approached me about designing ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ I of course said yes, and was honored and thrilled to be part of such a special project.”

The show has received rave reviews since opening, with New York Times commendation, “The revised show is thrilling from beginning to end, and easily stands out as one of the rare must-sees in a crowded season.” The production garnered more than a dozen Tony Award nominations, including ones for the musical direction of Greif and the scenic design of Brill. 

“I'm so thrilled to be able to make work of this scale, and to collaborate with this amazing group of artists,” shared Brill. “It’s been an incredible Broadway season, and being part of the ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ family has been a powerful reminder that anything is possible!”

The two reflect fondly on their time spent at UC San Diego. “I owe a great debt to my education at UCSD,” said Greif. “Because class sizes were small, I had many opportunities to direct new plays, classics, and many scenes, sometimes in full productions, collaborating with my peer designers. Especially beneficial to my education and the difficult jump from student to professional work, was the university’s relationship with La Jolla Playhouse. I assisted Des McAnuff and other directors there as a student and made my professional debut co-directing with Bill Irwin.”

Brill had similar sentiments to share. “My undergraduate years at UC San Diego laid the foundation for my career and continues to shape who I am as a designer, collaborator and educator,” he said. “Three decades into my career, I feel fortunate that each day offers a new set of challenges and adventures. I remain grateful and am reminded that opportunities exist—sometimes you have to find them, and sometimes you have to make them. I could have never imagined any of this happening, and to this day I still treat every project like it's my first.”

These experiences are exactly what Theatre and Dance’s new chair, Professor Lisa Portes, aims to sustain and grow. “Our graduates are leading tremendous works on stage, continually challenging what’s possible and redefining the future of theater,” said Portes, who is also an alumna of UC San Diego’s program. “We are at a real inflection point in the field, and we are embracing it by telling stories that matter, enhancing production with new technologies and initiating multidisciplinary collaborations. I couldn't be more proud of our Triton Tony nominees.”

Two dramas about covering the truth attract acclaim

Two more UC San Diego classmates are being recognized as Tony Award nominees for their leadership in telling stories that have made an impact on audiences, including actor Quincy Tyler Bernstine and director Anne Kauffman—both 1999 MFA graduates of the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Bernstine’s career has spanned television, film, audiobook narration and theater. Her latest role as Mrs. Muller in the revival play “Doubt: A Parable'' has been lauded, with Theater Mania describing her as “one of the great stage actors of our era making what is remarkably only her sophomore Broadway appearance.” Her performance has earned a Tony Award nomination for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play.

The plot of “Doubt” takes place in 1964 at a Bronx Catholic School and centers on an accusation made by the school’s principal, Sister Aloysius. She believes Father Flynn has formed an improper relationship with the school’s first Black student, and makes it her mission to expose the truth. Bernstine plays the student’s mother, who is solely focused on shielding her son from his father’s abuse by ensuring he graduates.

“I saw the announcement in the New York Times that Roundabout was set to produce a revival of the show starring Liev Schreiber and Tyne Daly…the thought of even the possibility of working with those two actors was extremely exciting to say the very least,” said Bernstine, a two-time Obie Award winner for her work off Broadway. “I emailed my agent immediately and said, ‘I need to be in this.’  I was half-joking, never in a million years thinking I would actually be offered the role.”

Bernstine’s first passion was sports (soccer and lacrosse) and explained that while she enjoyed middle and high school drama classes, she never expected to become a professional actor. It wasn’t until she arrived at college that she embraced the theater arts, eventually deciding to audition for UC San Diego’s MFA program. “I had no real training as an actor so to be so immersed all at once in figuring out the craft of it all was just thrilling to me,” said Bernstine. “I had such wonderful teachers. And classmates, including my dear friend and fellow nominee, Anne Kauffman! I loved my time at UCSD and wouldn’t be here today without that program.”

Just a few blocks north, former classmate Anne Kauffman was working on directing a new play this spring called “Mary Jane” at the Friedman Theatre. Starring Academy Award nominee Rachel McAdams, the play tells the story of a single mother who relies on unflagging optimism and humor, along with the wisdom of the women around her, to maintain strength as her child endures multiple serious health conditions.

Kauffman’s direction has earned a Tony Award nomination for best direction of a play. On the day the nominations were to be announced, she went out for a run with her dog to try to allay her anxiety. After learning the news, she recalls, “I immediately went numb and heard a ringing in my ears, but everything also went super quiet,” she told Broadway World. “I know that doesn’t make sense, but I swear that’s what happened. I’m over the moon that this play is getting the kind of recognition that will alert and draw more people to it.”

Kauffman is an Obie Award-winner and a founding member of the theater group, the Civilians. She made her Broadway debut with the Scott McPherson play Marvin's Room in 2017 and recently directed an acclaimed revival of “The Sign in Sydney Brustein’s Window.”