Six 2009 Tony Awards have major ties to Washington, DC

June 7, 9:04 PMDC Art Travel ExaminerMarsha Dubrow

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The 2009 Tony® Awards, presented June 7, have six top ties to the Washington, DC area, starring the Signature Theatre's  winning the Regional Theatre award.

The win for Signature, in Arlington, VA, was just the second time that a DC area theater received the coveted award. Washington's Arena Stage won the first regional excellence Tony in 1976.

"Next to Normal", which was reworked substantially at Arena after beginning off-Broadway, won three Tonys.

Alice Ripley, who plays a not-so-normal mother battling manic-depression, won Best  Performance by a Leading Actress in a musical. 

In Ripley's acceptance speech, she said "Next to Normal" (see Arena's poster at right) is a "fine art -- musical theater is a fine art." It had received a total 11 nominations.

"Next to Normal" won Best Original Score for composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey who also wrote the book for the musical.

Yorkey said in his acceptance speech, "We're so blessed to be supported by Molly Smith (Arena Stage Artistic Director) and the Arena Stage in Washington..." 

Kitt said, "I'm so humbled to even be in the same breath as our heroes, Dolly Parton (nominated for "9 to 5: The Musical") and Sir Elton John (nominated    for "Billy Elliot")..."

Best Orchestration went to Kitt and Michael Starobin -- for a tie with Martin Koch of "Billy Elliot, The Musical". "Billy Elliot" won a total of 10 Tonys.

Best Featured Actress in a Musical went to Karen Olivo, who plays Anita in "West Side Story". It tried out at National Theatre here before heading to Broadway. This Spanish language version received four nominations including best revival of a musical (won by "Hair").

In her acceptance speech, a teary Olivo noted, "A lot of people said I couldn't do this. If you surround yourself with people who love you, you can do anything."

Best Set Design of a Play went to Derek McLane for "33 Variations" whose world premiere was staged at the Arena.  

Announcing the Regional Tony, the American Theater Wing (ATW) said, “For 20 years, Signature has broadened and brightened the region’s cultural landscape with its bold productions of challenging new and established works….[Signature] has established a national reputation for giving some of the nation's most talented artists a place to do their best work before appreciative, knowledgeable audiences.” 

As Signature Theatre co-founder and Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer said, "We're thrilled to bring a Tony Award to Washington, this great theatre town."

This year's Tony Awards, and the 20 nominations DC area theaters had received, proved that. 

Here's the full list of winners and the full list of nominations for the 2009 Tony Awards.