Three Fil-Ams nominated for 2019 Tony Awards
Eva Noblezada, in a scene from “Hadestown” (right) has received a Tony nomination for best actress. CONTRIBUTED
NEW YORK — Three Filipino Americans have been nominated for the 2019 Tony Awards: set designer Robert Brill; actress Eva Noblezada and costume designer Clint Ramos.
Brill is nominated for Best Scenic Design of a Musical for his work on “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg: The Life and Times of the Temptations.”
Noblezada is nominated for Best Performances by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for playing the character Eurydice in “Hadestown.”
Ramos is nominated for Best Costume Design of a Play for his work on “Torch Song.”
Ramos
Ramos won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Costume Design-Play for “Eclipsed,” which featured Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave,” “Star Wars,” “The Jungle Book”), written by Danai Gurira (Okoye in “Black Panther”).
Last year, he was nominated for Best Costume Design-Musical for his work on “Once on This Island,” which featured Lea Salonga in the cast.
Clint Ramos (left) and his costume designs for “Torch Song” (right). CONTRIBUTED
Born in the Philippines, Ramos moved to the U.S. to take up a master’s in Design for Stage and Film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts on a full scholarship. He designs costumes and sets in New York, across the U.S. and internationally.
Noblezada
Noblezada was previously nominated for Best Actress for her work in the 2017-18 Broadway revival of “Miss Saigon” where she played the titular character Kim. She had played the same role in the 2014-16 West End revival.
Noblezada, whose father is Filipino and mother is Mexican, was born in San Diego and grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. Other credits include playing Eponine in “Les Miserables.”
Brill
Brill was previously nominated in 2004 for Best Scenic Design-Play or Musical for “Assassins” and 2009 for Best Scenic Design-Musical for “Guys and Dolls.”
Brill is a native of Salinas, California. He took up theater at University of California-San Diego (where he now teaches) and cofounded Sledgehammer Theatre while he was a student there.
Robert Brill (left) and a set piece from “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” (right). CONTRIBUTED
In addition to theater, Brill also designs for opera productions.
Previous
Previous Filipino American Tony Award winners include Lea Salonga, 1991 Best Actress in a Musical; “Miss Saigon”; composer Robert Lopez, 2004 Best Score, “Avenue Q” and 2011 Best Book and Best Score, “Book of Mormon”; and Celina “Lena Hall” Carvajal, 2014 Best Featured Actress in a Musical, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
Investors in Broadway productions can acquire awards along with lead producers if productions win Best Play or Musical. Jhett Tolentino, an investing producer with business partner Joan Raffe, earned Tonys for Best Revival of a Play (“A Raisin in the Sun”) and Best Musical (“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”), both 2014, and Best Play (“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”), 2013.
Ceremony
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre honors theater professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway. It was founded by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, after whose cofounder the award is named after.
The 73rd annual ceremony will be held on June 9 at Radio City Music Hall. Actor and TV personality James Corden will host.
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