Princeton faculty and alumni shine at the Tony Awards

“And the Tony goes to … Jane Cox!”

Director of Princeton’s Program in Theater & Music Theater Jane Cox won her first Tony Award during Sunday’s ceremony. She was awarded the Tony for Best Lighting Design of a Play for “Appropriate.” It was her first win and fourth Tony nomination, each time for Best Lighting Design of a Play.

“Appropriate” writer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins ’06 also won his first Tony for Best Revival of a Play with his first-ever nomination. He serves as a member of the Lewis Center for the Arts’s Advisory Council.

“This year is particularly exciting because I’ve never been nominated on a show where so many people were also nominated — so it feels like a bit of a party for ‘Appropriate,’” Cox wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian.

“I’m not a big fan of awards in general — I don’t think you can say one lighting design is really ‘better’ than another at this level,” Cox continued. “However, it’s wonderful to get to go to a Very Fancy Party with so many of my favorite colleagues — I know many of the people nominated, and I’m seated in a row of people where I know everyone — so we’ll have a great time and enjoy celebrating with each other.”

Cox praised Jacobs-Jenkins as “one of the great writers of our time,” and described director Lila Neugebauer as “one of the smartest people I’ve ever been in a theater.” She also noted her excitement to work with an all-women led lighting team that included fellow Princeton theater faculty member Tess James.

Cox and Jacobs-Jenkins were two of eight Princeton-affiliated nominees this year. Lecturer David Bengali ’04 was nominated Best Lighting Design of a Musical with Bradley King for their work in “Water for Elephants.” Bengali is a self-described projection designer, and told the ‘Prince’ in a statement that being nominated was an exciting and interesting experience, especially because there is not a Tony for projection design.

“It feels like a once in a lifetime experience,” Bengali wrote. “I’m really excited for people to tune in from home and get a taste of the really fabulous talent of all these performers, and hopefully folks will be inspired to make the trip to see some Broadway shows!”

“I studied computer science and engineering while also being very involved in theater,” Bengali wrote of his Princeton experience. “My career ended up being in the latter, but math, engineering, and technology remain indispensable parts of my artistic practice. The way in which the Princeton experience provides opportunities for people to be interdisciplinary is very valuable.”

Additionally, Jeff Kuperman ’13 was nominated for Best Choreography with his brother, Rick Kuperman, for their work in “The Outsiders”; Princeton Atelier Visiting Lecturer Jiyoun Chang was nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Play for “Stereophonic”; and previous lecturers Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Andrew Moerdyk, and Kimie Nishikawa were nominated as a collective known as dots for two Tonys, both in Best Scenic Design of a Play for their work in “An Enemy of the People” and “Appropriate.”

Read the full list of this year’s Tony Award winners and nominees here.

Charlie Roth is a Prospect contributor and senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’