Curious to know where the 2024 Tony Award nominees received their theatre education? Playbill has you covered with a handy list of the 3* schools that contain the most Tony nominees (*there's actually six schools in the third slot because of ties, so technically this is a list of eight schools.).
For the purposes of this ranking, we counted both undergraduate and continuing education degrees. College attendance data was pulled from publicly available sources, including Playbill and internet-accessible actor résumés.
It should also be noted that eight Tony nominees did not attend a university at all, showing that you do not need to have a degree to ascend in the industry.
But for anyone curious about where to get a theatrical education, take a look at the schools where the 2024 Tony nominees received their training below.
1. New York University: Kristoffer Diaz (Best Book of a Musical, Hell's Kitchen), Justin Levine (Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations, The Outsiders), Betsy Aidem (Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play, Prayer for the French Republic), Jesse Robb (Best Choreography, Water for Elephants), Matt Hinkley (Best Orchestrations, The Outsiders), Shaina Taub (Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Suffs), Corey Stoll (Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play, Appropriate), Nikki M. James (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, Suffs), David Zinn (Best Scenic Design of a Play, Jaja's African Hair Braiding; Best Costume Design of a Play, An Enemy of the People), Tatiana Kahvegian (Best Scenic Design of a Musical, The Outsiders), Paul Tazewell (Best Costume Design of a Musical, Suffs), Amith Chandrashaker (Best Lighting Design of a Play, Prayer for the French Republic), Jane Cox (Best Lighting Design of a Play, Appropriate), Bradley King (Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Water for Elephants), David Bengali (Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Water for Elephants), dots (Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Kimie Nishikawa, and Andrew Moerdyk; Best Scenic Design of a Play; Appropriate, An Enemy of the People).
2. Yale: Rick Elice (Best Book of a Musical, Water for Elephants), Adam Guettel (Best Original Score, Days of Wine and Roses), Liev Schreiber (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, Doubt), Jeremy Strong (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, An Enemy of the People), Juliana Canfield (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, Stereophonic), Steven Skybell (Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical, Cabaret), Derek McLane (Best Scenic Design of a Play, Purlie Victorious), Takeshi Kata (Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Water for Elephants), Riccardo Hernández (Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Lempicka), Dede Ayite (Best Costume Design of a Play, Appropriate, Jaja's African Hair Braiding; Best Costume Design of a Musical, Hell's Kitchen), Linda Cho (Best Costume Design of a Musical, The Great Gatsby), Kai Harada (Best Sound Design of a Musical, Merrily We Roll Along, Lila Neugebauer (Best Direction of a Play, Appropriate), Timo Andres (Best Orchestrations, Illinoise).
3. University of California, San Diego (Tie): Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, Doubt), Robert Brill (Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Hell's Kitchen), Anne Kauffman (Best Direction of a Play, Mary Jane), Michael Greif (Best Direction of a Musical, Hell's Kitchen).
3. University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (Tie): Dorian Harewood (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, The Notebook), Shoshana Bean (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, Hell's Kitchen), Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, Spamalot), Isabella Byrd (Best Lighting Design of a Play, An Enemy of the People; Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Cabaret).
3. Northwestern University (Tie): Will Butler (Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations,Stereophonic), Brian d'Arcy James (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, Days of Wine and Roses), Whitney White (Best Direction of a Play, Jaja's African Hair Braiding), Michael Greif (Best Direction of a Musical, Hell's Kitchen).
3. Columbia University (Tie): Brandon Victor Dixon (Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical, Hell's Kitchen), Leah Gelpe (Best Sound Design of a Play, Mary Jane), Annie-B Parson (Best Choreography, Here Lies Love) Tom Kitt (Best Orchestrations, Hell's Kitchen).
3. The Juilliard School (Tie): Michael Stuhlbarg (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, Patriots), Gayle Rankin (Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, Cabaret), Bebe Neuwirth (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, Cabaret), Jonathan Tunick (Best Orchestrations, Merrily We Roll Along).
3. Carnegie Mellon University (Tie): Leslie Odom, Jr. (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, Purlie Victorious), Will Brill (Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play, Stereophonic), Sarah Pidgeon (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, Stereophonic), Leigh Silverman (Best Direction of a Musical, Suffs).
*A previous version of this list misidentified Jim Parsons' alma mater. It was the University of San Diego, not the University of California, San Diego. The rankings have been adjusted accordingly.
The 77th Annual Tony Awards are set for June 16 at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. The evening will kick off with The Tony Awards: Act One, streaming for free on Pluto TV. Details are to be announced. The 77th Annual Tony Awards will follow beginning at 8 PM ET, broadcasting live on CBS (check local listings) and streaming live (for premium-level subscribers) via Paramount+. All Paramount+ subscribers will have on demand access to the broadcast beginning June 17. Stage and screen star Ariana DeBose will be back for the third consecutive year to host.
Visit Playbill.com/Tonys for more.
