Karen Olivo, CCM '97

Actress who won an ’09 Tony, an ’08 Drama Desk Award and the '08 Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer on Broadway.

Selected for awards:

• "West Side Story" revival ('09-10, starring as Anita; Tony winner, "Best Performance by a Featured Actress" in the show produced by Kevin McCollum, CCM '84; also nominated by the Fred & Adele Astaire Award, the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award)
  
• "In the Heights" ('08, played Vanessa in the play produced by Kevin McCollum, CCM '84; received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance; received the Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer on Broadway)
  

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Hair" ('07, 40th anniversary concert)
• "Brooklyn" ('04-05, creating the role of Faith)
• "Rent" ('96-'04, original version, produced by Kevin McCollum, CCM '84)
  (Read Playbill's rave review of and interview with Karen.)

LINKS

• Visit her website.
• See her TV credits.
• See her movie credits.
• See her photos in the alumnae sweethearts section for Valentine's Day.
• Watch Olivo tearfully accept her '09 Tony.
• Watch Olivo perform a song from "In the Heights."
• Read UC Magazine story and see photo gallery about Olivo.
  

Michele Pawk, CCM ’85

Tony-winning actress, musician. Received Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her Off-Braodway roles in "A Small Fire" ('11) and "The Paris Letter" ('06).

Selected for awards:

• “Hollywood Arms” ('02-03, as Louise, Tony Award winner for Best Featured Actress in a Play)
• “The Paris Letter" ('06 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play)
• “Cabaret" ('98-99 revival, as Fraulein Kost, Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical; also played banjo and accordion with the Kit Kat Band)
  
• “Crazy for You" ('92-96, as Irene Roth, Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Losing Louie" ('06)
• "Democracy" ('04-05)
• "Hairspray" ('07)
• "Mamma Mia!" ('05-06)
• "Chicago" ('02)
  
• "Seussical" ('00-01, as Mayzie LaBird, show composed by Stephen Flaherty, CCM ’82)
• "Triumph of Love" ('97-98)
• "Mail" ('88)

LINK: Watch video interview with Pawk.

Faith Prince, CCM ’79, HonDoc '09

Tony-winning actress.

Selected for awards:

• "A Catered Affair" ('08, as Aggie, both Tony and Drama Desk nominee for Best Actress in a Musical) (See photo below with Leslie Kritzer.)
  
• “Bells Are Ringing" ('01, starring as Ella, both Tony and Drama Desk nominee for Best Actress in a Musical)
• “Guys and Dolls” ('92-95 revival, as Miss Adelaide, won both Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Actress in a Musical)
• “Jerome Robbins' Broadway" ('89-90, both Tony and Drama Desk nominee for Best Actress in a Musical)

Leslie Kritzer, CCM '99

Actress.

Selected for awards:

• "Rooms: A Rock Romance" ('09, Outer Critics Circle Awards nominee)
• "A Catered Affair" ('08, as Jane Hurley, Drama Desk nominee, Outer Critics Circle Award nominee)
  
• "Legally Blonde" ('07, as Serena, Actors' Equity Clarence Derwent Award as the "most promising female performer on the New York metropolitan scene")
• “The Great American Trailer Park Musical" ('06 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Elf" ('12-13)
• "Sondheim on Sondheim" (spring ’10, w/Vanessa Williams)
• "Hairspray" ('04)

LINK: Read about her role in "Annie" with CCM alumna Faith Prince.

Martin Vidnovic, CCM ’71

Actor.

Selected for awards:

• “Baby" ('83-84, as Nick Sakarian, won Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical)
• "Brigadoon” ('80-81, starring as Tommy Albright, both Tony and Drama Desk award nominee for Best Featured Actor in a Musical)
• “Oklahoma" ('80, starring as Jud Fry, Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Footloose" ('98-00, as Rev. Shaw Moore)
• "King David" ('97, starred as Saul)
• "A Grand Night for Singing" ('93-94, starring role)
  
• "Guys and Dolls" (mid '90s)
  
• "The King and I" ('97-98, as Lun Tha)
• "Home Sweet Homer" ('76, as Antinous)

Lee Roy Reams, CCM ’64, MA (CCM) ’82, HonDoc ’98

Actor. Hailed by the New York Times as "Broadway's song and dance man nonpareil." 

Selected for awards:

• “42nd Street” ('81, as Bill Lawlor, received both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for Best Featured Actor in a Musical)
  

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "The Producers" (as Roger DeBris)
• "Beauty and the Beast" (as Lumiere)
• "La Cage aux Folles" (as Albin)
• "Applause" (as Duane Fox)
• "Lorelei" (as Henry Spofford)
• "Hello, Dolly!" revival ('78, as Cornelius Hackl)
• "Oklahoma!" (as Will Parker)
• "Sweet Charity"

Justin Bohon, CCM '00

Actor whom the Astaire Awards named Best Male Dancer in May '02 and who received nominations from both the Outer Critics Circle Awards and the Drama Desk Awards. 

Selected for awards:

• "Oklahoma!" revival ('02-03, starring as Will Parker; received the Drama Desk Award and Theatre World Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical; the Astaire Awards also named him Best Male Dancer)

Also performed in these Broadway productions:

• "The Book of Mormon" ('11-13, from the creators of South Park) He is in the show with Brian Sears, CCM '05. Both appear on the original Broadway cast recording which became Billboard's highest-charting Broadway cast album in more than four decades, at No. 3 on the  charts.
  
• "9 to 5" ('09, Dolly Parton's musical comedy)
  
• "Les Misérables" (' 06-08 revival)
• "All Shook Up" ('05, original production)
• "Something Good" ('02, one-night concert tribute starring Bohon)
• "The Producers" ('01-02, original production)
• "Miss Saigon" ('97, original production, prior to graduation)

LINKS

• See his TV credit.
  
• See his movie credit.
• Watch a video performance at the Royal National Theater of him playing Freddy in "My Fair Lady," for which he won the Helen Hayes Award.
• Watch a video interview with him, related to his work in "The Book of Mormom."
• Watch his rope tricks, award-winning dancing and singing on "The Today Show" when the cast of "Oklahoma" perform.

Ryan Breslin, CCM '11

Actor.

Selected for an award:

• "Newsies: The Musical" ('12-14, Disney show) Breslin was nominated for a Fred & Adele Astaire Award as Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Musical and lost in the respectable company of Matthew Broderick and Hugh Jackman. Breslin was in the show with Garett Hawe, CCM '09.
  

LINKS

• See video of Breslin dancing a "Newsies" number for ABC's "Nightline."
• See a video of Breslin talking about "Newsies" and demonstrating techniques.

 Photo/Broadwayworld.com

Ashley Brown, CCM '04

Actress.

Selected for an award:

• "Mary Poppins" ('06-08, ’11, as Mary Poppins, '07 Drama Desk nominee)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Beauty and the Beast" ('05-06, starred as Belle)

LINKS

• See her TV credit.
• In '09, Brown released "Speak Low," her first solo CD, featuring music heard on her PBS special. Visit her website.
• Read UC Magazine article on alumni in "Mary Poppins" on Broadway.

Marla Mindelle, CCM '09

Actress.

Selected for an award:

• "Sister Act" ('11, nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Sister Mary Robert)

Also performed in a Broadway production of:

• "South Pacific" ('08-10 revival)

Aaron Lazar, MFA (CCM) '00

Actor.

Selected for an award:

• "Les Miserables" revival ('06-07, as Enjolras, nominated for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "The Last Ship" (opened on Oct. '14, with Lazar in the starring role of Arthur Millburn, produced by Kevin McCollum, CCM '84, HonDoc '05)
• "Mamma Mia!" ('12, playing the role of Sam Carmichael) Also in the show was Halle Morse, '09; Christy Altomare, CCM '08; Natalie Bradshaw, CCM '07; Eric Santagata, CCM '04; Andrew Chappelle, CCM '09; and Tyler Maynard, CCM ’01.
  
• "A Little Night Music" ('09-11 revival)
• "Impressionism" ('09, w/ Jeremy Irons and Marsha Mason)
• "A Tale of Two Cities" ('08, as Charles Darnay)
• "Oklahoma!" revival ('02-03)
• "The Phantom of the Opera"

• Justin Bohon, CCM '00
• Blake Ginther, CCM '03
• Dan Bogart, CCM '99
• Nikki Renée Daniels, CCM '01 (Article about her during "Les Mis" run.)

LINKS

• See his movie credits.
  
• See his TV credits.
• See our Valentine's special heartthrob photos of Lazar.
• Read Broadway.com’s feature story on Lazar. (Sept. '12)
• Read Lazar's Q&A in Playbill.
• Read interview with Lazar.

Kim Criswell, CCM '79

Vocalist, recording artist, actress living in London. Her '92 London appearance in "Annie Get Your Gun" earned her a Laurence Olivier Award nomination as Best Actress in a Musical. Since then, she has made London her home. In 1989, she received a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in "Side By Side By Sondheim" in Washington. Two of her albums, "Anything Goes" and "Annie Get Your Gun," earned Grammy nominations.

• "3 Penny Opera" ('89, starring Criswell and Sting)
• "Stardust" ('87)
• "Baby" ('82-83)
• "Nine" ('82-83)
• "The First" ('81, a musical about Jackie Robinson)

LINKS

• See her TV credits. 
  
• See her movie credits.

Pamela Myers, CCM ’70

Actress.

Selected for an award:

• “Company” (’71, Tony Award nominee for Best Featured Actress in a Musical)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Into the Woods" ('02)
• "Company" revival ('93)
• "The Selling of the President" ('72)

LINKS

• Read "UC Magazine" stories about Myers.
• See her TV credits.

Tony Yazbeck, CCM ’99

Actor. 

Selected for an award:

• "Gypsy" revival (Drama Desk nominee, as Tulsa, '08-09)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" ('09-10, produced by Kevin McCollum, CCM ’84)
• "A Chorus Line" revival (as Al, '06-07)
• "Never Gonna Dance" ('03-04)
• "Oklahoma!" revival ('02-03)
• "Gypsy" revival ('89-91)

LINKS

• Visit his website. 
• Watch video of Yazbeck singing.

Lisa Howard, CCM '97

Actress.

Selected for an award:

• “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" ('05-07, '05 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Ensemble Performance, as Rona Lisa Peretti)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" (in the starring role, '11-12)
• "9 to 5" ('09)
• "South Pacific" revival ('08)

LINKS

• See her movie credit.
  
• See her TV credit.
  
• Watch Howard sing "I Don't Remember Anything at All."
• Visit her website.

Jason Graae, CCM '80

An actor, singer and dancer whose career has spanned Broadway, opera, television and film. The New York Sun said he "steals so many shows he should be arrested!"

Selected for an award:

• "Coup de Graae" ('06, won New York Nightlife Award For Best Musical Comedy)
• "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" ('93, Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Actor in a Musical)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "A Grand Night for Singing" ('93-94)
• "Falsettos" ('93)
• "Stardust" ('87)
• "Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" ('82)

LINKS

• Read his UC Magazine feature story.
• See his TV credits.
• See his vocallst/opera credits.
• See his movie credits.
• Visit his website.

Rufus Bonds Jr., A&S '79

Actor. Besides his Broadway credits, he also appeared on "All My Children."

Selected for an award:

• "Parade" ('98-99, original version, playing Jim Conley, nominated for Best Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical in the Drama Desk and FANY awards)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Rent" ('96-98, original version, playing Tom Collins)
• "Once on This Island" (playing Daniel)
  

LINK: Watch a TV interview with Bonds talking about performing on the national tour of "Color Purple."

Sarah Jessica Parker, CCM Prep School

Actress.

Selected for an award:

• "Once Upon a Mattress" ('96, Tony-nominated performance as Princess Winnifred)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" ('95, w/husband Matthew Broderick)
• "Annie" ('77, at 12 years old was the third girl to play the lead in the original Broadway production)

LINKS

• See her TV credits.
• See her movie credits.
• See her photos in the alumnae sweethearts section for Valentine's Day.

Kevin McCollum, CCM ’84, HonDoc '05

Producer.

Newest work:

• "The Last Ship" (opened Oct. '14, with Aaron Lazar, MFA (CCM) '00, in the starring role of Arthur Millburn)
• "Motown: The Musical" (opened April '13, noominated for four Tony Awards, including best musical orchestrations and sound design)
  The real story of Motown founder Berry Gordy's incredible journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and so many more. See how the Motown family fought against the odds to create the soundtrack that shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat.
  

Selected for awards:

• "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" ('11, 2011 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Play, starring Robin Williams)
• "Ragtime" revival ('09-10, Tony and Drama Desk nominee, Best Revival of a Musical, composed by Stephen Flaherty, CCM '82, and starring Savannah Wise, CCM '06). 
• "West Side Story" revival ('09-present, Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee for Best Revival of a Musical)
• "In the Heights" ('08-present, won a total of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and was a Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Musical)
  
• "The Drowsy Chaperone" ('06-07, won Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical plus six other awards out of 14 nominations, plus 13 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical)

• "Avenue Q" ('03-09, won Tony Award for Best Musical)
• "La Boheme" ('02-03, both Tony and Drama Desk nominee for Best Revival of a Musical)
• "Private Lives" ('02, won both Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Revival of a Play)
• "De La Guardia" ('98-04, Drama Desk nominee for Unique Theatrical Experience)
• "Rent” ('88-96, won both Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Musical)
• "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" ('94, Tony nominee for Best Play)
• "Damn Yankees" ('94-95, both Tony and Drama Desk nominee for Best Revival of a Musical)

Also ...

• "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" ('08 and '09)
• "[title of show]" ('08)
• "High Fidelity" ('06)
• "What's Wrong With This Picture?" ('04)
• "45 Seconds from Broadway" ('01-02)
• "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice" ('94)

LINKS

• See his TV credits.
• See his movie credits.
• Read his views about theater, as he shared with CCM students in '11.
•  Watch video of McCollum discussing "Drowsy Chaperone."

Stephen Flaherty, CCM ’82

Composer, working with Lynn Ahrens.

Newest work:

• "Rocky," the musical version of the movie, opened in Germany on Nov. 18, 2012, in Hamburg and opens for previews on Broadway in February 2014. (Read UC Magazine article, see video about the show.)
  

Selected for awards:

• “Ragtime” ('98, won both Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Original Musical Score, plus three other Tonys among 13 total nominations). The role of Evelyn Nesbit was originated by Lynnette Perry, CCM '85, when the show opened on Broadway in 1997.
• "Ragtime" revival ('09-10, Tony and Drama Desk nominee, Best Revival of a Musical, produced by Kevin McCollum, CCM '84, HonDoc '05, and starring Savannah Wise, CCM '06)
• “Dessa Rose" ('05 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Music)
• “A Man of No Importance" ('03 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Music)
• “Seussical" ('01 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Music)
• “Once on This Island" ('91 Tony Award winner for Best Original Musical Score)

Also ...

• "Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life"

LINKS

• Read the UC Magazine story of Flaherty's work on the new staged musicals of "Rocky" and "Anastasia."
• Read how one of his plays inspired New Orleans youth through a film documentary.
• See his non-Broadway credits.
• Watch video of Flaherty performing one of his songs.
  
• Visit Flaherty's website.

Tom Viola, CCM '76

In 2010, Viola won a Tony Award for Excellence in the Theatre for his work as executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the nation's leading industry-based not-for-profit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization. At that time, BC/EFA had raised more than $175 million for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families nationwide since its founding in 1987.

LINK: See Viola receive his Tony Award, plus a bio video on him.

Josh Prince, CCM ’96

Choreographer. Actor.

Selected for an award:

• "Shrek the Musical" ('08-10, choreographer, '09 Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Best Choreography)

Also performed in Broadway productions of:

• "Saturday Night Fever" ('99-00)
• "Little Me" ('98-99)

LINKS

• See article on Prince.
• Read Prince’s listing as a choreographer.