How Philly gets a vote in the Tony Awards and how that brings Broadway to Broad Street
"Fat Ham" is the work of South Philadelphia playwright James Ijames. It's up for five Tony Awards.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The 76th annual Tony Awards are this Sunday, and this year the ceremony is said to be a celebration of Broadway's big comeback.
The nominees are star-studded and there's one big Philadelphia-based nominee to root for.
Many people may not know that our city has a resident Tony Awards voter.
Frances Egler, the vice president of theatrical programming and presentation for the Kimmel Cultural Campus, is filling out her official ballot right now.
She's been busy seeing nearly every single one of the 38 new productions that opened on Broadway this year.
"There are nine new musicals that opened and so many plays with big stars," Egler says. "One of the big contenders of the year is 'Fat Ham,' which is a play that started at the Wilma Theater, and that's up for Best Play."
"Fat Ham" is the work of South Philadelphia playwright James Ijames.
It's up for five Tony Awards, and it's returning to the Wilma Theater this fall.
Egler is also the curator of the Kimmel's Broadway Series.
"Our audiences always are very clear with us that they want to see the best of Broadway as quickly as possible, close to home," Egler says. "It's finding those shows, seeing those shows, seeing what's touring. Hopefully, we will see these shows here in the next couple of seasons here in Philadelphia."
Egler's scouting is how the Kimmel brought "Into the Woods" to the Miller Theater in March before it received six Tony nominations this season.
Other big nominees this year include: Lin-Manuel Miranda's "New York, New York," the musical comedy "Shucked" and the jukebox musical "& Juliet."
The Tony Awards are this Sunday, June 11.
The show will go on despite the ongoing Writer's Guild of America strike.
