Extra Applause: Jennifer Ashley Tepper Salutes Broadway's Unsung Heroes This Tonys Season

On Sunday night, thanks yous and shout outs will run rampant at Radio City Music Hall, as the 2017 Tony winners take their moments on the big stage. Jennifer Ashley Tepper, author of the Untold Stores of Broadway series, has even more people to applaud this season. She writes:

As Tony Awards weekend is upon us, here are 15 things I really appreciated this season that people aren't talking about as much, which I want to give a shout-out to:

1. The non-Linney and Nixon actors in Little Foxes who are ALSO doing
the show in two different versions.

2. The dressers at Hello, Dolly! (and everywhere)- for lightning-quick
invisible work in pretty much every scene, making the most lavish show
of the season look terrific.

3. The producing and publicity team at Oh, Hello (and everywhere) for
getting different high profile guests for every performance, an
incredibly difficult hamster wheel of a task, that brought buzz and
fun to the season.

4. The musicians at Sunset Boulevard (and everywhere) for making the
music in every musical shine to an outstanding degree, being the
backbone of the performance, and in some cases like this one, even
being on stage.

5. The stagehands and stage managers and staff at Groundhog Day (and
everywhere)- for getting that technically complicated set to run at a
theater that is almost 100 years old and not made for automated
turntables and other 2017 devices.

6. The associates!!!!!!!!!!! One of the least thanked groups, who make
Broadway RUN. The associate directors! The associate scenic designers!
The associate producers! ALL Y'ALL. BRAVO.

7. The house staff at Comet (and everywhere)- for navigating the
unprecedented nature of this immersive show and working hard so that
audiences are accommodated, safe, and having a great time.

8. The understudies - who have KILLED the game this season, from
Stephanie Umoh hopping on as Trina in Falsettos as the second cover
with zero rehearsal and script in hand, to Andrew Call jumping into
Groundhog Day to blazing acclaim when Andy was injured, to those very
special swings, covering many roles in one of the hardest jobs there
is.

9. The casting directors at Come From Away (and everywhere)- for
creating stage pictures that look more and more like the world looks,
and taking the initiative and being proactive in advocating to cast
actors of every race, body type, sexuality, gender, age, nationality,
ability, and more.

10. Every cast or team member who has taken extra time to sign a
Playbill, answer a tweet, or take a selfie on the street- especially
those who have to navigate a bonkers insane stage door each night to
do so (I'm talkin to you Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen)... where 95%
of the fans are lovely and 5% are wildly rude. In how many
non-theatrical professions do people spend an extra hour, right after
getting off work, doing something they're not required to, to make
people happy, even though it's often challenging?

11. The sound designers and technicians at The Encounter (and
everywhere) for doing 100 things that no one understands, which are
absolutely essential to a positive theatre experience. Barely anyone
not in the sound field comprehends the specifics of each sound design
and all of the skill and technological know-how and navigation of
elements that goes into it. ("Can't they just prevent the staticcc?
Can't they just turn on the micsss??") You are heroes.

12. The digital teams - you are breaking new ground for the theatre,
and keeping our art form up to date with others... something essential
to Broadway in 2017. One of the reasons theatre is hot right now in
the way it is, and as many people have jobs as they do, and as many
theaters are filled? It's not just the live TV musicals, and Hamilton.
It's twitter and facebook and instagram and snapchat and tumblr and
youtube and digital lotteries and mobile platforms and web design and
theatre sites and google ad words. #DigitalTeamsFTW

13. The press folks who are at every opening, every event, every
roundtable - taking photos, taking videos, writing articles, crafting
content. They never sleep, they are rarely thanked, they are
incredibly talented, and they should all walk down the red carpet
while we shoot pics and applaud.

14. Every intern in every theatre office who is workin' 8am-midnight,
doing all the grunt work, hoping to be a bigger part of this world
someday. Keep working hard. You will be.

15. The audiences- especially those going to see shows that aren't
based on recognizable brands, or didn't get the best reviews...
because they sound interesting and worthwhile. Especially those seeing
their first Broadway show, or those who saved up for months to afford
to see one. Especially those who come back year after year, and don't
text during the performance. We love you.

This weekend is for EVERYONE who loves the theatre, not only the
nominees!! HAPPY TONY AWARDS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who are you thankful for this Broadway season?

Jennifer Ashley Tepper is the Director of Programming at Feinstein's/ 54 Below, and the author of The Untold Stories of Broadway book series. As the leader of Feinstein's/ 54 Below's creative team, Tepper has curated or produced over 1500 shows, ranging from musicals in concert, to original solo acts, to theatrical reunions, to songwriter celebrations, and beyond. On Broadway, Tepper has worked on shows in directing, producing, and marketing capacities, including [title of show], The Performers, the 2011 revival of Godspell, and the 2013 revival of Macbeth. In addition, she is the co-creator of the Bistro Award-winning concert series, "If It Only Even Runs A Minute," now in its 6th year. Tepper was recently named one of the 10 professionals on Backstage's "1st Annual Broadway Future Power List." According to the article, "Proving herself both a zeitgeist predictor and theatrical historian with her eclectic programming, Tepper is leading the conversation on contemporary musical theatre." Follow her on twitter @jenashtep.

Click here to order The Untold Stories of Broadway: Volumes 1, 2, and 3!