IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU Receives Actors' Equity's Diversity on Broadway Award

Actors' Equity Association today named It Shoulda Been You recipient of the "Extraordinary Excellence in Diversity on Broadway" Award for the 2014-15 theatrical season. Presented by Equity's National Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Committee, the award honors shows that exemplify and promote the union's founding principles of diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity for all who work in the theatre. Accepting the award on behalf of the It Shoulda Been You producers and creative team was producer Daryl Roth. Also in attendance were cast members Edward Hibbert and Jillian Louis, director David Hyde Pierce, composer Barbara Anselmi, co-lyricist and librettist Brian Hargrove and the production's stage management team: Bess Marie Glorioso, Katherine Shea and Melanie Morgan.

"We're proud to acknowledge It Shoulda Been You with the 2015 Extraordinary Excellence in Diversity on Broadway Award for creating and casting a diverse array of characters that defy stereotypes," said National EEO Committee Chair Christine Toy Johnson. "The production makes social issues such as marriage equality and self-acceptance in the face of pre-existing prejudices part of the mainstream dialogue of musical theatre."

"It was the intention of Brian Hargrove, Barbara Anselmi and David Hyde Pierce to offer a modern twist on a conventional wedding," said Roth. "The reception is not just a wedding party, it is warm embrace of acceptance, not just by others, but also accepting yourself. It isn't just a wedding celebration; it's a celebration of honoring differences."

Past recipients of the Extraordinary Excellence in Diversity on Broadway Award: co-recipients 110 in the Shade and LES MISERABLES (2006-07), Billy Elliot (2008-09), American Idiot (2009-10), The Merchant of Venice (2010-11), A Streetcar Named Desire (2011-12), co-recipients Cinderella and The Trip to Bountiful (2012-13), and If/Then (2013-14). Note: The award was not presented in 2007-08 season.

It Shoulda Been You opened on Broadway April 14, 2105, at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre and it ended its run on August 9. The new, original musical comedy about a wedding gone awry starred Tony and Emmy Award-winner Tyne Daly and Tony Award-winner Harriet Harris. The cast also included Sierra Boggess, David Burtka, Lisa Howard, Edward Hibbert, Montego Glover, Josh Grisetti, Adam Heller, Michael X. Martin, Anne L. Nathan, Nick Spangler and Chip Zien along with Farah Alvin, Gina Ferrall, Aaron C. Finley, Mitch Greenberg and Jillian Louis. Conceived by Barbara Anselmi, It Shoulda Been You has book and lyrics by Brian Hargrove, with music by Anselmi and additional lyrics by Jill Abramovitz, Carla Rose Fisher, Michael Cooper, Ernie Lijoi and Will Randall. Tony and Emmy winner David Hyde Pierce made his Broadway directorial debut with the production.

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