Maltz Jupiter's Kato Helps Bring Success to Tony Awards

The behind-the-scenes work of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's artistic director, Andrew Kato, is helping to bring the Tony Awards world-class recognition.  For the seventh year in a row, Kato spent his 2010 summer vacation in New York, working as the coordinating producer on the 64th Annual Tony Awards broadcast.  And with the new arrival of two Emmy Awards for 2009 awards show, his hard work is paying off.
 
During the national telecast of the Primetime Emmy Awards on Aug. 29, the June 2009 broadcast of the Tony Awards on CBS won an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special (Dave Boone, Writer; Special Material Written by Paul Greenberg). The broadcast was chosen above the 82nd Annual Academy Awards and The Kennedy Center Honors, among other nominees.
  
A week earlier, the Tony Awards received a Primetime Emmy Award during the Creative Arts Awards portion of the Emmy ceremony, in the category of Outstanding Special Class Program. The award was bestowed on Executive Producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, and Host Neil Patrick Harris. The Awards were chosen over nominees that included the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony, The 82nd Annual Academy Awards and Avatar: Enter The World Of Pandora.
 
For Kato, the Tony Awards bring a month of working 'round the clock on the 43rd floor of the Flatotel, a contemporary high-rise in the middle of Manhattan, blocks away from Radio City Music Hall. The offices of White Cherry Entertainment, which produces the broadcast, take up the entire floor.
 
While there, Kirshner and Weiss tap Kato's knowledge of live theatre to help structure each segment, and Kato spends his evenings on Broadway attending performances of each nominated show to judge how he can incorporate them into the overall production. This year, he saw 16 shows in less than three weeks.
 
"It's an honor to be a part of such an amazing awards show that we all worked so hard on, and receiving two Emmy Awards is just icing on the cake," Kato said. "I hope to one day see a show that premieres at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre eventually make it to the Tony Awards - and I think we have a great chance with the world-premiere musical Academy, which the Theatre will showcase in December."
 
The 2009 Tony Awards broadcast received four nominations overall. In addition to the two wins, the broadcast was nominated for Outstanding Art Direction for Variety, Music or Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Direction for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special (Glenn Weiss, Director).
 
This is the latest in a series of Emmy Awards garnered by Executive Producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment for their work on the Tony Awards. Kirshner and Weiss have acted as executive producers of the Tony Awards telecast for the past seven years - the same years that Kato has served as the coordinating producer.
 
The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is an award-winning professional not-for-profit regional theatre dedicated to the performing arts whose mission is to entertain, educate and inspire our community. The Theatre is a member of the prestigious League of Resident Theatres and is located east of U.S. Highway 1 at 1001 East Indiantown Road and State Road A1A in Jupiter. For more information about the Theatre's upcoming shows and Conservatory of Performing Arts, visit www.jupitertheatre.org or call the box office at (561) 575-2223.

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