Anika Noni Rose News

Sophie Okonedo has won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for A RAISIN IN THE SUN. This is Sophie Okonedo's first Tony nomination and her Broadway debut. She starred as Cressida in the National Theatre's Troilus and Cressida (1999). Okonedo was nominated for an Academy Award for Hotel Rwanda in 2004 and a Golden Globe for Tsunami: The Aftermath in 2006.

It's Tony Night and BroadwayWorld.com is all over the red carpet, and will be providing coverage throughout the night. Our own Walter McBride is there to capture the stars, the celebs, the creative teams and everyone else as they were 'dressed to the nines' for Tony night.

It's finally here! Follow along with BroadwayWorld.com ALL night, while you're glued to CBS on TV for all things Tony Awards. We've got not one, not two, but THREE exclusive live blogs from Michael Dale backstage, superfan BroadwayGirlNYC, and BroadwayWorld.com's West End Editor Carrie Dunn with her trademark British snark (or 'Britsnark' as she calls it). Check out our homepage for ALL things Tonys!

It's tonight! The 2014 Tony Awards will air on CBS tonight, June 8 at 8pm and, as usual, BroadwayWorld.com will be your one-stop shop for all things Tonys on Tony Day, Night and Beyond!

It's almost here! The 2014 Tony Awards will air on CBS Sunday night, June 8 at 8pm and, as usual, BroadwayWorld.com will be your one-stop shop for all things Tonys on Tony Day, Night and Beyond!

Today we celebrate the many parallels between the 2004 and 2014 Tony Award races with a celebration of both as we look ahead to this Sunday's 2014 Tony Awards telecast, hosted by none other than 2004 Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman!

On Tony Awards Sunday -- June 8 -- CUNY TV will present 7-1/2 hours of glorious Broadway interviews related to this year's nominated musicals, plays, and individuals - from 12:30 p.m. right up till Tony time (8 p.m. on CBS).

On Friday's 'Katie,' Tony-nominated actress Anika Noni Rose stops by to talk about her career and shares behind-the-scenes stories of working with the cast of 'A Raisin In The Sun.'

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: The Tony Awards are fast approaching and BWW will be bringing you an inside look at rehearsals, plus performances at the Tony Awards Pop-Up Shop today. The Interfaith Awards Gala is tonight, NAAP's all-Asian OLIVER! begins performances, Kenneth Branagh makes his NY stage debut and more!

Inside Broadway's Executive Director Michael Presser has announced that this year, Inside Broadway will honor 2014 Tony Award nominees Anika Noni Rose (A Raisin in the Sun, Tony Award-winner for Caroline, or Change) and Andy Karl (Rocky), and the Broadway production of All The Way at their Broadway Beacon Awards on Monday, June 23 at The Essex House (160 Central Park South).

Yesterday afternoon, the 2014 Tony Award nominees celebrated the week of the the 68th Annual Tony Awards at New York City's biggest landmark- the Empire State Building. Attendees included: Adriane Lenox, Anika Larsen. Anika Noni Rose, Bryce Pinkham, Celia Keenan-Bolger, James Monroe Iglehart, Jarrod Spector, Jefferson Mays, Jessie Mueller, Kelli O'Hara, Lauren Worsham, Lena Hall, Mary Bridget Davies, Neil Patrick Harris, Nick Cordero, Ramin Karimloo, Reed Birney, Samuel Barnett, and Sutton Foster. BroadwayWorld was there for the special occasion, and you can check out complete photo coverage below!

On Friday night, May 30, Mayor Bill De Blasio and his wife First Lady Chirlane McCray saw A Raisin in the Sun and headed backstage at intermission to take photos with the company. Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is currently playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street). Scroll down for a look at the couple with the cast!

Look, we get it, whether due to budget or geography, you didn't see every show of the Broadway season, but that doesn't mean you can't be fully up-to-date for this Sunday's Tony Awards. To help get you prepared for the theatre's biggest night, BroadwayWorld has put together the ultimate Tonys Crash Course. We've outlined all of the shows nominated in the Best Play and Best Revival of a Play categories, and provided you 'study materials' as only BWW can, by mining our one-of-a-kind archives.

A star-studded countdown to the 68th Annual Tony Awards ceremony begins on CUNY TV with the all-new special, 2014 TONY AWARDS PREVIEW, co-hosted by entertainment reporter Pat Collins and four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, a nominee this year for his play Casa Valentina. Collins and Fierstein team up at Hudson Scenic Studio in Yonkers, where the set for the CBS telecast is being built, and with delightful banter introduce segments consisting of clips and interviews in all of the leading categories, including Best Play, Best Musical and Best Revivals.

Voting opened on April 30 and runs through May 30, 2014 for the 12th Annual BroadwayWorld.com Awards! Here are the current standings as of 5/29 with just 0 days to go in voting!

Yesterday Julianne Moore hosted an afternoon tea in honor of Tony nominee LaTanya Richardson Jackson, currently starring as Lena Younger in A RAISIN IN THE SUN. Held at Lady Mendl's at the Inn at Irving Place, an impressive group of women from theatre, film and television, including LaTanya's fellow Tony nominated costars Sophie Okonedo and Anika Noni Rose, gathered to salute LaTanya. Although she was unable to attend, First Lady Michelle Obama did send a note which was read aloud by Julianne Moore after Ms. Moore made a toast to LaTanya. Samuel L. Jackson and Bart Freundlich crashed the party to enjoy the afternoon with their wives.

A star-studded countdown to the 68th Annual Tony Awards ceremony begins on CUNY TV with the all-new special, 2014 TONY AWARDS PREVIEW, co-hosted by entertainment reporter Pat Collins and four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, a nominee this year for his play Casa Valentina. Collins and Fierstein team up at Hudson Scenic Studio in Yonkers, where the set for the CBS telecast is being built, and with delightful banter introduce segments consisting of clips and interviews in all of the leading categories, including Best Play, Best Musical and Best Revivals.

Voting opened on April 30 and runs through May 30, 2014 for the 12th Annual BroadwayWorld.com Awards! Here are the current standings as of 5/24 with just 5 days to go in voting!

NEW DRAMATISTS, Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premiere playwright development workshop, just honored five-time Tony Award winning director/choreographer Susan Stroman with their 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award at its 65th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute. Among the Stroman collaborators offering tributes was Theatre World Award winning actor Jason Danieley (Next to Normal, Curtains, The Full Monty, Candide) and New York City Ballet's Tiler Peck performing a selection from Little Dancer, Taylor Mac performing a selection from The Last Two People on Earth, Tony nominee Marin Mazzie performing from Bullets Over Broadway; and Contact collaborator John Weidman, Karen Ziemba performing a selection from Crazy For You, and cast members from The Scottsboro Boys: John Cullum, Brandon Victor Dixon, Shavey Brown, Max Kumangai, James T. Lane, Deandre Leatherbury, J.C. Montgomery, Justin Prescott, Clinton Roane, and David Bazemore. The event co-chairs are Letty Aronson, Roy Furman, and Julian Schlossberg.

NEW DRAMATISTS, Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premiere playwright development workshop, just honored five-time Tony Award winning director/choreographer Susan Stroman with their 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award at its 65th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute. Among the Stroman collaborators offering tributes was Theatre World Award winning actor Jason Danieley (Next to Normal, Curtains, The Full Monty, Candide) and New York City Ballet's Tiler Peck performing a selection from Little Dancer, Taylor Mac performing a selection from The Last Two People on Earth, Tony nominee Marin Mazzie performing from Bullets Over Broadway; and Contact collaborator John Weidman, Karen Ziemba performing a selection from Crazy For You, and cast members from The Scottsboro Boys: John Cullum, Brandon Victor Dixon, Shavey Brown, Max Kumangai, James T. Lane, Deandre Leatherbury, J.C. Montgomery, Justin Prescott, Clinton Roane, and David Bazemore. The event co-chairs are Letty Aronson, Roy Furman, and Julian Schlossberg.