And the Award Goes To... Hosted by Ilana Levine

Broadway star Ilana Levine returns to The Art of Kindness with Robert Peterpaul to discuss all things kindness during awards season, an amazing Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews story and much more. Ilana is a Broadway star best known for playing “Lucy Van Pelt” in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. She has also starred in the Broadway productions of Jake’s Women, Wrong Mountain and The Last Night Of Ballyhoo. In addition, she has appeared in many TV shows and films including: Tanner ’88, Law and Order, Damages, The Job, Cashmere Mafia, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Failure To Launch, The Nanny Diaries, Friends With Kids and Five Flights Up. Seinfeld fans will also recognize her from the infamous episode “The Contest.” Ilana is also a podcast superstar with her show Little Known Facts. Her latest podcast venture is for all those out there who have ever dreamed of winning a Tony Award or Oscar. And the Award Goes To… sees Ilana interview some of the best and brightest in this business as they take a trip down memory lane and relive their winning moment. Guests include Kristin Chenoweth, Patti Lupone, Judith Light and so much more. Got kindness tips or stories? Please email us: artofkindnesspodcast@gmail.com Follow Ilana @littleknownfacts @atagtwithilanalevine Follow us @artofkindnesspod / @robpeterpaul Support the show! (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theaok) Music: "Awake" by Ricky Alvarez & "Sunshine" by Lemon Music Studio. We are supported by the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Please let me standing here be a little sign to you from the universe to make the weird art.” Deirdre O'Connell has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television. She began her career at Stage One, an experimental theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. She made her Broadway debut in the 1986 revival of The Front Page, and was nominated for the 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the off-Broadway production Love and Anger. She is the recipient of two Drama-Logue Awards and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her stage work in Los Angeles. She made her screen debut in Tin Men, with additional film credits that include State of Grace, Straight Talk, Leaving Normal, Fearless, City of Angels, Hearts in Atlantis, Imaginary Heroes, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Wendy and Lucy, What Happens in Vegas, Secondhand Lions, and Synecdoche, New York. She was a regular on L.A. Doctors and has made numerous guest appearances on series such as Kate & Allie, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Six Feet Under, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Nurse Jackie. From 1994 to 2010, O'Connell appeared on six episodes of Law & Order, four of them as Dr. Valerie Knight, Anita Van Buren's oncologist in Season 20. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a career spanning three decades, Allison Janney is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award (the subject of this episode now!), a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and seven Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards. Janney made her professional stage debut with the Off-Broadway production Ladies (1989) before making her Broadway debut with the 1996 revival of Present Laughter. She won two Drama Desk Awards and has been nominated for two Tony Awards: for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the Broadway revival of A View from the Bridge (1997), and for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical 9 to 5 (2009). Her film roles include Private Parts (1997), Primary Colors (1998), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), American Beauty (1999), Nurse Betty (2000), The Hours (2002), Hairspray (2007), Juno (2007), The Help (2011), The Way, Way Back (2013), Tammy (2014), The Rewrite (2014), Spy (2015), Tallulah (2016), The Girl on the Train (2016), Bad Education (2019) and Bombshell (2019). She voiced roles in Finding Nemo (2003), Over the Hedge (2006), Minions (2015), and The Addams Family (2019). For her performance in the black comedy I, Tonya (2017), Janney won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award, all for Best Supporting Actress. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joaquina is best known for playing Nelly O'Brien in the Broadway musical Paradise Square, for which she won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She was also nominated for Best Actress in a Play in 2020 for portraying Kaneisha in Slave Play. In addition to her theatre work, Kalukango has appeared in One Night in Miami and When They See Us. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julie Taymor made history being the first female director to win a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. One of the most iconic directors of our generation, Julie is also a writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best Director and Costume Designer. Her film Frida, about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including a Best Original Song nomination for Taymor's composition "Burn It Blue". Julie has a strong passion for mask work, puppetry work, and why many people who watch The Lion King may not understand the extreme levels of talent required to be a great performer with a mask on. Julie also discusses what the show means to her, why it's so important to the world, and what really drives her. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I consider myself the luckiest person in the world because my avocation is my occupation” is how Charlotte St. Martin describes what it means to be President of The Broadway League. When Charlotte St. Martin was in high school she went to see her boyfriend in the King and I and that was the beginning of her lifelong love of theater. Even in her previous job in the hospitality business in Dallas she was known as “Broadway Charlotte.” The combination of her having chaired three major trade associations and her love of Broadway made her the perfect candidate for the role that puts her front and center in all that is the business of Broadway. Along with The Tony Awards and The Jimmy Awards , Charlotte is also tremendously proud of the Broadway Bridges program which will allow for over 70,000 kids a year to see a Broadway show for free. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Everyone needs a good mole joke” is how five time nominee and two time Tony Award winner Donna Murphy made the audience howl with laughter during her acceptance speech for her stunning portrayal of Fosca in the Sondheim/Lapine musical, Passion. According to Mr. Sondheim when he heard Donna sing at her audition he felt she could have performed in front of an audience immediately - that is how deeply connected and breathtaking she was in the role. In this episode Ms. Murphy takes listeners behind the scenes detailing how she created the role, how Lapine and Sondheim worked seamlessly as a team and how all the designers helped her find what was to become the iconic performance that remains legendary in Broadway history. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first Tony Awards ceremony took place on Easter Sunday in 1947. It was a small affair where awards were handed out to notable artists of the day. Some of the winners that evening included actress, Patricia Neal and playwright, Arthur Miller. The ceremony was not televised and took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The first awards handed out were a money clip for the men and a make up compact for the women. It took many years until it took the form of an actual award and the only award that spins! Since 2011 Heather Hitchens has been the President and CEO of The American Theater Wing. She herself is an accomplished drummer who started out at a local radio station and then later went into arts management. She counts many women mentors in her life who gave her the confidence to take on leadership roles in the world of arts organizations which is how her career in the arts began at the age of 24. “The arts is the only sector that I know of that lifts up every sector that it touches.” Heather Hitchens. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephanie J. Block was no stranger to playing real people on Broadway having portrayed Liza Minnelli in The Boy From Oz so when director Jason Moore asked her to take on the role of Cher in the Broadway musical The Cher Show, she was quite trepidatious. A long meal with Jason and an unexpected nudge from her Priest changed her mind. Once rehearsals began Stephanie found herself connecting deeply and easily with the role and Cher’s life but the real test came when Cher arrived at the workshop presentation. Stephanie hid in a bathroom not wanting to meet the real Cher until after the performance but she was summoned and that was her first introduction to the woman/icon who would become a lifelong friend. In this episode Stephanie shares details of her early conversations with Cher and what tricks she used to learn to channel and sing like Cher and then what happens when you sing WITH Cher. Welcome Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Block to the podcast. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kristin Chenoweth first auditioned for You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, having no idea which character she was reading for. It wasn’t until she got to the first day of rehearsal and she looked at the place card by her seat and it read “Kristin Chenoweth as Sally Brown.” That was the beginning of a journey that took Kristin from working actress to global star. The reaction by audiences and press alike was unprecedented. Her uniquely operatic voice, her comedic timing, her ability to portray a child even though she was an adult- were all the ingredients for a perfect marriage of actress and part but the true game changing moment happened when composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, I Am Harvey Milk) showed up one day with a new song for Kristin called “My New Philosophy “ history was made. Welcome Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth to the podcast. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When BD Wong asked his parents to lend him money to fly to New York for an audition for M. Butterfly he told them he was certain he would not get the job but he could not pass up the opportunity to meet the creative team. Well we know how that story went! Having no Broadway credits he was the first actor cast in the play and was actually involved in the casting process for his co star. All these years later the now very famous actor shares intimate truths about the difficulties he had in the production but also the glorious on stage relationship that developed with the great John Lithgow. Welcome Tony Award winner BD Wong! Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A self described “theater junkie” Cynthia Nixon has been in love with the theater for her entire life, She was cast in her first Broadway role at the age of 14- the play was The Philadelphia Story. Her ability to inhabit a role and bring us into the world of the characters she plays with such humanity and integrity makes her one of the most celebrated actresses of her generation. In this episode of And The Award Goes To.. Cynthia takes us through what it was to take on the role of a grieving mother in the Pulitzer Prize play Rabbit Hole and she finally explains how it all happened that she was famously cast in both The Real Thing and Hurlyburly at 17 ( and we learn how Whoopi Goldberg was inadvertently part of why that came to be!) that and the time Joseph Papp threw her a graduation party on the set of Romeo and Juliet and so much more on this episode with Tony Award winner, Cynthia Nixon. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Nikki M. James was in kindergarten her teacher invited her to sing in a school performance. It was obvious to everyone that she was exceptionally talented but what became clear to Nikki, even at this young age, was that she found her passion. That love of performing a song became her obsession and then she found Broadway! She dreamed of being a professional actress and of one day winning a Tony Award. Sure- lots of people practice their speech in the bathroom mirror but Nikki is one of those extraordinary talents who actually made it happen. Losing her father at a young age made her all the more focused and devoted to her craft and then a play reading when she was still in high school was the beginning of something that would change her life forever even though she didn’t know it at the time. Her performance in that reading stayed with one audience member- Bobby Lopez ( one of the creators of The Book Of Mormon) and many years later when they were casting for the workshop of the show he thought Nikki would be a great fit. He was right! And what luck for all of us who got to see Nikki be brilliant in her Tony Award winning role and her performance on the Broadway Cast Album is one of the greatest ever. Hosted by Ilana Levine, Produced by Alan Seales, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices