Alex Edelman is among the honorees being presented a special Tony Award for his comedy show, Just for Us, which debuted on Broadway in June 2023.
Edelman’s one-man show, which ran through August at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, saw the comic, who is Jewish, recounting a night attending a white supremacist meeting. In addition to Edelman, special Tony recipients include Abe Jacob, a sound designer who has worked on dozens of Broadway shows including the original production of Hair, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Who’s Tommy, and mentored the next generation. Nikiya Mathis, a hair and wig designer fighting back against hair discrimination for Black actors and who worked on shows such as JaJa’s African Hair Braiding, Top Dog/Underdog, Death of a Salesman and more.
Special Tony Awards are given to productions, artists and organizations that do not fall into any of the competitive categories.
“We are honored to present these three extraordinary individuals with Special Tony Awards,” said Jason Laks, interim president of The Broadway League. “Alex Edelman had an exemplary debut in Just for Us, a show that was as moving as it was hilarious and spoke to the power of communication, identity and empathy at a time when it is needed more than ever. Abe Jacob is a true pioneer of theater sound design who created the modern approach to theatrical sound design and has contributed his unique and irreplaceable sound to each of his productions for decades. Nikiya Mathis has transformed the approach to hair and wig design and hair maintenance in our theaters and her incredible work was rightly the centerpiece of this season’s incredible Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.”
The Tony Awards Administration Committee will also present the 2024 Tony Honors for Excellence to Wendall K. Harrington, a designer of scenic projections for the stage, including Paradise Square, Annie, Driving Miss Daisy, Grey Gardens and more; Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, vp cultural Affairs at ASU and executive director of ASU Gammage, who has pushed for equity and diversity in the industry; Judith O. Rubin, board chair of off-Broadway theater Playwrights Horizons for three decades; the Dramatists Guild Foundation, which awards grants and stipends to playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists; and the Friedman Health Center, a health care center in Times Square specifically for those in performing arts and entertainment.
