Central PA Man Attends 2014 Tony Awards

On Sunday evening, most central PA theatre fans were huddled in front of their TVs, eyes glued to the Tony Awards, waiting in anticipation to see who of Broadway's finest would take home one of the coveted awards. Would Audra McDonald make Tony Award history by winning her sixth Tony Award? Would four-time past Tony host Neil Patrick Harris take home a Tony of his own? Which show would win the prestigious title of Best Musical?

But one central PA theatre professional was a little bit closer to the Broadway action.

Dennis Norton, who handles the programming for the Hershey Theatre, just completed his first year as a judge for the Tony Awards, and on Sunday he had the opportunity to attend his first Tony Awards ceremony. Dennis joined over 6,000 other members of the theatre community at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to celebrate the best of the best on Broadway.

Upon arriving at Radio City Music Hall just before 6:00pm, Dennis was immediately impressed. "Seeing 6,000 people dressed to the nines was a very emotional experience," he said. He also stated that, "The operational aspect was amazing in itself," noting that the way Radio City Music Hall handled moving so many people through its theatre was very impressive. Since it was a live event, the doors were locked at 7:00pm, and there was absolutely no late seating.

Dennis was one of approximately 6,000 people who attended the 2014 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.

As for the ceremony itself, it didn't disappoint. Dennis described the evening as an "emotional roller coaster," pointing out the variety of emotions in the evening's performances, from the suffering in Les Misérables, to the upbeat Aladdin, to the inspiring story of Beautiful - The Carol King Musical. "Each Broadway show comes with its own very emotional experience," he said. "It was like looking through a photo book of emotions."

One of the things Dennis found interesting was watching the audience respond to each award. He very quickly realized that there were groups of people from each show seated together, and it was easy to tell who was with each show. Dennis happened to be seated near a group with the musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which ended up winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. While this was one of the most anticipated awards, the whole evening was really a celebration Dennis said. "Just being present to witness this celebration was such a thrill."

Dennis was thrilled to be a part of this year's Tony Awards, which proved to be an evening filled with emotion and celebration.

Through his programming role with Hershey Theatre, Dennis is a member of The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing are the presenters of the Tony Awards, so through Dennis's affiliation with the League, he is able to serve as a judge. In order to vote in a category, a judge must have seen every production in that category. This year, Dennis was qualified to vote for 11 out of 26 categories.

Though this year's Tony Awards are over, Dennis said that work on next year's Awards is already beginning. Holler if Ya Hear Me, a musical based on the music of Tupac Shukar, opens next week and will be the first musical of the 2015 Tony Awards season.

Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, together with the M.S. Hershey Foundation, is dedicated to continuing Milton Hershey's legacy through the Hershey Theatre by presenting Broadway in Central PA. For more information on the Hershey Theatre and upcoming performances, please visit www.hersheytheatre.com.