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New York Post
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Brooklyn teacher nabs Tony for theatre education excellence
All the classroom's a stage. A Bed-Stuy theater teacher won a special Tony award last Sunday for helping bring the joy of Broadway to generations of students — becoming the first in New York to nab the prestigious title. Gary Edwin Robinson took home the 2025 Excellence in Theatre Education Award at last weekend's Tony ceremony for expanding theater access to thousands of students at Boys and Girls High School. Advertisement 5 Gary Edwin Robinson became the first teacher from New York State to nab the Tony for Excellence in Theatre Education Award. REUTERS 'What a lift. What joy it is. Oh, it's like riding on a carpet — the magic carpet!' Robinson, of Fort Greene, told The Post about receiving the honor and rubbing elbows with the theater's elite. Robinson was nothing short of 'shocked' when he heard the news that he would be this year's recipient — and even three days after the ceremony, the excitement was still settling in. Advertisement 'I always said as a kid, 'One day I'm going to go to the Tony Awards. I'm going to get a Tony Award.' And to receive this recognition award is just the tops.' The head of the school's theater program was cast as this year's winner because of his unwavering dedication to his high school students — he developed programming that allows teens to shadow Broadway professionals. He has also leaned on the Arthur Miller Foundation Fellows Program and Broadway Bridges Program to pack the academic year with on- and off-Braodway shows — this year, they've seen 'Hell's Kitchen,' 'Gypsy,' 'A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical' and 'John Proctor Is the Villain.' 5 Robinson has been leading the theater program at the Boys and Girls High School for a decade. Gabriella Bass Advertisement 5 Robinson teaches five drama classes a day and leads a three-year program that explores acting, playwriting, producing, directing and more. Gabriella Bass Robinson lives and breathes theater: he teaches five drama classes a day and leads a three-year program that explores acting, playwriting, producing, directing and more. Many of his students have gone on to illustrious careers in the arts — one is on tour in 'Moulin Rouge,' another is a manager at the famed Apollo Theater and another just finished a TV show. His major emphasis, however, is how theater can enhance his students' lives even if they choose to explore career paths beyond the stage. Advertisement 'I tell [athletes], 'You're going to be selected for a team and with sports figures, you have to do endorsements. That's theater right there; you've got to sell the product and that's where the theater comes in and that's why you're taking this class,' Robinson explained. 5 'Dreams do come true,' Robinson said of the honor. Gabriella Bass 'I have a student who wants to be a nurse . . . You have patients. You might have to sing for the patients and might have to do a little performance with the kids to make people feel better and to heal them. That's where theater comes in,' he continued. 'Theater really can help you in any walk of life. And I say, 'I am that bridge to help you get to where you want to be in your career path.'' Robinson, who has taught at Boys and Girls High School for a decade, was bestowed the award at the 78th annual Tonys on Sunday by Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian. It marked the first time an educator from the Empire State was chosen for the honor — despite the Big Apple being considered the 'theater capital.' 5 The award was presented at the Tonys by Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian. REUTERS 'I get up and I go to work, and I go in to do theater with my students. To receive an award for what you truly love and enjoy doing — okay, I accept!' Robinson said. Advertisement The prize also comes with a $10,000 grant for the school's theater arts program, which Robinson is still mulling over what exactly to put it towards. His students will also receive a visiting master class taught by Carnegie Mellon drama professors. Robinson hopes his success can be another learning moment for his students, telling them to 'find your dream and stick with it.' 'Do all that you can, put your energy into it, and make that a living reality,' he said. 'Dreams do come true. Just stick with it and follow through.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brooklyn teacher wins Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn (PIX11) — A New York native and Brooklyn-based teacher was honored on the national stage this week. Gary Edwin Robinson, head of the Theatre Arts Program at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, was presented with the Excellence in Theatre Education Award at the Tony Awards ceremony on Sunday. More Local News Robinson made history as the first New York teacher to be awarded the honor at the 78th annual event, presented jointly with Carnegie Mellon University. 'I'm getting an award for going to work and enjoying what I do. I love it,' Robinson said backstage at the Tony Awards on Sunday. The Queens native got his start tap dancing at 8 years old with his dance teacher Gloria Jackson, who he attributes to igniting his love of theatre. Robinson went on to study music at Intermediate School 59 and Andrew Jackson High School in Queens before going on to join the Dance Theatre of Harlem chorus. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State While studying under his teacher Arthur Mitchell in Harlem, Robinson chose to pursue vocalist/theatre performance and later went on to study theatre education at Howard University. 'I am charged with the fact that I'm teaching theatre and I love theatre. That's what gets me ticking, tocking, that's the love,' Robinson told Carnegie Mellon University. Robinson's honor at the 2025 Tony Awards comes after he previously received an honorable mention in the education category in 2023. The Excellence in Theatre Education Award honors one educator in the United States every year who demonstrates exceptional commitment, innovation, and impact on students' lives through theatre education. Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Best and Worst Moments From the 2025 Tony Awards
Best Reunion: The 'Hamilton' Cast It was plugged before what seemed like every commercial break, but when members of the original cast of 'Hamilton' finally gathered onstage at Radio City Music Hall for a 10th-anniversary reunion performance, the hype proved justified. Sleekly lit and dressed and choreographed, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. were gloriously back; so were Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones and that Tony-nominated guy who played King George. The eight-song medley — which included 'My Shot,' 'The Schuyler Sisters' and 'The Room Where It Happens'— snapped. I'd make room for it on any list of all-time-best Tonys performances. — Scott Heller Best Inspiration: Here's to You, Mr. Robinson The smooth baritone, the sly half-smile and the wink at the camera. This guy had to be an actor. And, once upon a time, he was. But Gary Edwin Robinson received a Tony Award last night for his second career, as a teacher, at Boys and Girls High School in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Accepting the honor in that voice that could make you believe anything, he said that he trained his students not merely to appreciate theater, but to find careers in it. Appreciation is of course valuable, but the harder thing is to instill in young people the idea that finding 'the theater in themselves' can be honorable, and even necessary. — Jesse Green Best Epic Acceptance: Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger's acceptance speech was as epically demonstrative as her movements in 'Sunset Boulevard' are controlled, restrained, precise. The acknowledging of 'the exceptional warrior women in this category'! The shaking! The crying! The swooping motions from the hand that was not holding her new award! At times it felt like seeing a modern Maria Callas shaking her fist at the heavens, except that for once those heavens had ruled in her favor. There was an outsize grandeur to the drama of it all that felt classical. Can Medea be far off? — Elisabeth Vincentelli Best Placement: Cynthia Erivo's Balcony Bit Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
San Francisco Chronicle
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Special Tony for educators goes to NYC high school teacher who urges students to 'step out the box'
NEW YORK (AP) — The special Tony Award that honors educators is going to a New York public high school teacher who shows how theater skills can apply to a career in the arts — and also far away from it. 'My platform is career focused,' says Gary Edwin Robinson. 'So, as I am working with my students, it's always, 'How is theater going to help develop you in whatever area you're going into?'' Robinson, head of the Theatre Arts Program at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, will receive the 2025 Excellence in Theatre Education Award on June 8 at the Tony Awards in New York City. 'I love what I do, and I get up and I go to work every morning and I go to the theater. It's a black box theater and the theater just happens to be in a school, but it's theater to me. There's no distinction,' he told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement. Robinson teaches five drama classes a day, offering an average of 95-100 students a three-year sequence of 45-minute parts. 'My thing is 'Go explore and find yourself in this thing called theater,'' he says. Year one is teaching the foundations of theater arts and performing. 'I encourage my students every time they come to class to step out the box, explore, try something new today.' Year two is more text-based, as students explore playwriting and do character analysis. The third year pulls it all together at the school's black box theater. Even if a student is poised for a life in athletics, Robinson says theater skills can help: Theater can make you a better communicator and can even help when you do commercial endorsements. The annual Excellence in Theatre Education Award bestowed by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University recognizes U.S. educators who have 'demonstrated exemplary impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession.' 'Edwin's dedication to empowering the next generation of artists, both on and off the stage, is both profound and inspiring,' said Carnegie Mellon President Farnam Jahanian in a statement. 'Carnegie Mellon University is thrilled to help recognize his impact in arts education and to celebrate his record of equipping students with the skills, confidence and community needed for lifelong success.' Robinson graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, focusing on music and art. He played the flute and was a second baritone in the school's choir. Robinson went on to the Dance Theatre of Harlem and then to Howard University, where he earned his bachelor's in theater education. He earned an honorable mention in the education category at the 2023 Tonys. He has leaned on the Arthur Miller Foundation Fellows Program and Broadway Bridges Program to take his students to Broadway shows. This season, they've seen 'Hell's Kitchen,' 'Gypsy,' 'A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical' and 'John Proctor Is the Villain.' 'We don't call them trips. I call them theater experiences,' says Robinson. 'It's not a trip and a day out. You're exploring what you learned in class through your drama book and textbook. What do you see on the stage happening? What did you learn in class and how do you make those connections?' After seeing a show, Robinson is often asked by his students when they are going back, so eye-opening has the experience been. 'Many of them walk around the whole day holding the Playbill. I said, 'You can put it away.' But it's like this little Broadway treasure that they have in their hand. And that makes me proud because I know that it has had a major impact on them.' The award includes a $10,000 prize for the Theatre Arts Program and a pair of tickets to the Tony ceremony and gala. Robinson's students will also receive a visiting master class taught by Carnegie Mellon drama professors. A panel of judges comprised of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon and other leaders from the theater industry selects the winner, from candidates submitted by the public. Many of Robinson's students have gone on to careers in the arts — one is on tour in 'Moulin Rouge,' another is a manager at the famed Apollo Theater and another just finished a TV show. 'The ones that are teaching theater, that's the gift to me,' he says. 'When you have these students that are holding positions in professional organizations in the theater, film, and television, that's another award out there. It lets me know that I've done my job and I connected with students and it's worked.' —-
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
Special Tony for educators goes to NYC high school teacher who urges students to 'step out the box'
NEW YORK -- The special Tony Award that honors educators is going to a New York public high school teacher who shows how theater skills can apply to a career in the arts — and also far away from it. 'My platform is career focused,' says Gary Edwin Robinson. 'So, as I am working with my students, it's always, 'How is theater going to help develop you in whatever area you're going into?'' Robinson, head of the Theatre Arts Program at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, will receive the 2024 Excellence in Theatre Education Award on June 8 at the Tony Awards in New York City. 'I love what I do, and I get up and I go to work every morning and I go to the theater. It's a black box theater and the theater just happens to be in a school, but it's theater to me. There's no distinction,' he told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement. Robinson teaches five drama classes a day, offering an average of 95-100 students a three-year sequence of 45-minute parts. 'My thing is 'Go explore and find yourself in this thing called theater,'' he says. Year one is teaching the foundations of theater arts and performing. 'I encourage my students every time they come to class to step out the box, explore, try something new today.' Year two is more text-based, as students explore playwriting and do character analysis. The third year pulls it all together at the school's black box theater. Even if a student is poised for a life in athletics, Robinson says theater skills can help: Theater can make you a better communicator and can even help when you do commercial endorsements. The annual Excellence in Theatre Education Award bestowed by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University recognizes U.S. educators who have 'demonstrated exemplary impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession.' 'Edwin's dedication to empowering the next generation of artists, both on and off the stage, is both profound and inspiring,' said Carnegie Mellon President Farnam Jahanian in a statement. 'Carnegie Mellon University is thrilled to help recognize his impact in arts education and to celebrate his record of equipping students with the skills, confidence and community needed for lifelong success.' Robinson graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, focusing on music and art. He played the flute and was a second baritone in the school's choir. Robinson went on to the Dance Theatre of Harlem and then to Howard University, where he earned his bachelor's in theater education. He earned an honorable mention in the education category at the 2023 Tonys. He has leaned on the Arthur Miller Foundation Fellows Program and Broadway Bridges Program to take his students to Broadway shows. This season, they've seen 'Hell's Kitchen,' 'Gypsy,' 'A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical' and 'John Proctor Is the Villain.' 'We don't call them trips. I call them theater experiences,' says Robinson. 'It's not a trip and a day out. You're exploring what you learned in class through your drama book and textbook. What do you see on the stage happening? What did you learn in class and how do you make those connections?' After seeing a show, Robinson is often asked by his students when they are going back, so eye-opening has the experience been. 'Many of them walk around the whole day holding the Playbill. I said, 'You can put it away.' But it's like this little Broadway treasure that they have in their hand. And that makes me proud because I know that it has had a major impact on them.' The award includes a $10,000 prize for the Theatre Arts Program and a pair of tickets to the Tony ceremony and gala. Robinson's students will also receive a visiting master class taught by Carnegie Mellon drama professors. A panel of judges comprised of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon and other leaders from the theater industry selects the winner, from candidates submitted by the public. Many of Robinson's students have gone on to careers in the arts — one is on tour in 'Moulin Rouge,' another is a manager at the famed Apollo Theater and another just finished a TV show. 'The ones that are teaching theater, that's the gift to me,' he says. 'When you have these students that are holding positions in professional organizations in the theater, film, and television, that's another award out there. It lets me know that I've done my job and I connected with students and it's worked.'
