Dede Ayite, an adjunct professor in the Fordham Theatre program, became the first Black woman to win Best Costume Design of a Play for her work on Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. It was her first Tony award.

“Thank you to all of the costume shops and makers who truly move the needle in terms of getting the glitz and the glam onstage,” she said in an acceptance speech that also credited family and friends from her native Ghana.

“Without them, I would not be here. The show would not look as amazing as it does.”

Ayite, who teaches the Costume Design course at Fordham, was nominated in two Tony categories for her work on three productions—Best Costume Design of a Play for both Appropriate and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and Best Costume Design of a Musical for Hell’s Kitchen. 

Johnson, an adjunct professor who teaches the Creative Producing course for Fordham Theatre, also took home a Tony for his role as producer for Stereophonic, which won for best play.

It was Johnson’s ninth win since 2013, when he won his first Tony as a producer for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. 

Stereophonic, which follows a fictional 1970s rock band on the cusp of superstardom as they struggle through recording their new album, won four other Tony Awards. 

Fellow Fordham graduate Tom Pecinka, FCLC ’10, who made his Broadway acting debut in Stereophonic and was nominated for a Tony for his performance, joined Johnson on stage at the Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater with the cast and crew.

Including Ayite and Johnson, eight members of the Fordham community were nominated for Tony Awards this year.

Watch below as Frank DiLella, FCLC ’06, host of the Spectrum News NY 1 show On Stage, interviews Pecinka on the red carpet before the show.

Here’s a look at four Fordham College at Lincoln Center graduates, three faculty members, and one former Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre who are among the nominees for Broadway’s highest honor. 

This year’s awards ceremony will take place at the David H. Koch Theater—across the street from Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus—on Sunday, June 16.

Marjuan Canady, FCLC ’08
Hell’s Kitchen

Canady, a Fordham Theatre graduate, is a co-producer of Hell’s Kitchen as part of Score 3 Partners. The musical, from Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys, is a coming-of-age story based on her experiences growing up in New York City. The production received 13 total nominations. 

John Johnson, FCLC ’02
Stereophonic

Johnson, who returned to his alma mater this spring to teach a new course called Creative Producing, is an eight-time Tony Award-winning producer. He’ll be looking to earn his ninth for Stereophonic, which was nominated for Best New Play. It follows a fictional 1970s rock band on the cusp of superstardom and dealing with pressures that could “spark their breakup or their breakthrough.” The production received 13 total nominations. 

Tom Pecinka, FCLC ’10
Stereophonic

Pecinka, a Fordham Theatre grad who is making his Broadway debut, was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Peter in Stereophonic. The New York Times called his performance “riveting.”

Morgan Steward, FCLC ’19
Suffs

Steward is an associate producer and co-producer of Suffs, which was nominated for Best New Musical after opening on Broadway last month. She graduated from Fordham only five years ago, earning a degree in new media and digital design and communications while interning at the NY1 show On Stage. On April 10, she addressed a group of Fordham alumni and guests at a private reception before they attended a preview of the show. Suffs tells the story of the American women’s suffrage movement in the first decades of the 20th century. The production received six total nominations. 

Dede Ayite
Adjunct Professor, Fordham Theatre
Appropriate, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hell’s Kitchen

Ayite, who teaches Costume Design at Fordham, was nominated for two Tony Awards for her work on three productions—Best Costume Design of a Play, for both Appropriate and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding; and Best Costume Design of a Musical, Hell’s Kitchen.

Santiago Orjuela-Laverde
Adjunct Professor, Fordham Theatre 
Appropriate, An Enemy of the People

Orjuela-Laverde, who teaches Design and Production at Fordham, was nominated for two Tony Awards for his work with dots, a design collective that specializes in creating “environments for narratives, experiences, and performances.” He and his colleagues Andrew Moerdyk and Kimie Nishikawa, are up for Best Scenic Design of a Play for their work on Appropriate and Best Scenic Design of a Play for their work on An Enemy of the People.

Steven Skybell
Adjunct Professor, Fordham Theatre
Cabaret

Skybell, who currently teaches an Acting Shakespeare course, was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Herr Schultz in Cabaret. Variety said the romance between his character and Bebe Neuwirth’s “elegant and maternal” Fraulein Schneider “spins a sweet and aching emotional thread” in the latest revival of the 1966 musical. Skybell has starred on Broadway in productions including Fiddler on the Roof, Pal Joey, and Wicked, and his numerous Shakespeare credits include the title role in Hamlet. 

Kenny Leon 
Former Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre
Purlie Victorious

Leon served as the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre at Fordham in fall 2014, the same year he earned a Tony Award for his direction of A Raisin in the Sun. This year, he’s been nominated for his work as director of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, which is up for Best Direction of a Play and five other Tonys. The three-act play tells the story of a Black preacher’s efforts to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church.