Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

From Death Becomes Her to Dead Outlaw, Boston Conservatory Actors Are Killing It This Awards Season

20/05/2025

From Death Becomes Her to Dead Outlaw, Boston Conservatory Actors Are Killing It This Awards Season Meet three Conservatory alums-and one current student-who brought memorable characters to life in 2024-2025.

By

Sarah Godcher Murphy

May 19, 2025

Jennifer Simard and costar Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her

Matthew Murphy and Ethan Zimmerman

Spring is awards season in the theater world, and this year's nominee lists-from Broadway's Tony Awards to New England's own Elliot Norton Awards-are loaded with graduates of Boston Conservatory at Berklee's musical theater program.

Leading the pack are two alums who scored lead-actor nominations at the Tony Awards: One for playing a woman whose vanity is punished with immortality; and the other, an outlaw who experienced a strange afterlife when his mummified corpse was displayed at carnival sideshows.

Many more Boston Conservatory-trained performers were recognized for their outstanding work in musical productions originating off-Broadway and in regional theater. Here are four characters who made the 2024-2025 theater season a memorable one, and the four actors who earned nominations for the roles:

1. Andrew Durand as Elmer McCurdy in Dead Outlaw

Andrew Durand with costar Julia Knitel in Dead Outlaw

Matthew Murphy

Andrew Durand (BFA 08) earned his first-ever Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, playing the titular character in this new musical inspired by a true story of a bungling train robber. When Elmer's embalmed body went unclaimed by family members, an enterprising funeral home director decided to make a quick buck by putting the Dead Outlaw on display.

Durand sings six songs during the first half of the show, in a performance that's been acclaimed for its frenetic energy. His work in the second half has been equally praised-though he stands motionless in a coffin and never speaks a word. Durand's stage presence is undeniable, said Variety magazine, even as a corpse.

2. Jennifer Simard as Helen Sharp in Death Becomes HerJennifer Simard (BFA 92) earned a third Tony nomination for her drily hilarious performance as Helen, a beauty-obsessed writer doomed to fight with her frenemy for all eternity. Simard debuted this Broadway version of Helen in a new musical adaptation of the 1992 movie, which originally featured Meryl Streep in the role.

Simard's costar Megan Hilty plays Helens rival, Madeline, and also was nominated in the same category: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. The New York Times has heaped praise on their performances, calling both actresses tireless, forever pulling vocal drama and line-reading surprises out of their Swarovski-encrusted imaginations.

3. Nick Adams as Alexis Gillmore in Drag: The Musical

Nick Adams (left) and costar Alaska Thunderfuck in Drag: The Musical

Matthew Murphy

Nick Adams (BFA 05) won Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical at the Outer Critics Circle Awards for playing this glamorous muscle queen-and he had the time of his life in the process. I've never looked forward to going to work more than I have with this production because [of] the camaraderie, the connection, the family that we've created, he told People magazine. As Alexis, Adams also had to master the laborious art of drag makeup and did his own before every performance. The two hours that were getting ready for the show, its the most joyous work environment Ive ever had, he said.

The cast of Drag was packed with BoCo alumni costars: Eddie Korbich (BFA 83) received an Outstanding Featured Performer nomination from Outer Critics Circle; and the Drama League recognized Adams, Korbich, and Jan Sport, aka Charlie Mantione (BFA 15), with Distinguished Performance recognitions.

4. Cortlandt Barrett as Natalie Goodman in Next to Normal

Cortlandt Barrett with costar Anthony Pires in Next to Normal

Maggie Hall

Cortlandt Barrett (BFA 27) played the overachieving daughter of a mentally ill mother in this Cambridge, Massachusetts-based production, directed by Assistant Professor of Theater Pascale Florestal. Barrett was a second-year student at Boston Conservatory when she landed the role and earned praise from the Boston Globe, who called her a formidable voice.

Her Elliot Norton Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical is very surreal, Barrett says. I feel so blessed and incredibly honored, especially because that show was so close to my heart.

Barrett followed up her performance as Natalie with a role in a Boston-based production of the Gospel-rich musical Crowns, and will return to Boston Conservatory for her junior year this coming September.

Learn more about Boston Conservatory at Berklee's leading theater programs.

Most Popular

Image by Maddie Ross, courtesy of Tape Op magazine

Building a Home Recording Studio? Here's What You Need. Experts break down the home studio setup and share tips to create a pro-level recording space on any budget.

Latest

Berklee Onsite will take place May 30-31 on the Berklee College of Music campus in Boston, Massachusetts.

Image courtesy of Berklee Online

Berklee Online Holds Annual Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 30-31 Kamilah Marshall, a backing vocalist for Taylor Swift, will give the keynote presentation.

Illustration by Michelle Parkos

Music Marketing: 5 Practical Strategies for Independent Artists Five ways help you build visibility, engage your audience, and grow your fanbase-including one trick to steal from Taylor Swift.

Jennifer Simard and costar Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her

Matthew Murphy and Ethan Zimmerman

From Death Becomes Her to Dead Outlaw, Boston Conservatory Actors Are Killing It This Awards Season Meet three Conservatory alums-and one current student-who brought memorabl
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/from-i-death-becomes-her-i-to...
See more stories from berklee

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

19/06/2025

Singapore Repertory Theatre Updates Their Space with Clear-Com's Arcadia Central Station

Home chevron_right News & Events chevron_right News chevron_right Singapore R...

19/06/2025

The Gauge: Poland | May 2025

May 2025 was a month packed with events that captivated viewers, from the presidential campaign in Poland to the international Eurovision Song Contest. It's...

19/06/2025

The Gauge: Mexico May 2025

During May, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed a slight decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 23.5%...

19/06/2025

Fuse Audio Labs announce OCELOT Octaver

Combines octave-up and octave-down effects Described as a dual octave engine, the latest release from Fuse Audio Labs combines octave-down and octave-up eff...

19/06/2025

France's Mdias Monde Selects Mediagenix Content Scheduling Solution

BRUSSELS Mediagenix, a provider of smart content solutions, has announced that it has been selected to supply global broadcaster France M dias Monde (FMM) with ...

19/06/2025

Spectrum Reach Promotes Dan Callahan to SVP & CRO

NEW YORK Charter's Spectrum Reach advertising sales division has promoted Dan Callahan to senior vice president and chief revenue officer. He succeeds Jason...

19/06/2025

ENEX Expands LiveU Matrix Cloud Commitment With Ad Hoc Channel

HACKENSACK, N.J. The European News Exchange (ENEX) added an ad hoc channel to LiveU's Matrix cloud-native IP video distribution platform, used for the first...

19/06/2025

Amazon MGM Studios renews collaboration with Avid to supp...

Avid today announced an extended agreement with Amazon MGM Studios to integrate Avid's industry-leading creative tools, Media Composer and Avid NEXIS , on...

19/06/2025

Telestream Qualify Introduces AI-Powered Language Detecti...

Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today introduced key innovations in the newest version of Telestream Qualify, a cloud-native quality...

19/06/2025

Limecraft Announces Platform Update with Enhanced Dashboa...

Limecraft, a leading provider of cloud-based production and delivery tools for the media and entertainment industry, today announced the general availability of...

19/06/2025

View Master Events Powers Greece s First Fully Operationa...

Grass Valley, the media and entertainment industry's leading technology innovator, today announced a significant advancement in Greek media production: the ...

19/06/2025

Globecast Delivers Comprehensive Broadcast Services to RA...

Linear, Live Sports and Playout Origination from Globecast's Newest Facility in Westlake Village, CA Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media an...

19/06/2025

Cobalt Digital Wins Futures Best of Show Award for COBALT...

Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning signal processing products and a founding partner in the openGear initiative, is pleased...

19/06/2025

Lightware supports commitment to environmental sustainabi...

Lightware Visual Engineering, a pioneer in signal management, has begun rolling out paper-only packaging for its flagship products, heralding another important ...

19/06/2025

Mediagenix to supply France Medias Monde with state of th...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announces that it has been selected ...

19/06/2025

HighField AI Partners with CGI to Streamline Broadcast Gr...

HighField AI, the industry's first multimodal, agentic AI solution purpose-built for broadcast newsrooms, today announced its integration with CGI OpenMedia...

19/06/2025

Amino H200W with Orchestrate Wins Best of Show Award at I...

Amino, a global leader in enterprise video and digital signage technology, today announced that its flagship media player, the H200W with Orchestrate, has been ...

19/06/2025

ENEX Implements LiveU Matrix Ad Hoc Channel Expansion to...

News agency ENEX, a long-term LiveU customer, has expanded its use of LiveU's Matrix cloud-native IP video distribution platform with the addition of an ad ...

19/06/2025

Broadcast Solutions realises bold ambitions for Aalto Uni...

Broadcast Solutions, one of Europe's largest media systems integration groups, has completed a remarkable project to create an extensive infrastructure at A...

19/06/2025

Relo Metrics and VideoAmp Unveil Total Sports Performance...

Relo Metrics and VideoAmp today announced the official launch of Total Sports Performance, a next-generation measurement and attribution solution purpose-built ...

19/06/2025

Gencom Technology Upgrades Fijian Parliaments Video Monit...

In today's connected world, constituents expect real-time access to live government proceedings. In the last decade, governments worldwide have responded by...

19/06/2025

Fazioli F308 Essentials from VSL

Latest entry-level sample library announced VSL have just announced the launch of Fazioli F308 Essentials, a new, packed-down version of their library Synch...

19/06/2025

Chelsey Green Makes History as Recording Academy Board Chair

Chelsey Green Makes History as Recording Academy Board Chair The violinist, violist, vocalist, and Berklee professor is the first Black woman and youngest per...

19/06/2025

ICG's pick and mix at the Northern Marketing Festival

Fizzy peaches, banana millions, peach hearts? Or, put it another way: creative, marketing, digital? ICG was among the exhibitors at the Northern Marketing Festi...

19/06/2025

Fox Corporation Acquires Caliente TV in Mexico

Fox Corporation Acquires Caliente TV in Mexico FOX Expands its Sports Broadcasting Footprint in Mexico with the Acquisition of a Market Leading Streaming Chan...

19/06/2025

2025-06-18

Apple presents Big Man, a new short film shot on iPhone 16 Pro, produced in association with Somesuch and #Merky Films, directed by Academy Award-winning direct...

19/06/2025

Award winning comedy The Dry begins filming its final instalment for RT and ITVX

RT and ITV have today announced that filming is underway in Dublin on the third and final series of Element Pictures' award-winning 8 30' comedy drama ...

19/06/2025

Step Inside the Vault: The Borderland' Series Arrives on GeForce NOW

GeForce NOW is throwing open the vault doors to welcome the legendary Borderland series to the cloud. Whether a seasoned Vault Hunter or new to the mayhem of P...

19/06/2025

June 17, 2025

Calibr-Skaggs doses first patient with switchable CAR-T cell therapy in a phase 1 trial for metastatic breast cancer CLBR001 ABBV-461 is a novel, investigatio...

19/06/2025

June 18, 2025

Two-part vaccine strategy generates a stronger, longer-lasting immune boost against HIV Scripps Research scientists' new approach combines two immune-activa...

18/06/2025

Kasi Lemmons on the Enduring Originality of the Sundance Institute Labs

Kasi Lemmons with fellow Daniel Kaluuya at Sundance Institute's 2016 January Screenwriters Lab. Photo by Brandon Cruz for Sundance Institute...

18/06/2025

The Fight for Trans Rights Is Highlighted in Heightened Scrutiny

Sam Feder at Heightened Scrutiny premiere (photo by Robin Marshall / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Bailey Pennick Editor's note: Since the...

18/06/2025

RADAR Italia Celebrates 5 Years of Success With a New Class of Rising Stars

Since popping up in 2020, RADAR Italia has not only supported emerging artists but also reflected the cultural and musical richness of Italy. Over the past five...

18/06/2025

Why "Big Bang" Launches Are Holding Media Teams Back

Media asset management transformation isnt about replacing old technology with new technology. Its about transforming how people work. After analysing dozens of...

18/06/2025

Max Updates Homepage User Interface

NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery's Max streaming service is making some major updates to its user interface that are designed to improve content discovery an...

18/06/2025

DirecTV to Launch Lionsgate Collection

Lionsgate and DirecTV have announced plans to launch the Lionsgate Collection, a free ad-supported streaming channel that will offer programming from the studio...

18/06/2025

France Mdias Monde Select's Mediagenix Content Scheduling Solution

BRUSSELS Mediagenix, a provider of smart content solutions, has announced that it has been selected to supply global broadcaster France M dias Monde (FMM) with ...

18/06/2025

Viamedia Appoints Robert Benoit Chief Financial Officer

LEXINGTON, Ky. The ad rep firm Viamedia has appointed Robert Benoit as its new chief financial officer. Benoit appointment fills a role that has been open since...

18/06/2025

Avid delivers game-changing Splice integration to power music creators with new Pro Tools release

Avid delivers game-changing Splice integration to power music creators with new ...

18/06/2025

Gencom Technology Upgrades Fijian Parliament's Video Monitoring Distribution System with AJA Dante AV 4K Solutions

Gencom Technology Upgrades Fijian Parliament's Video Monitoring Distribution...

18/06/2025

NextGen TV Virtual Channels Combine the BEST of OTA, OTT

Nebraska public broadcasters are among the first in the nation to launch a free virtual channel over NextGen TV and the former CTO of Nebraska Public Media wa...

18/06/2025

Avid unveil Pro Tools 2025.6

Splice integration, Speech-to-Text & more The latest version of Avid's popular DAW software has just arrived, delivering a wealth of new features for bo...

18/06/2025

3D Model Not Showing in After Effects? Fix It Fast with These Tips!

3D Model Not Showing in After Effects? Fix It Fast with These Tips! Graham Quince June 18, 2025 0 Comments Imported a 3D model into After Effects, but...

18/06/2025

COW Job Listing: Video Editor Needed for Special Birthday Slideshow Project

COW Job Listing: Video Editor Needed for Special Birthday Slideshow Project Brie Clayton June 18, 2025 0 Comments Video Editor Needed for Special B...

18/06/2025

Documentary Storytelling Through Spatial Video with Blackmagic Design

Documentary Storytelling Through Spatial Video with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton June 18, 2025 0 Comments DaVinci Resolve Studio underpins a blend o...

18/06/2025

Alfalite Launches New Ceiling-Mounted LED Panel For Virtual Production

HUELVA, Spain Alfalite has launched SKYPIX RGBW & IM, a new series of ceiling-mounted LED panels designed specifically for virtual production (VP XR) environmen...

18/06/2025

Fox Advertising Invests in Studio for Creators and Influencers

In an investment that highlights the growing importance of the creator economy and social media influencers, Fox Advertising said it has made a strategic invest...