Boston Conservatory Plays a Leading Role at the 41st Annual Elliot Norton Awards With six wins and eight additional nominations, the Conservatory's theater community fared well at the 2024 awards ceremony.
By
Sarah Godcher Murphy
May 24, 2024
Jack Mullen, shown here in Oklahoma!, received his first Elliot Norton Award less than two weeks after graduating from Boston Conservatory.
Robert Pascucci
Recognizing the best of Boston-area theater, the Elliot Norton Awards are named for a well-known local critic who-like the Boston theater scene itself-wielded an unusually high degree of influence on the art form in America. From the 1930s through the 1980s, Norton was often the first to review new works by prominent playwrights, as their Broadway-bound productions were given tryouts with Boston's sophisticated audiences.
Boston Conservatory at Berklee makes itself at home in the city's still-thriving theater community, with alums, faculty, and students consistently winning Norties for performance, directing, choreography, and technical production. Year after year, the awards shine a spotlight on the theater artists and companies that have shaped Boston's reputation as a standout in regional theater-including several companies helmed by Theater Division faculty, such as SpeakEasy Stage Company (founded by Paul Daigneault, professor of theater) and Arlekin Players Theatre (founded by Igor Golyak, associate professor of theater).
At this year's Elliot Norton ceremony, members of the Boston Conservatory community won six awards for their work in the plays The Gaaga and Fat Ham as well as the musicals Oklahoma! and The Band's Visit. A current student, three alums, and three faculty members received an additional eight nominations for their work in local productions that included The Color Purple, Sister Act, and How I Learned to Drive.
Alum Rachel Bertone won an Elliot Norton Award for choreographing Oklahoma! at the Reagle Music Theatre.
Robert Pascucci
The Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston's production of Oklahoma! earned Norties for one Boston Conservatory staff member and two alums. The award for Outstanding Musical Direction was presented to Dan Rodriguez, who works as a voice accompanist in the Music Division and recently served as music director for the Center Stage production of Something Rotten.
Contemporary dance alum Rachel Bertone (B.F.A. 07) earned a win for Outstanding Choreography. She also directed Oklahoma! for the Reagle, where she has served as artistic director since 2022. Bertone previously taught in Boston Conservatory's Musical Theater Department, including courses in jazzdance and 20th-century popular vocal styles.
Jack Mullen (B.F.A. 24, musical theater) took home the award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical-less than two weeks after graduating from the Conservatory with a bachelor's degree in musical theater. In addition to playing Will Parker, Mullen served as fight captain for the production.
Mullen's costar and fellow Boston Conservatory alum Jared Troilo (B.F.A. 08, musical theater) played Curly McClain and received a lead acting nomination for that role-in addition to being nominated for his featured performance as Itzik in The Band's Visit, which was coproduced by the Hungtington and SpeakEasy Stage.
Daigneault directed The Band's Visit, which won the award for Outstanding Musical and earned him Outstanding Director honors in the large theater category. Two additional Boston Conservatory faculty who collaborated with Daigneault on the production were recognized with nominations. Jos Delgado, associate professor of theater, was nominated for Outstanding Musical Direction, and Daniel Pelzig, professor of dance, for Outstanding Choreography.
Golyak won Outstanding Director in the small theater category (with codirector Sasha Denisova) for The Gaaga, produced by his Arlekin Players Theatre. He also was credited for virtual design and technical direction of the innovative play, which was presented in both live and online formats simultaneously.
Former Boston Conservatory student Marshall W. Mabry IV (22) won the award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play (large theater category) for his starring role in Fat Ham, a contemporary adaptation of Hamlet, produced by the Huntington in association with Alliance Theatre and the Front Porch Arts Collective.
Two members of the Boston Conservatory community were nominated for their work on The Color Purple at the Umbrella Stage Company: Nathanael Wilkerson (B.F.A. 23, musical theater) was recognized for Outstanding Musical Direction and current student Shy'Kira Allen (B.F.A. 25, musical theater) for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical. Allen faced off in this category against Troilo and yet another Boston Conservatory alum: Yewande Odetoyinbo (M.F.A. 18, musical theater), who was nominated for her role in Sister Act at Lyric Stage Company of Boston.
Rounding out the list of Conservatory nominees, Dennis Trainor Jr., associate professor of theater, was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play (midsize theater category). Trainor received the nomination for his role as Uncle Peck in How I Learned to Drive at Actors' Shakespeare Project.
Learn more about Boston Conservatory's top-ranking theater programs.
Most Popular
Image by Michael D. Spencer
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2024 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
Latest
Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin
Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin Named Chair of the Ensemble Department A renowned vocalist, arranger, and educator, Robinson-Martin is known for developing innovative resources for vocal instruction.
LGBTQ+ Student Group to Hold Inaugural Pride Music Festival Lavanda,
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
Boston Conservatory Plays a Leading Role at the 41st Annual Elliot Norton Awards With six wins and eight additional nominations, the Conservatory's theater community fared well at the 2024 awards ceremony. 
