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Jay O’Sanders ’76 Wins a Drama Desk Award

And congratulations to all the Purchase alumni and faculty who earned nominations this Broadway award season.

Jay O. Sanders ’76 (acting) won the Drama Desk Award in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Play for his title role in Uncle Vanya, which critics believe is the role of his career.

Jay O. Sanders as Ványa in Uncle Vanya, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, directed and translated by Richard Nelson,...


Alumni David Neumann ’88 (acting) was nominated for both a Tony Award® in the category of Best Choreography and for a Drama Desk LaDuca Award for Outstanding Choreography for his work on Hadestown.

David Neumann '88


Kenneth Posner ’87 (theatre design/tech) earned a Tony Award® nomination in the Best Lighting Design of a Musical category for Beetlejuice.

Kenneth Posner '87


Joining them is Lecturer in Theatre Design/Technology Joseph Forbes who was honored with the 2019 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre, awarded annually to institutions, individuals, and/or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theatre, but are not eligible in any of the established Tony Award categories.

In 2017, Forbes received the Backstage Legends and Masters Award from Purchase College’s Broadway Technical Theatre History Project

Scenic Art Studios founder Joseph B. Forbes