Producer Comley wins two Tony Awards

Bonnie Comley, MA ’94, won two of theater’s most prestigious honors on June 12. A play she co-produced, War Horse, won the Tony Award for Best Play. War Horse is the epic tale of the bond between a young man and a thoroughbred horse in wartime England. (Actor Ariel Heller ’06 is in the cast of War Horse.) Another play co-produced by Comley, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, won the Tony Award for Best Costume in a Musical. Priscilla is a comedy about the road trip adventure of three drag queen friends.

Two of Comley’s other Broadway productions also received nominations: The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

Comley is married to Tony Award-winning producer Stewart F. Lane. Together they were honored with the Distinguished Producer Award at the Drama League’s 2009 Benefit Gala and given the Arts Horizons Paul Newman Award in 2009. In 2008, the couple received the Medal of Honor from The Actors Fund. Comley has produced several plays and  films and is a member of Emerson’s Dean’s Advisory Council.

Producer Jacki Barlia Florin ’81 was also nominated for several Tonys this year: for Best Play for Jerusalem, for Best Musical for The Scottsboro Boys, and for Best Revival of a Musical for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.