Musical theater programming garnered a handful of statues at this year’s Emmy Awards given out by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, both at the 65th annual Primetime ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on Sep. 23 that was broadcast live on ABC and at the 64th annual Creative Arts ceremony on Sep. 15 that was broadcast Sep. 22 on Reelz Channel, both from the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
The 65th Annual Tony Awards (CBS) won as Outstanding Special Class Program, the third consecutive year for the annual broadcast, bringing statues to executive producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss and producer-host Neil Patrick Harris (his second Emmy win). The program brought additional trophies to Glenn Weiss for Outstanding Direction for a Variety Special (his sixth win, all for helming the annual show), composer Adam Schlesinger (his first) and lyricist David Javerbaum (his first for music but eighth overall) for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, and production designer Steve Bass (his third) and art director Seth Easter (his first) for Outstanding Art Direction for Variety or Nonfiction Programming.
Another multiple-winning program was The 34th Annual Kennedy Center Honors (CBS), named as Outstanding Variety Special, bringing statues to producers George Stevens Jr. and Michael M. Stevens. The program also brought recognition to music directors Rob Berman and Rob Mathes for Outstanding Music Direction, the first win for each man after several previous nominations.
Other honorees included choreographer Joshua Bergasse, who won his first Emmy in Outstanding Choreography for the routines to “National Pastime,” “Let’s Be Bad” and “Never Met a Wolf” during the premiere season of Smash (NBC), and the Great Performances (PBS) production of the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis, which won for Outstanding Technical Direction for a Miniseries/Movie or Special, led by technical director Steven Cimino, a seven-time winner for his work on Saturday Night Live.