From Ryan Murphy to Marsha Norman: 2024 Tony Nominees Shout Out Their Mentors

The 2024 Tony Awards are just a few days away, and this year's nominees took some time to reminisce on the people that got them to where they are today. Hear some of the season's nominees thank their mentors and supporters in the video above.

For Camille A. Brown, who is nominated for Best Choreography for Hell's Kitchen, an artist in her field was a crucial mentor. "Marlies Yearby, definitely" Brown says. "Marlies is a Black woman who was nominated for her choreography for Rent, and I was just really interested in seeing how she did it, how she navigated it. For her to always be so supportive, and loving, and encouraging for years now, there's nothing like someone you look up to actually holding your hand and saying, 'I'm with you.'"

For others, like Best Featured Actress nominee Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, a whole list of people came to mind. "All of my teachers [helped me get here]," Kritzer says, "From my voice teachers, D. Michael Heath, Joan Lader, my acting teachers, the people who have really supported me, my therapist! Particularly I want to give a shoutout to Jamie Bertoluzzi, my dresser on Spamalot. I love you."

And for Maleah Joi Moon, who made her Broadway debut this season in Hell's Kitchen and received a Best Actress nomination for her performance as Ali, her mentor was instrumental in landing the role. "My theatre director from high school [helped me get here], his name is Timothy Walton," Moon says. "I'm always talking about him because he taught me everything I knew before I met Michael Greif, or went to college, or whatever. So he's a huge reason—he coached me on my audition to get to the Public and play Ali there."

Winners will be named at the 77th Annual Tony Awards, set for June 16 at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. The evening will kick off with The Tony Awards: Act One, streaming for free on Pluto TV. The 90-minute pre-show of live and exclusive content will be hosted by Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar. The 77th Annual Tony Awards will follow beginning at 8 PM ET, broadcasting live on CBS (check local listings) and streaming live (for premium-level subscribers) via Paramount+. All Paramount+ subscribers will have on demand access to the broadcast beginning June 17. Stage and screen star Ariana DeBose will be back for the third consecutive year to host.

Visit Playbill.com/Tonys for more.