It was a monumental year for women in theater at the Tony Awards held over the weekend at Radio City Music Hall, New York City.
It was two women that took home the two biggest directing categories of ‘Best Direction of a Musical’ and Best Direction of Play.’ Pam Mackinnon won for directing the play ‘Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf’ and Diane Paulus took home the prize for the musical ‘Pippin.’
But it didn’t stop there. Grammy winner Cyndi Lauper became the first solo woman to win a Tony for score, for the best musical winner “Kinky Boots.”
“We’re hitting our stride,” said MacKinnon of her fellow women in the theater.
After her win, Lauper echoed that sentiment: “I guess I’m the first woman, so maybe I’d do it for my mother and my grandmother who could not have careers. And for all the women that’ll follow me, because there’ll be lots of them.”
This was the second time that two women have won the top directing awards at the Tonys. The first was in 1998.
Diane Paulus counts the women before her as an inspiration to keep going and for the future of women in the trade.
“I’m hoping that after tonight we’ll stop counting and women will be given the opportunity to be leaders, and I hope this encourages producers to trust women to think about the business of theater, which is what you have to do when you direct a musical,” she said. “I’m thrilled, I hope that it gives courage to young aspiring women directors all over the world to charge on.”
Film director Kathryn Bigelow famously became the first woman to win an Academy Award for directing for her 2009 drama, “The Hurt Locker.”
It seems there is still plenty of potential and room for more women to rise in the ranks of various creative industries and show the world the unique skills and talents we can offer. Don’t let an uphill battle or a male dominated arena deter you from forging ahead and bringing your ideas to the table. We live in an exciting time where women can do anything and we are no longer held back by social stigma, cultural fear (in most cases) or generational bias.
If you were guaranteed to succeed, not fail, at something in life, what would you do?
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