Staff at Northampton’s Royal and Derngate will be keeping their fingers crossed next month when Tracie Bennett aims to win a Tony Award for best performance by an actress in a play.
She’s been nominated for her role as Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow which premiered on the Royal stage in Northampton two years ago.
The production which ran in the West End for six months is now playing at the Belasco Theatre in New York.
Nominated for four Olivier Awards last year, End of the Rainbow features Miss Garland in the final weeks of her life as she’s battling drugs and alcohol while preparing for her comeback concerts in London.
Tracie Bennett will be up against Stockard Channing who appeared in Other Desert Cities and Cynthia Nixon for Wit.
Michael Cumpsty, who plays pianist Anthony in the Broadway production of End of the Rainbow, is nominated for best performance by a featured actor in a play while Gareth Owen is nominated for best sound design.
End of the Rainbow was written by Peter Quilter and is directed by Terry Johnson.
Royal and Derngate chief executive Martin Sutherland commented, “We’re really thrilled for Tracie—she deserves to be recognised for one of the most incredible performances we’ve ever seen here in Northampton.”
The winners will be announced on 10 June.