{"id":159790,"date":"2025-06-09T07:09:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T11:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=159790"},"modified":"2025-06-09T09:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T13:10:09","slug":"wright-state-alum-nicole-scherzinger-wins-first-tony-award-for-sunset-boulevard-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2025\/06\/09\/wright-state-alum-nicole-scherzinger-wins-first-tony-award-for-sunset-boulevard-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State alum Nicole Scherzinger wins first Tony Award for starring role in \u2018Sunset Boulevard\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nicole Scherzinger, who studied musical theatre and acting at Wright State, received the Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical for \u201cSunset Boulevard.\u201d (Photo by Marc Brenner)<\/p><\/div>\n

Wright State University alumna Nicole Scherzinger won her first Tony Award for her acclaimed performance as Norma Desmond in the Broadway revival of \u201cSunset Boulevard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scherzinger, who studied musical theatre and acting at Wright State from 1996 to 1999, received the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. The production also earned the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, I always felt like I didn’t belong, but you all have made me feel like I belong and I have come home at last,\u201d Scherzinger said in her acceptance speech. \u201cSo if there’s anyone out there who feels like they don’t belong, or your time hasn’t come, don’t give up. Just keep on giving and giving because the world needs your love and your light now more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her Tony win follows a string of accolades. In 2024, she received an Olivier Award, British theatre\u2019s highest honor, and earlier this year, she was named one of Time magazine\u2019s 100 most influential people.<\/p>\n

As a student at Wright State, Scherzinger performed in numerous productions, including roles as Velma Kelly in \u201cChicago\u201d and Julie La Verne in \u201cShow Boat.\u201d She left the university early, after consulting with professors about an opportunity in Hollywood that launched her career.<\/p>\n

In 2017, the Wright State Alumni Association named her Alumna of the Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Joe Deer, retired professor of musical theatre at Wright State, said Scherzinger\u2019s recent success is no surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can think of very few other performers who have sustained a top-level career in so many fields for so long,\u201d Deer said. It\u2019s so gratifying to see our outstanding alumna being recognized for her breathtaking talent and longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scherzinger is a multi-platinum-selling singer, award-winning performer, and actress known for her versatility across music, theater, film, and television. She previously earned an Olivier nomination for her performance as Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber\u2019s \u201cCats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her television credits include judging roles on \u201cThe Sing-Off,\u201d both the U.S. and U.K. versions of \u201cThe X Factor\u201d and \u201cThe Masked Singer\u201d on Fox. She has performed at Madison Square Garden, voiced the character Sina in Disney\u2019s \u201cMoana\u201d and starred in ABC\u2019s remake of \u201cDirty Dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nicole Scherzinger, who studied musical theatre and acting at Wright State, received the Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical for \u201cSunset Boulevard.\u201d Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":159800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4859,725,747,715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-fine-and-performing-arts","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159790"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159812,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159790\/revisions\/159812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}