Last year she won the prestigious Olivier Award, the highest honor in British theater, for her acclaimed portrayal, and last month she was recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s most influential people of 2025.
Credit: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP
Credit: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP
She’s also a Grammy-nominated former member of the Pussycat Dolls and has been a judge on “The Sing-Off” as well as the U.S. and U.K. versions of “The X Factor” and “The Masked Singer.”
While studying musical theater at Wright State from 1996 to 1999, Scherzinger’s credits included Velma Kelly in “Chicago” and Julie LaVerne in “Show Boat.”
“I’m so excited for ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and especially Nicole who is as full-blown a Broadway star as I’ve ever seen,” said Joe Deer, who directed Scherzinger in “Chicago.”
“I can count on the fingers of one hand the performances that stopped time the way she did.”
“Sunset Boulevard” also features the Broadway debut of Wright State musical theater graduate and Fairfield native Shavey Brown. He portrays multiple roles including Cecil B. DeMille and notably understudies the principal role of Norma’s devoted butler Max von Mayerling.
Credit: FACEBOOK PHOTO
Credit: FACEBOOK PHOTO
“One of my happiest moments ever as a teacher was seeing (Nicole) and Shavey Brown doing a really important scene together in the biggest hit of the season,” Deer said. “It’s a wonderful production that she anchors in the way only a real stage star can.”
Other local connections within this year’s Tony nominations include:
Tilly Evans-Krueger, former member of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and a Chita Rivera Award winner for her fantastically visceral dancing in the Tony-winning musical “The Outsiders,” is the movement director for ”John Proctor is the Villain," nominated for seven Tonys including Best Play.
Credit: KATIE MOLLISON
Credit: KATIE MOLLISON
Adam Koch, a Dayton native and Muse Machine alum, created the scenic and video design for “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical,” which was nominated for James Monroe Iglehart’s leading performance.
Heni Koenigsberg, who grew up in Dayton and has won 13 Tonys for producing, co-produced “Sunset Boulevard” in addition to “Buena Vista Social Club” (10 nominations), “Dead Outlaw” (7 nominations), “Gypsy” (5 nominations), “The Hills of California” (7 nominations) and “Smash” (2 nominations).
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Best Musical nominees “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Death Becomes Her” and “Maybe Happy Ending” lead all nominees with 10.
The 78th annual Tony Awards, hosted by Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo, will air live at 8 p.m. Sunday, June 8 from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
For a complete list of Tony nominees, visit tonyawards.com.
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