Producer Scott Rudin won a Tony Award for best revival of a play Sunday, after leaving the industry amid claims of bad behavior.
Rudin received the trophy for his role as the lead producer on the revival of Death of A Salesman, which stars Laurie Metcalf, Nathan Lane and Christopher Abbott. He did not appear at the Tony Awards Sunday, with Lane accepting the Tony Award on behalf of the production.
“On behalf of everyone associated with Death of a Salesman, everyone who works nightly at the Winter Garden Theatre, our entire cast crew, creative team, design team and producing team, our heartfelt thanks to the American Theatre Wing for this tremendous honor. Of course, we all wouldn’t be standing here without the genius of [director] Joe Mantello, who created this revelatory production, and most importantly, the genius of Arthur Miller, who created this monumental masterpiece, which is still sadly as relevant as it was in 1949 and still continues to teach us who we are,” Lane said.
Metcalf won the best lead actress in a play Tony for her portrayal of Linda Loman as did Mantello for his direction. Abbott and Lane were also nominated but missed out on trophies.
Rudin’s reported bad behavior became public after a Hollywood Reporter story detailed multiple claims from Rudin’s former employees of bullying and verbal abuse as well as throwing objects at staff. After the article, as well as a subsequent march on Broadway, Rudin resigned from the Broadway League and effectively stepped away from producing for several years. He was previously a big presence on Broadway, producing a string of showy musical revivals, such as The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, and Hello, Dolly!, starring Bette Midler, in addition to backing smaller, less commercial plays such as Taylor Mac’s Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.
