Columbia Professor Gilbert Nominated for Tony Award

Photo of Heather Gilbert on a black backgroundProfessor Heather Gilbert
Professor Heather Gilbert is nominated for second Tony in lighting design.

Professor Heather Gilbert is nominated for Tony Award in the Best Lighting Design of a Musical category. The Theatre Department professor is nominated for her work on Parade, a musical starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, which is showing through August 6 at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.  This is Gilbert’s second Tony nomination. She was nominated in 2020 for her lighting design work in The Sound Inside, her Broadway debut. 

The 76th Awards will be announced June 11. 

"It is such a joy to be nominated with my team for Best Lighting Design of a Musical,” Gilbert says. “Parade is such an important story, and it is an honor to be able to be able to bring it to such a large audience and to be part of shining a light on anti-Semitism and Leo Frank’s story.” 

In addition to her Tony nomination, Gilbert is nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical and received the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration.  

Previously, Gilbert won a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her work The Sound Inside.  

Gilbert is among the ranks of other Columbia College Chicago faculty members and alumni who have been nominated for a Tony, including Anna D. Shapiro ’90, HDR ‘15 and former Columbia student, faculty member, and honorary degree recipient David Cromer ’17, both of whom went on to win the award in past years. 

Gilbert’s educational focus centers on live entertainment lighting with a focus in dance, theatre, and concerts. She teaches courses Lighting Design, Theatre Career, and Creating a Career in Tech and Design, Vectorworks, and Aesthetics for Theatre Maker 

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