Always fascinating to see where (or if) the nominees went to school!
http://www.playbill.com/article/schools-of-the-stars-where-the-2019-tony-nominees-went-to-college
Wow - the AMDA haters will really dislike that list! 
Very interesting and I love seeing the huge array of educational backgrounds that people bring to Broadway.
If you are into costume design W&M seems the place to go. Otherwise, not much correlation.
My D’s class at NYU/Tisch was a very strong class and there are many successful graduates of her class, in fact. We are so happy for two friends in her class with Tony nominations this year, Alex Brightman (why does it say he did not attend college? He graduated with my D in her class and was in her a cappella group as well?) and Ali Stroker (a very close friend, who also sang at my D’s wedding, was also in the same a cappella group). There are also a couple of Tisch grads on that list who were my D’s friends while she was at NYU (and since) but not in her particular grade: Damon Daunno and Brandon Uranowitz. My D has been in shows with all of these people, as well as several others on the list who did not go to Tisch with her.
Other theater awards recently released nominations such as the Lortel Awards, Drama League Awards, Drama Desk Awards, Chita Rivera Awards, etc. Several students from my D’s class at NYU/Tisch have received nominations for these too.
That’s my shout out for Tischies.
@soozievt - I love the diverse range of nominations from Tisch, in production, performance, and creation. Truly a “school of the arts” ?
@soozievt - According to an interview I saw with Alex B. he said he attended Cap21 at Tisch but dropped out in 2007?
@stagedoormama…I guess it was so long ago that I forgot Alex didn’t graduate from college. He was at NYU/Tisch/CAP21 for two years with my daughter in her class though, so it is not like he didn’t attend college. Truth be told, in sophomore year, he practically lived in my D’s dorm apartment, as he was dating one of her apartment mates in their class.
@soozievt - I agree. Stating he didn’t attend college is incorrect. He may not have graduated but he still attended.
Regarding lists:
I’m personally a strong believer that many/most of these top tier schools only accept students who are already so strongly gifted and driven that it really doesn’t matter where they would have attended…schools such as Michigan, CMU, Texas State, Penn State, CCM, BW etc. get the top “sought after” talent in the nation and will subsequently turn out motivated, successful graduates. On the same token, the schools that take in larger quantities of students, strategically located in big cities, will statistically have the odds of producing higher quantities of working actors on Broadway: BoCo, NYU and AMDA come to mind. But, I also know of students from those schools who are not working.
Yes, no doubt they probably all provide fabulous training too. But, there are so many other schools that also provide excellent training… I’ve learned that “numbers” don’t always tell the whole story. Interview recent alumni from your top choices and offers and you really do gain invaluable insight. You can easily find alumni to talk with through the department, your coach or strategic Facebook searches.
When putting together a list or making a decision, focus on where your student will thrive, what you can realistically afford, and which school provides the curriculum your student really wants.
@loribelle Regarding the most selective programs (including the lottery schools), I like how you worded that - you didn’t say "polished’, “experienced”, or “trained”. You used the terms “gifted and driven”. Those 2 categories (skilled v talented) often intersect, but definitely not always.
Regardless of talent level, if the school is not providing excellent training, their students will not properly grow and improve. Also - what are the netwoking opportunities, the connections, the masterclasses that the program offers? If the school’s training and opportunities were on the decline, there are several progams that rotate between spots 8-15 on most of the (infamous) lists that would be RW&A to take their place int he rankings. And that’s a great thing - complacency just doesn’t cut it.
You hit the nail on the head with the importance of recent alumni. What are the grads who finished within the past 5 years doing? Connect with them, google them, check out their social media. This is a KEY piece of info.
Interesting regarding Caitlin Kinnunen (best actress nominee for The Prom)…i was lucky enough to see this show in previews (before it became a big hit ) and Kinnunen talked about her background which was primarily home school in Washington state…and she even left that at 16 and moved to NYC on her own (was the impression I got) and began getting very small parts…and now kaboom! (another interesting thing about her…she has Type 1 diabetes and wears a pump for insulin…which is amazing when you see how physical that play is.
@SouthernHope As a young teen Caitlin was already working consistently at places like Seattle’s 5th Ave Theatre, a major regional theatre that has developed and produced several shows that transferred to Broadway and turned out out many Broadway performers. At 16, after having several professional theatre roles, she was cast from Seattle to take over the role of Thea on Broadway in Spring Awakening. She and her mom, moved to NY for her to take that role. Not exactly a small one! Her Seattle peers who opted to go the college route, ended up at top programs including University of Michigan, Carnegie Melon and CCM, which gives you an idea of the caliber of her performance skills, training and the competitive theatre environment she grew up in. Another interesting note: Her voice teacher in WA has trained many Seattle area youths who went on to make it on Broadway. Megan Hilty is a big one that comes to mind. That voice teacher is now a MT professor at University of Michigan.
This is all to add context. She is a major talent with a well-deserved Tony nod, but even though she didn’t go to college she did have a top BFA caliber instructor, a major theatre foundation, family support, and a paying gig before making the jump to NY.
These lists are interesting but, in my opinion, that’s the extent of their value. Most kids will never be in a Broadway show, and that doesn’t mean that they aren’t working or that they are not having success. I have only to look at my D, and Susan’s, too, for that matter, to see that some grads are successful anyway. My D has worked consistently from the day she graduated, all in theatre, and has never had a period of unemployment, never had a ‘day job’ that was unrelated to theatre. I think Susan’s D has had a similar post-grad experience. Anyone who knows what her D has accomplished in her young life understands that a Tony nom, while nice, isn’t the only, or even a primary, measure of success in a career in theatre.
So look at these lists with interest but I would never recommend allowing them to become a part of the decision-making in where to attend college. There are so many more important factors that should be a part of that decision.
I agree with @alwaysamom that gauging the success of the grads in these programs goes way beyond Broadway. When I mentioned earlier on this thread that my D’s NYU/Tisch class was particularly strong and many have had successful careers so far, I didn’t mean solely on Broadway, even though quite a number of them have been on Broadway, including as leads. But when I look at her class, I know several who have been successful so far in directing, playwriting, choreography, singer/songwriters in the music world, own TV show, comedy, movies, MT composers/lyricists, as well as singers/actors/dancers Off Broadway or in major regional theaters. So, in my view, I’d be examining what graduates are doing and not how many are on Broadway. Like @alwaysamom’s D, my D has supported herself since graduation day entirely in the fields of theater and music. She doesn’t have any survival jobs, though early on, her survival jobs were also in theater and music. I’m thrilled for D’s friends who have been on Broadway or even received Tony noms, but honestly, am just as excited for and following the careers of many friends in this field who are not on Broadway. Just in NYC alone, there’s a lot going on in the theater world besides Broadway. As well, many MT grad friends of D’s from college (including D) also have careers in music as artists, not in MT genre. My D is immersed in theater, but also is just as keen about her music career that is not MT. I’ve seen many of her friends have their own concerts, albums, etc. as music artists. My own daughter has a multi-faceted career, and I would encourage college kids and recent grads to consider diversifying beyond auditioning to be in musicals. My D loves being in musicals and still performs in them, though has so much going on right now that she is on a hiatus with auditions. Having a diversified career means all her eggs are not in one basket and she is always busy, sometimes too busy. I think it is good for those looking to go to college for MT to talk to people who graduated within the last 10 years to learn about the work they are doing and the processes they have gone through since out of the gate. While Broadway is certainly dreamy (what MT kid hasn’t thought about it?), I know it is not the main goal for my daughter. The goal really is to be a working artist.
PS: my daughter actually turned down a Broadway show offer, even though she has never been on Broadway. She did not think that experience was going to help her career, had already done the show off-Broadway, and was involved in other projects at the time that she did not want to give up. Plus it was going to interfere with her wedding!