Do you remember your first trip to the theater? (And by theater, of course, I'm referring to LIVE theater.) For many of us, that first ever live theater experience is enough to welcome us into a life devoted to arts and entertainment. My first live theater experience was a musical on Broadway called Shenendoah, with music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell, and book by Udell, Philip Rose, and James Lee Barrett It starred John Cullum (The Middle, Madam Secretary, Northern Exposure) and was a truly was a magical experience!

Shenendoah helped me discover the power of story-telling through live performance. I've been a voracious theater fan ever since, and one thing I've paid careful attention to is the irrefutable contribution that accents make to the story-telling process. Accents have the power to welcome us as audience members into brand new regions and cultures throughout the world (and of course the occasional imaginary world)! They're an invaluable tool that help paint the overall picture, and they seem to be everywhere in live theater... especially in Tony-nominated shows!

The Tony Awards is live theater's biggest celebration and acknowledgment of paramount achievement. The Tonys is also a wonderful opportunity to discover how many of these celebrated shows feature accents, and what those accents are!

Here's a detailed breakdown of this year's nominees that feature accents other than General American being performed by truly talented actors and actresses:

PLAYS:
The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth
ACCENT: Northern Ireland

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus by Taylor Mac
ACCENTS: Standard British (RP), Cockney

Ink by James Graham
ACCENTS: Standard British (RP), Estuary, Yorkshire, Australian

Burn This by Lanford Wilson
ACCENT: New Jersey

Torch Song by Harvey Fierstein
ACCENT: New York City

The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan
ACCENT: Boston

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, adapted for stage by Aaron Sorkin
ACCENT: Alabama/Southern

Bernhardt/Hamlet by Theresa Rebeck
ACCENT: Standard British

King Lear by William Shakespeare
ACCENTS: Various British

MUSICALS:
Oklahoma! by Rodgers and Hammerstein
ACCENT: Oklahoma/Southern

Beetlejuice music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect; book by Scott Brown & Anthony King
ACCENTS: Jamaican and others

Tootsie music and lyrics by David Yazbek; book by Robert Horn
ACCENTS: Southern, NYC

The Cher Show book by Rick Elice
ACCENTS: Midwest, Southern, California

This article comes courtesy of Adam Michael Rose. Copyright 2019.