It's a Tony!

Actress upstages mother at awards
By Joanna Coles
6 June 2000
The Times

Ehle, who is starring in a revival of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, thanked both the playwright and the British director, David Leveaux, before focusing her attention nearer to home. "I wouldn't be here without my beautiful, beautiful, beautiful parents," she said. "Thank you for teaching me to walk and talk and to read."

Doubleplay: a view from backstage and the red carpet
By Christopher Rawson
5 June 2000
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
(Copyright 2000)

Backstage, winners went through a series of rooms being interviewed by TV, radio, photo and print reporters in sequence -- "like a video game, PlayStation," joked Jennifer Ehle, the young British newcomer who won lead actress in a play for "The Real Thing." That deprived CMU's Cherry Jones (nominated for "Moon"), long recognized as one of the country's best. But there's bad news for Pittsburgh native Tina Benko, who understudies Ehle as Annie. The import from London is supposed to close Aug. 12, but if it extends, would Ehle and Stephen Dillane (who won for best actor) stay with it? "I'm not tired of it yet," Ehle said. "And I hate the thought of anyone else playing Annie."

But Dillane seemed to react differently: Asked if he'd be willing to extend, he grimaced and laughed. "I don't know." By the way, though it was a triumphant Tony year for the Brits, Ehle actually counts as American. Her mother, Rosemary Harris, has long been one of Broadway's favorite transplants, so Ehle has an American passport.