Raleigh Ensemble Players win 'Tony'

Raleigh Ensemble Players has won a Tony award -- of sorts.

This Tony is in memory of actor Tony Randall, and the award is a $10,000 grant, the first of its kind given by the Tony Randall Theatrical Fund. REP is known for its intense productions of socially conscious plays.

"We've been impressed with everything we've seen from REP," Kristie Ashton, vice president of the fund's board, said last week.

It wasn't by chance that a Triangle company won the grant, which did not have an open application process. A decade ago, Randall considered moving his company, National Actors Theatre, from New York to the Triangle. And Ashton, his sister-in-law, has lived here for 16 years.

Randall is best known for his Emmy Award-winning role as the fussy Felix Unger in the sitcom "The Odd Couple," but he also performed, produced and directed for the stage. National Actors Theatre, which he founded in 1991, was devoted to classical theater.

When Randall began looking for a less costly and more attentive home for the New York-based company, longtime friend Charles Millard, the retired director of the Ackland Art Museum at UNC-CH, encouraged him to consider the Triangle. Terry Sanford, the former governor and U.S. senator, had hoped to build a performing arts institute here, with Randall's company as its resident theater.

The campaign lost steam after Sanford died in 1998. National Actors Theatre moved to Pace University in New York City. Randall died in 2004 at age 84.

Heather Randall, the actor's widow and Ashton's sister, thought of the Triangle immediately when the theatrical fund's board decided to expand its grant program beyond the New York area, said Ashton. The choice proved convenient for Ashton, who was familiar with the theater scene here. She narrowed her focus to three Raleigh companies: REP, Raleigh Little Theatre and Burning Coal Theatre Company.

Raleigh Little Theatre is a 71-year-old community theater that generally presents mainstream plays and musicals. Burning Coal, which came to Raleigh 10 years ago, presents more challenging fare. REP, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is the edgiest and most political of the three.

Ashton said she attended plays at all three theaters and considered their repertoire, production quality, history and mission statements. REP was the only one she asked to submit an official application, including detailed information about its budget and business practices.

The grant, titled HOPE (Hats Off for Performance Excellence), is to be used for operating expenses. REP's annual budget is roughly $140,000, according to artistic director C. Glen Matthews. He said he'll probably use the funds for its as-yet-unnamed 25th anniversary revival, and for the fall production of "columbinus," a new documentary-style drama about the Columbine High School shootings.

Ashton said the fund may set its sights on New Orleans next year.