Four-time Tony Award nominee Judy Kuhn to receive Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at Fredonia Commencement

Actor, singer, teacher, and four-time Tony Award nominee Judy Kuhn will receive an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the State University of New York at Commencement on May 14. The degree will be conferred during the morning ceremony, slated for 10 a.m. in the Steele Hall Arena on the Fredonia campus.

Judy Kuhn (far left) in "Fun Home" on Broadway (photo by Joan Marcus).

Ms. Kuhn has for decades been lauded for her excellence in theatrical and vocal performances in New York, London, and beyond, and earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin University in 1981. Most recently, she received considerable praise for her performance as Helen in “Fun Home,” winner of the 2015 Tony Award for Best Musical. She debuted on Broadway in 1985 and in 1987 was cast as Cosette in the American premiere of “Les Misérables,” earning her first Tony and Drama Desk nominations for that performance. In the dozens of roles she has had over the years — ranging from Broadway to off-Broadway, regional theatre to the international stage, film to television — she has repeatedly shown her skill as a singer and actor.

Kuhn has worked on five films, including singing the title role in Disney’s animated film, “Pocahontas,” and its sequel. She has been on television shows such as “Law & Order,” “Law & Order SVU,” and “All My Children,” as well as two PBS productions. She has had an active, successful career as a solo artist in concerts, cabarets, and nightclubs, and she recently released her fourth solo album. The New York Times review of that recording offers high praise for her refined and balanced delivery, “A top-of-the-line singer whose approach might be described as one of passionate restraint…conveying as much insight and empathy as more overtly dramatic singers without straining for a show-stopping theatricality; her delivery is refined but not prim, her intonation impeccable.”

Since 2003, Kuhn has been actively engaged as a dedicated arts educator. She has offered master classes, such as her “Acting the Song” workshop, at schools of all levels, including Fredonia in February 2015. In an interview with The Leader student newspaper editor Maggie Gilroy after offering the master class at Fredonia, Kuhn explained that her motivation to teach stems from her own experience as a young performer at Oberlin, “I think a couple things about teaching: one is you always want to teach what you want to do, so it keeps me honest as a performer. It makes me think about what I’m doing. The other thing is [that] when I was your age, I didn’t ever have any opportunities to take classes like this. My ‘classroom’ was the shows that I did. I was very lucky, early on, that I was able to be in the room with older, more experienced actors, and watching them was my classroom in a lot of ways. And I’ve worked with a lot of directors who’ve helped me a lot, and I feel like it’s an opportunity to share that with people younger than me.”

President Virginia Horvath noted, "I am thrilled to be presenting Judy Kuhn with the honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at Fredonia. Her distinctive career has earned her the admiration of students and faculty in performing arts, and her service to young performers and the arts community offers another model for Fredonia graduates in all majors. She made a strong impression on students when she came to Fredonia for a master class in 2015, and I'm grateful to Professor Paul Mockovak for bringing her here and nominating her for the honorary degree."

An honorary degree awarded by the State University of New York is earned following an extensive process, beginning with a campus nomination and concluding with an extensive review and final approval by the SUNY Board of Trustees.