Directors and choreographers Jeff and Rick Kuperman are 2024 Tony nominees. They chatted at the red carpet of the 2024 Chita Rivera Awards, which took place on Monday, May 20, at the NYU Skirball Center.
They are nominated for the 2024 Tony Award for “Best Choreography” for their work in “The Outsiders.”
This Broadway musical is based on the novel by S.E. Hinton and Francis Ford Coppola’s motion picture. It was produced by The Araca Group and Angelina Jolie. The show has been nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including a nod for “Best Musical.”
2024 Chita Rivera Awards
“It feels incredible,” they exclaimed about being a part of the 2024 Chita Rivera Awards. “It’s great to be here especially amongst this group of nominees. There is a lot of great talent here.”
On the importance of this award show, they said, “I think it’s important to be amongst this community with dancers, where we celebrate this particular art form. It’s amazing what dancers do, and I am glad that we are here as a community to celebrate that.”
“Dancers have a huge impact on the shows that we see on Broadway, so to have an award that recognizes, and honors dancers is just wonderful,” they exclaimed.
Stage of their lives
On the title of the current chapter of their lives, they revealed, “Perpetual Tech.”
‘Today’ Show performance of ‘Grease Get a Hold On’
The Kuperman brothers also discussed the recent “Today” performance of “Grease Get a Hold On” by the cast of “The Outsiders.”
“It was a brisk May morning, and it was refreshing,” they said. “We are so proud of the company… they really pulled themselves together in new environments, so that was awesome.”
That performance of “Grease Get a Hold On” may be seen by clicking here.
Career-defining moments
On their career-defining moments, they shared, “Winning a Chita Rivera Awards five years ago to this day was a defining moment for us. That was a huge honor.”
In addition, the Kuperman Brothers are co-directing and choreographing an immersive new show.
Success
On their definition of the word success, they said, “Success means waking up in the morning, being engaged, and excited to go in and do the work that you are doing.”
Closing thoughts on ‘The Outsiders’ musical
For fans and viewers, they remarked about their musical, “We think ‘The Outsiders’ is a show ultimately about resilience, and it stresses that humans are capable of so much even under hard circumstances.”
“To see that story taking place on stage and being reminded of that is important and awesome. Also, it underscores chosen family,” they concluded.
To learn more about the Kuperman Brothers, check out their official website and follow them on Instagram.
