We chat with Frank DiLella, three-time Emmy Award winning host of “On Stage” on New York City’s Spectrum News NY1, the news channel’s weekly half-hour theater program.
Frank DiLella is the three time Emmy Award winning host of “On Stage” on Spectrum News NY1, the news channel’s weekly half-hour theater program. DiLella’s celebrity interviews, along with his in-depth reporting of the theatrical scene, have helped make him a trusted friend and confidant within the theater and entertainment communities in New York City and around the globe.
Since joining NY1 in 2004, DiLella has interviewed many legendary artists including Tom Hanks, Vanessa Redgrave, Bono, Nathan Lane, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Hugh Jackman, Tom Stoppard, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Earl Jones, Chita Rivera, Jane Fonda, Ben Vereen, Angela Lansbury, Lady Gaga, Tony Kushner and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
In the spring of 2018, DiLella was honored with an Emmy Award for best News Magazine Program for his Special on the Broadway musical “Come From Away.” In the fall of 2021, DiLella was awarded 2 more Emmy Awards – 1 for a documentary special he hosted about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the other for hosting and producing the 2020 Roger Rees Awards during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He’s the recipient of 5 New York Press Club Awards including 1 in 2019 for his Special on the Broadway revival of “Angels in America” starring Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield – and another in 2020 for his Special on “Network” starring Bryan Cranston.
In addition to filing reports on the Broadway and off-Broadway scenes, DiLella has traveled internationally to cover theater in the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany and Canada.
Over the years, DiLella has acted as a contributing correspondent for the Tony Awards, the Olivier Awards at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Playbill, MANHATTAN Magazine and Broadway Direct, and has given lectures on entertainment and journalism at Hofstra University and The American Theatre Wing. He has also appeared as an entertainment correspondent for “Morning Joe”, BBC, The Tamron Hall Show, Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live”, AOL BUILD Series, Sirius XM, “The Early Show” on CBS, CTV, and Al Jazeera TV.
In the spring of 2020, he hosted the 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards. In January of 2022, Frank executive produced and hosted the documentary – “Reopening: The Broadway Revival” for Great Performances on PBS.
He’s made multiple big and small screen appearances as “himself” including – Ryan Murphy’s “The Prom” – opposite Meryl Streep (NETFLIX), “Smash” (NBC), “The Little Voice” (APPLE TV+), “Gossip Girl” (HBO MAX) and “The Forty Year Old Version” (SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL / NETFLIX).
A strong advocate of arts education, DiLella currently serves on the board of The Roger Rees Awards and is a part of the selection committee for the annual Clive Barnes Award and Foundation – which honors talented young professionals in the artistic fields of dance and theater.
DiLella received a degree from Fordham University at Lincoln Center and has since returned to his alma mater as an adjunct professor teaching theater journalism.
Connect with Frank:
Instagram: @fdilella
Twitter: @fdilell
Facebook: FrankDiLella
Web: frankdilella.com
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