New Delhi, May 12 -- At this year's Tony Awards, sound designer Justin Ellington has gotten a nomination to theater's biggest prize. Someone who helped him get there is also being highlighted.

Freddie Hendricks, a middle school theater teacher at Utopian Academy for the Arts in Ellenwood, Georgia, and who founded the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, is getting the special Tony Award that honors educators.

Hendricks has been an arts educator for more than 30 years and was an honorable mention for the special Tony in 2023 and 2024. He estimates between 20 and 30 of his students have gone on to Broadway, including Tony-nominated Saycon Sengbloh, and one, Kenan Thompson, who is a household star on "Saturday Night Live."

"I've always had a passio...