Tony-Nommed Drood Director Scott Ellis Remembers Roller-Skating on TV With Chita & Liza

In the weeks leading up to the 2013 Tony telecast, Broadway.com is posting video clips of favorite Tony memories of this year’s nominees, with their own commentary. Scott Ellis, who received his sixth Best Director nomination for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, began his career as performer, including a stint juggling small roles in the Kander & Ebb musical The Rink. His memorable Tony moment happened on stage at the Gershwin Theatre on June 3, 1984, and it begins at 6:00 in the amazing eight-minute Kander & Ebb tribute number below.

“My first time ever on the Tony Awards was in 1984, the year of The Rink. We roller-skated in a number—it was Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera and ‘the boys.’ Come on, I was a kid out of high school doing my first Broadway show, and I was on the Tonys! That was the coolest thing I’d ever done.”