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Chris Akerlind of Opera Theatre of St. Louis wins Tony for lighting design

File photo: St. Louisan Chris Akerlind won a 2017 Tony Award for his lighting work in "Indecent," featuring Adina Verson. right, and Katrina Lenk, as Rifkele and Menke.
File | Provided | Carol Rosegg/Courtesy of Sam Rudy Media Relations
St. Louisan Chris Akerlind won a 2017 Tony Award for his lighting work in "Indecent," featuring Adina Verson. right, and Katrina Lenk, as Rifkele and Menke.

A St. Louis theater professional took home a Tony Award Sunday night.

Chris Akerlind, resident lighting designer for Opera Theatre of St. Louis, won the Tony for Best Lighting Design of a Play for his work in the Broadway show,“Indecent!”

Akerlind has been with Opera Theatre since the early 1990s. This is his second Tony Award. In 2005, he won in the same category for “A Light in the Piazza.”

Watch Akerlind's acceptance speech for last night’s Tony (story continues, below.)

A former Opera Theatre designer also won a Tony last night. Jane Greenwood, known for her work with the local company a decade ago, last night received the award for Best Costume Design of a Play for Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes.”

In 2014, Greenwood received a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award for her body of work.

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Nancy is a veteran journalist whose career spans television, radio, print and online media. Her passions include the arts and social justice, and she particularly delights in the stories of people living and working in that intersection.