Ardmore's Benj Pasek Wins Tony For Best Original Score

ARDMORE, PA – Ardmore's Benj Pasek is one step closer to the coveted "EGOT," as he now has a Tony for his songwriting prowess after Sunday's 71st Tony Awards.

The local songwriter and his partner Justin Paul won Tonys for the score of their musical "Dear Evan Hansen." Now the duo need an Emmy and a Grammy to round out the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).

Pasek and Paul's music and lyrics for "Dear Evan Hansen" shared nominations with David Hein & Irene Sankoff, "Come from Away;" Tim Minchin, "Groundhog Day;" and Dave Malloy, "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812."

Dear Evan Hansen also brought home the "Best Musical" award, while star Ben Platt won the Tony for "Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical."

The show also won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Orchestrations, making it the winningest show at the 71st annual awards. It earned nine nominations.

Check out a live performance from Sunday's ceremony of "Waving Through awindow" from "Dear Evan Hansen:"

Recently, the pair earned Golden Globe award and Oscar for the song "City of Stars" in the award-winning film "La La Land."

Pasek, who is an alumni of Friends Central, and Paul spoke after Sunday's Tony awards and discussed why winning a Tony is more impact to them than winning Oscars or Golden Globes.

"We were BFA musical theater majors," he said in a press conference.

Watch Pasek and Paul talk about the show, being art majors, and the love of theater below:

Congratulations, Benj Pasek!

Image via YouTube screenshot