Jul 23, 2017 3 min read

Washington High School graduate Brittany McCandless lit up the red carpet – literally – at the 71st annual 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City last month.

McCandless, 31, a digital producer at CBS’ “60 Minutes” and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, wore a “wearable tech” dress designed by fellow CMU alumna Sophie Hood to the June 11 event, which honors the best of Broadway theater.

The red dress, a top and skirt ensemble, included LED lights that lit up in response to McCandless’s heartbeat.

A sensor built into a thistle-shaped broach that represents CMU’s Scottish heritage controlled the lights.

“I am a theaterphile, so to go to the Tonys in any capacity was the single coolest thing ever, but to also represent Carnegie Mellon on this national stage and to wear this Sophie Hood original was really extraordinary,” said McCandless on a recent visit home.

The dress also included laser-cut graphics to represent the number of students at CMU and the way students blend a variety of fields of study in their educational experience.

Amid Christian Dior, Michael Kors and Oscar de la Renta gowns, the dress stood out.

“There are people everywhere trying to get glimpses of stars and actors, and as I was walking by, everyone was commenting and everyone was stopping Sophie and me to ask about this dress. It was flashing as I walked. Everywhere I went, people would comment on the dress, which had to feel cool for Sophie,” said McCandless. “The dress is a wonderful blend of arts and technology. It highlights the fact that yes, we’re great in performing arts and humanities at CMU, but we’re also successful in computers, engineering, robotics and the sciences. We sort of do it all.”

CMU alumni have won 44 Tony awards, the majority of those for acting roles, according to the university.

McCandless, who graduated from Wash High in 2004 and performed in plays and musicals at Washington Community Theater, earned her bachelor’s degree from CMU in professional writing, creative writing and international relations. Prior to joining “60 Minutes,” McCandless worked at CNN and ABC’s “Good Morning America”.

Hood, who created a voice-activated “brain dress” in 2016, earned her master’s degree in fine arts in costume production at CMU in 2014.

McCandless was invited to wear the high-tech dress to the awards show’s red carpet because of CMU’s partnership with the Tony Awards, the Excellence in Theater Award, which honors kindergarten through high school theater teachers.

“It really worked out that I live in New York and CMU thought of me when they were looking for someone to wear this dress. I was at a Pirates game – they were playing the Mets – and I got the call saying they thought of me and ‘We’d love to have you wear it,'” recalled McCandless. “I was floored, and I feel very fortunate to be at the right place at the right time.”