BroadwayGirlNYC: Best Nominee Reactions Ever

This week the 2012 Tony Awards Nominations were announced!  I always get up early to watch the nominations on NY1; but my favorite part of the noms is the day after, when the nominees meet the press.

Every year, my favorite responses answer the question “how did you hear you were nominated?” Actors tell of being deluged with phone calls while in the shower; a husband or wife who screeches in delight from the adjoining room; and coming home to full voicemail after taking the kids to school.

Nominations happen around 8:30 in the morning.  Never in my life have I been able to conceive of NOT getting up in the morning to watch them happen live.  I have trouble sleeping the night before, and I’m only a fan!!  As much as I love the colorful stories the nominees ultimately tell,  there’s a part of me that can’t believe for a second that every eligible actor – especially the young ones, those new to the business – aren’t up before I am, their eyeballs glued to the screen, their fingers crossed so hard their knuckles turn white.  (The only exception I can imagine is that those who think that watching might jinx them; I picture those folks tossing and turning in bed, antsy with anticipation, praying that the phone will ring.)

BroadwayWorld hosts a reaction page, which editors update continuously as the nominees tell their stories to the world.  Go there to read live updates about the reactions of the 2012 nominees as they come in all day.

Here are excerpts from my favorite nominee reactions in recent years.

I was up and down all night and finally fell back asleep at 6:30am, only to have a nomination dream. I didn't hear anything when I woke back up so I figured nothing had happened but then I turned on the computer to find out the good news! – Judith Light, 2011 nominee, Best Supporting Actress in a Play (Lombardi)

I woke up early and actually listened to the live feed on BWW, and started jumping up and down with my wife when the news come through. – Glenn Slater, 2011 nominee, Best Original Score (Sister Act)

I had to be sitting up in front of the TV for the nominations because my mother is in Australia and she insisted on hearing them live with me. I had to hold the phone up to the TV and it turned out that she couldn't hear it, so I had to remember them and repeat it all! – Tony Sheldon, 2011 nominee, Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert)

I was really shocked and a got really quiet and I've just now started to stop shaking. It overwhelming! It's beyond my wildest dream and certainly my childhood dream come true. – Rory O’Malley, 2011 nominee, Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (Book of Mormon)

It's pretty remarkable how many phone calls the iPhone can handle. I've heard noises and beeps from this thing this morning that I've never heard before. The phone rang with my manger screaming as I was feeding the baby, so then I squealed, which then set off this chain reaction of the baby screaming and the dog barking and then the baby messing the diaper, so my joy lasted for about two seconds but it was a good two seconds. – Josh Gad, 2011 nominee, Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Book of Mormon)

To celebrate I am going to go to Denny's, because I am starving! And I have been on the phone for hours, so I am going to order a grand slam, or maybe a lumberjack special. – Coleman Domingo, 2011 nominee, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Scottsboro Boys)

I found out about the nomination on my iPhone! I kissed my little girl off to kindergarten and went back to bed. – Donna Murphy, 2011 nominee, Best Leading Actress in a Musical (The People in the Picture)

Fucking A! – Frances McDormand, 2011 nominee, Best Leading Actress in a Play (Good People)

My manager called me while I was walking the dog and I let out a big scream and the dog jumped, and that was my celebration moment. – Norbert Leo Butz, 2011 nominee, Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Catch Me If You Can)

This morning I was getting ready to go on a field trip with my daughter's class. I was walking this line of kids to the subway and I noticed my purse was buzzing and I answer and next thing you know I'm walking to the F train and screaming! – Jessica Hecht, 2010 nominee, Best Supporting Actress in a Play (A View From the Bridge)

I took a sleeping pill so slept through the nominations this morning since I'm a bit of a coward! So at around 8:35am my phone starts beeping and ringing and I thought, 'this must be good news!'  It was one of our producers and he was screaming into the phone 'we got 8 nominations’! – Joe DiPietro, 2010 nominee, Best Book of a Musical (Memphis)

I was in the closet pulling gowns when I got the call! I'm going to London to sing with Julie Andrews, so I was trying to figure out what to pack. – Christiane Noll, 2010 nominee, Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Ragtime)

I found out about the nomination a little late, because my phone died and I accidentally e-mailed my publicist the wrong home number.  So she called some random person in New York and left a message on some poor person's phone that now thinks they are nominated for a Tony. – Chad Kimball, 2010 nominee, Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Memphis)

My original plan was to continue on the normal track of a normal day and just sleep through it. But then my Producer called me at 8am and said "Bitch, wake up and turn on your computer, I need to hear the nominations." So there went my plans and I listened to it all happen with him on the phone. – Geoffrey Naughts, writer of 2010 Best Play nominee (Next Fall)

To say I'm thrilled about the nomination is an understatement. In fact, when I heard, I plotzed. And then, I double-plotzed. – Will Farrell, 2009 nominee, Best Special Theatrical Event (You’re Welcome America)

I'm on a train going to Paris. Someone called me on the train, and then my British cell phone promptly died on me. – Stockard Channing, 2009 nominee, Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Pal Joey)

I just got done hugging my mother! We had a 'Good Morning, America' appearance at the same time [as the nominations announcement] today, so we found out just before — that was a nice little boost of energy. – Lin Manuel Miranda, 2008 nominee, Best Leading Actor in a Musical AND Best Score (In the Heights)

I was texted at the gym by my friend JohAnna Day. I had to get out of the house. I knew it was going on, and I didn't want to be there. And then, while I was on the treadmill, there was David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez on the TV and I thought, 'Oh, shoot.' – David Pittu, 2008 nominee, Best Leading Actor in a Play (Is He Dead?)

I was walking the kids to school. My neighbor Bob said, 'You've been nominated.' I was like 'Oh, my God.' I had totally forgotten today was the nominations. Then I said to Bob, 'You're gonna be mentioned when I talk about this.' – Christine Ebersole, 2007 nominee, Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Grey Gardens) 

I woke up my husband sobbing, screaming, 'You got it.' It was about 5:30 here in the morning. It's just overwhelming. The Tonys! The Tony nominations! – Heather Hach, 2007 nominee, Best Book of a Musical (Legally Blonde)

A passionate observer of all things theatrical, @BroadwayGirlNYC via her blog and on Twitter has helped to lead the way of interaction between fans, shows, industry insiders and performers in the brave new world of Showcial Networking. Her unique and positive take on Broadway has broken news, gossip and has helped to shine a light on the ever-growing presence of all things theatrical on Twitter and beyond to her thousands of followers. Along with constant updates, she also pioneered the extremely popular #SingleOnBway campaign which brought together theatre fans in a new and unique way, setting up 'blind dates' as part of a ticket giveaway.

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