Broadway Beat Tony 2010 Q&A: Douglas Hodge

The Tony Awards Nominations were announced Tuesday, May 4th and the Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 13, 2010.

The day after the nominations, on Wednesday, May 5th, Broadway Beat talked to nearly all of the nominated stars in advance of a special two-part Broadway Beat Tony Awards extravanganza. Every day, we'll be presenting unedited, raw "Short Takes" sneak peeks of some of these amazing interviews. Next up - Douglas Hodge, nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. Read the transcript of his interview below!

Click here for the complete list of Tony Reactions from all the nominees that BroadwayWorld.com checked in with after the nominations were announced!

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Click here for complete photo coverage of 'The Women' and Click here for complete coverage of 'The Men.'

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DH: Well in England this is the absolute pinnacle of, you know, being recognized for what you do, and I suppose in England there's a tremendous sort of reluctance to ever talk about who's as good as anyone else, you know. Success is sort of ducked away from whereas here it's absolutely encouraged and rewarded. It's thrilling and actually much more honest, I feel. You know, you've got it right here. So to be part of this whole thing and just to be nominated...I think we've got 11 nominations so for every department to be recognized is enough as far as I'm concerned. That would be fine if we just ended it today, I'd be happy.

Bway Beat: Talk about this wonderful role in this wonderful production. What does it mean to you.

DH: I think the most extraordinary thing about it is that it sort of demands everything that I've learned over twenty-odd years of acting, whether it's singing or whether it's clowning or whether it's making it as moving as possible and as real as possible. Just playing a woman for three hours is quite a challenge. But, I see him as one of the most fragile people I've ever played...one of the most vulnerable people you could possible meet who then has a suit of armor that he puts on that's really quite fabulous, and I find there's a tremendous range inside of there.

Bway Beat: What's the biggest thrill for you with doing this show in front of an audience 8 times a week?

DH: The biggest thrill is probably working with Kelsey Grammer. You know, he's just a dream come true. I mean, I've worked with several big stars, and he is a true star because he has such grace, such generosity, you know. There was a woman in the cast who said the other day, "if only a man would look at me like Kelsey looks at you." And I think yes, it's true, it's an extraordinary launch pad to work opposite. He's a fabulous guy.

Bway Beat: I think this is one of the best books and one of the best scores ever written for the theatre. Talk about what this material means to you.

DH: Well one of the most extraordinary days of this entire adventure so far was having tea with Jerry Herman above the Waldorf Astoria in this sort of cyclorama room talking about when he first wrote "Mascara" and "Best of Times" and "I am" and then the letters that he and I have exchanged about it. I couldn't have imagined that this extraordinary legend - to me probably the most important man in musicals -would be sitting there talking with me about the nuance of songs and lyrics that he'd written, things like that. So that's almost impossible to compute, really.

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Broadway Beat, the popular weekly television program for and about the Theatre World, right here on the web site. Broadway Beat is the premier, award-winning half hour television program covering theatre, music and performers. Each week, the show's popular and knowledgeable host, Richard Ridge, takes you behind-the-scenes for a look at the very best of New York Theatre - on Broadway, and beyond. The show always features beautiful footage shot by video veteran Bradshaw Smith.

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