The Tony Nominations

It was a busy week the year that my show was nominated for a Tony.  It was the week of my wedding anniversary to Sandi, and my publicists planned a ceremony to induct the original Bob into the Smithsonian.  To be honest I was not aware they had coordinated it to coincide with the nominations. I was just glad to be back in New York for a week to celebrate my anniversary and prepare Bob for his trip to Washington. 

The American Theatre Wing was going to announce the nominations live on local television on a Tuesday morning very early.  Sandi and I decided not to wake up to watch. Our theory: if the show was nominated we would hear about it somehow, and if it wasn't nominated we would have at least gotten to sleep in at the Washington Hotel. 

The Tony Award Nomination Certificate with Paul and Murphy

I think the announcement began at 7:00am, although I was never sure.  I was trying not to think about it because it was just too much to stress over if I did.  Sandi woke up about 7:20 and looked at the clock. She told me later that her heart sank because she thought the announcements were over and since no one had called us it meant we had not been nominated.  I was still asleep blissfully unaware that this drama was unfolding.

Sandi was just falling back to sleep when the phone rang.  It was Paul Kreppel. He was watching the event live and they had just announced the nomination for "Best Special Theatrical Event" and our show was nominated.  As one might expect our Tony category is not one of the top 5 and was announced later in the proceedings. It did not matter, there would be no going back to sleep, there would be nothing but walking on a cloud for a long time to come.

The direction of the trip changed immediately.  The publicists had already arranged some interviews and there was the nomination press event that next afternoon. It all seemed to jump into high gear.  The one thing I remember thinking was, no one could ever take the nomination away.  The show that Paul, Murphy and I had put together would always be associated with a Tony nomination. It was a validation that could not be taken away. It seemed to justify all the heart ache and trauma that we had endured to get the show to New York.

Sandi never doubted that we would win the Tony from that moment on.  I was never sure of anything except, I would never forget that morning.  I never will.

Congrats to all the nominees.  From personal experience I can tell you that it is a huge boost and a great honor just to be nominated.  Enjoy every minute of it, the feeling is unique to theatre and the business of shows.

As you were,

Jay