An Exclusive Look Inside the 2022 Tony Nominee Luncheon
The 2022 Tony nominees gathered at New York City's Rainbow Room this week to celebrate their work, and the return to Broadway.
The annual Tony nominee luncheon at New York City's Rainbow Room felt a bit different this year. As the COVID-19 pandemic still hovers over Broadway, testing was a must, and a few nominees, like Town & Country's April cover star Ruth Negga, decided to forgo the event—mindful that they are still performing eight shows a week, and want to minimize exposure. But despite all that, the mood in the room was jubilant.
Perhaps no one was more excited to celebrate than the cast and creatives of Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop, a show that leads the nominations this year with 11 nods. "I've been with this show for so long, and we really thought that this would never ever get produced in any kind of theater," nominee John-Andrew Morrison says. "We thought it was too Black, too queer to open in any theater. So the fact that we're on Broadway already feels like a thrill, feels like an honor." He's looking forward to getting to perform with A Strange Loop on the telecast, and being "part of those iconic Tony moments that live on repeat on my YouTube."
Morrison's castmate L Morgan Lee's excitement is over being part of a smaller Tony moment: the boxes on the screen when all the nominees are visible. "When I was a little kid, the dream of the awards show was watching these beautiful ladies when each category comes up, and you see the six little boxes on the screen," Lee says. "So getting to be one of those six boxes is the fantasy."
Jaquel Spivey, the lead actor of A Strange Loop, joins Lee and Morrison as first-time nominees. Speaking about Tony night, he says, "I'm most excited to occupy the space as myself, and to be able to walk on a red carpet as a nominee, in my fat Black gay body, and still hold space and be respected. And to celebrate my cast, everybody else's show. It's a hard time to make some theater right now, but we get to celebrate each other."
Again and again, nominees spoke about what it meant to be in shows that coincided with Broadway's post-pandemic return and celebrating being back—themes that are sure to be prominent at this year's awards, hosted by Ariana DeBose on June 12. Here, scroll through an exclusive look at the Tony nominee cocktail hour at the Rainbow Room:
A Strange Loop's L Morgan Lee and Company's Jennifer Simard (pictured here) are nominated in the same category, best featured actress in a musical. "To be with the women in my category, including my colleague and friend Patti LuPone—to have my name in the same category as this woman I've idolized my whole life is 'pinch me' stuff," Simard says.
"We've all been struggling, and to experience the celebration is a blessing," Jason Michael Webb, nominated for his orchestration work on MJ, says. The Tonys are "the once chance we get to show the world the special, unique work we do in New York."
He's pictured here (left) with John-Andrew Morrison and Camille A. Brown.
Here are first-time nominees Myles Frost and John-Andrew Morrison sharing a laugh. Many nominees at the luncheon spoke of their excitement to have a festive night, and to see other performances. MJ's Frost said, "Being on Broadway, the downside is that you don't get to see anything! This will give me a chance to see everyone else." If he could take a night off, Frost would go see A Strange Loop or Six.
A Strange Loop stars L Morgan Lee and Jaquel Spivey, who spoke about the surreal feeling of being Tony nominees. Lee says, "I have now gotten through the week of disbelief, and now I'm trying to find my footing on the ground again." Spivey chimes in: "I'm still in disbelief! I just feel like I'm floating through every week I step into. Each day, and each moment, is proof that it's real."
"The fact that we're back now, I'm just over the moon," Simard tells T&C. "The fact that we're even here at all—that's the real award. All of this is just frosting on that beautiful cake."
Here, she's pictured with her Company costar Matt Doyle.
Emilio Sosa, Tony-nominated costume designer of Trouble in Mind and chair of the American Theater Wing, told T&C, "New York is not New York without Broadway! Broadway is the heart of this city. I want people to realize it's not just a Broadway show, it's about the ecosystem we all support."
He's pictured here with Clyde's and Take Me Out producer Carole Rothman.
"Broadway is the heartbeat of New York, and I just feel like the soul of the city was gone so long. The fact that we can be artists together and celebrate together is really profound," Jesse Tyler Ferguson said. Ferguson is nominated for his first Tony for best featured actor in a play for his role in Take Me Out. He's pictured here with Rachel Dratch.
Dratch is also a first-time nominee, for best featured actress in a play for her role in POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. She says, "This is all a dream. I'm just trying to enjoy every moment."
Pictured here are LaChanze and Chuck Cooper, stars of Alice Childress's Trouble in Mind. The play was initially supposed to premiere in 1955, which would've made Childress the first Black woman playwright to have a show on Broadway, but she refused to tone down its message; in 2021, the show made its long-awaited debut, and is now nominated for four awards this season.
"We're all feeling so good about being back together," four-time nominee LaChanze says of being at the nominee luncheon. "We all feel such a collective relief." She adds, "I feel like I've already won."
Uzo Aduba and Rachel Dratch are up for awards in the same category this year: best featured actress in a play. Aduba is nominated for her performance in Clyde's, where she plays the titular Clyde. She says of the return to Broadway, "All of us realize what has been absent, what we lost in the last two years."
“When I began working on this show, it started off as a monologue I wrote for myself to create a life raft at a very uncertain time, and it grew from there,” Michael R. Jackson told T&C earlier this year. “For it to have evolved and become this, what it is now, is exciting, terrifying, and bewildering—and I’m into it.”
Joaquina Kalukango, nominated for her role in Paradise Square, told T&C earlier this year, “I hope Paradise Square asks people to stand up in the face of injustice. I hope it makes people more courageous."
She's pictured here with LaChanze.
Here, playwright Lynn Nottage takes a photo of Kara Young and her father, Klay Young, who has worked at the Rainbow Room for 30 years. (See the Instagram here!)
A Strange Loop director Stephen Brackett with actress Uzo Aduba.
Rob McClure, Jennifer Simard, and Kevin McCollum.
Nominees A.J. Shively, John-Andrew Morrison, and Jason Michael Webb pose with Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin (in blue).
Jared Grimes, Chuck Cooper, Ron Simons, William Ivey Long, and Emilio Sosa.
Khady Kamara, Uzo Aduba, Jesse Williams, and Jeannette Bayardelle.
Sidney DuPont, Christina Anderson, and Charlotte St. Martin.
Kevin McCollum and Robert Wankel.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
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