Meet the 2022 Tony Nominees: A STRANGE LOOP's Jaquel Spivey

Hi, I'm Jaquel Spivey and I'm nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical

It's Tony Day, how excited are you? I'm very excited, I'm very excited. I thought I would be more scared for this day than I am

I'm just living in it, just soaking up everything. It's just a beautiful moment

You look so handsome. Thank you. And you got your Tony medallion on

I got a little something there, a little something there, yeah. Because the last time I saw you was opening night. Yeah

And that was before anything came out, right? Before anything happened, before any buzz, any nomination, I was just trying to do my little job, you know

And I still feel like I'm in that space of the opening night energy of just, I'm just happy to be in this show, doing this work

But now I'm happy that it's reaching more people and that the work I'm doing is appreciated, it's just everything

Okay, so you were nominated for a Tony Award, Best Actor in a Musical. What's going through your mind

Everything. And I wish I had time to pick it out with y'all

But just the main thing is, I'm grateful that I am able to have this opportunity

especially because I didn't believe that it's something that would come to me. And here it is. So now that it's here, I'm choosing not to walk in fear or anxiety

I'm just gonna love every part of this section of my life

And how much this show is touching so many audience members? Yeah, it's... hearing people tell me about their, you know, perspective on the show and just how it's affected them

it's confirmation that I'm in the right show, doing what I need to be doing as an actor and as a performer

And it's just, it's a great show to connect with people. And I feel like I get to do it every day

And being on Broadway? That's exciting. It's exciting, but I think I'm also trying not to raise the stakes of it being Broadway

I think everyone has a right to tell stories anywhere, and I'm blessed that it's Broadway

But wherever I was gonna tell a story, I was gonna make sure that I told it at the best of my ability

So, it just happens to be Broadway. And I'm loving it