Video: Meet the Tony-Nominated Producers of 2023
May 17, 2024
In this video, watch as the producers of this season's nominees check in with Richard Ridge ahead of Tonys night!
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You believed in this show from the very, very beginning
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Tell me what this nomination means to you coming from this show. I just think that nothing makes me happier for Jordan and for Stevie, that I was able to really double down on his talent
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You know, in that I got tired of going into the theater
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and being the only black person in the theater. And when I
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saw his play at the public, it wasn't just about the message
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but also I thought about like my cousins that would never, that just don't go to Broadway
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that don't understand the world. And I thought maybe we could, maybe we could make a difference
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So oftentimes like my mother's churches will go to groups to see a Denzel in plays and such
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But I think that my nephews would rather spend $150 on a pair of sneakers
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This was the game changer for them. So it was nice. How exciting is today for both of you
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It's thrilling. It's thrilling to be in this room with the celebration of excellence on Broadway
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and to be a part of it. Couldn't be happier. And for me it just so exciting to be on this side of the table table to I really learned how to compartmentalize I tell you that much As an actor I only work on a character As a producer I work on everybody character So it lovely to be in this face
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And I'm so proud to be sharing this nomination with Debra Martin Chase
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with Rashad V. Chambers, with David Stone and Mark Platt. Yes, and we have a special shout out to David Stone and Mark Platt
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who have been unbelievable godfathers to both of us in this process. It's got to be so wild
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Just, I mean, talk about the two shows that you're nominated for. They're both shows with hearts
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That's why I'm so proud to be on both of them because you'll laugh one moment, you'll cry the next
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And I'm all about making sure that whatever show I sign my name to
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it's reflective of when we walk out of our houses, the people we see. And so that's what this show, both of our shows, are doing
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There are people that we see every day when walking down the street. But now we're getting a peek into their stories
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You know we're a community. We're a community of people, of friends, of family, of familiar faces
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We all come from the same place when we're starting to build a show
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And we all put our shows up. We put our hearts and our souls on the line. And we hope that people will come
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And we hope that they will return. And they go and they come. And I feel grateful that so many people came to see the piano lesson
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Not once, not twice, but three, four, five times. I feel really grateful
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And so the pen just means that the wing recognized the work that happened inside the Barrymore Theater
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They recognize the power of August Wilson's work. They recognize Samuel L Jackson quiet nuanced layered performance and they recognize the importance of theater being made on that street inside the Barrymore Theater
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and they made us the highest grossing revival of the season. And bring the whole new audience to the theater
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70% of first-time ticket buyers for this show. That's amazing. Those are new Broadway people coming to us, new fans
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new fanatics, new nerds like me. And like me. Yeah. So to be here today what it means to you
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To be here today, it means grace. It's just amazing grace. And it's amazing to see every single person in this room
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who's doing what they love to do and being recognized for it
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It feels, it's grace. Tony Day, you've been to many of these
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How special is this day for you, Jordan? Oh, it's just thrilling
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It's thrilling. Isn't this what we dreamed about as kids? this was it
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This was the room and we're here. And it, I'm really grateful
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Okay, you're here for Into the Woods. I am. Absolutely stunning. What a journey you've been on with that show
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Literally, right? No, but seriously, you know, shows have different ways they come in
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but this was so quick. I know. This, well, Into the Woods is the show that holds our hand
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through whatever is happening in our lives that doesn't make sense. and it a show that comes when we need it It like the most extraordinary extraordinarily wise fairy godmother who just arrives and says
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you don't know it yet, but you need me. You need me
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And that's what this show is. And it's just been this magical experience
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for all of us. But that's how you produce. No, seriously, when I look at everything you bring in
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when you bring things in, it's something that we need at the moment. It's something... Well, that's the blessing of the theater
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Yeah. The theater, it can take so long to make a show, right
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But at the same time, it's so of the moment. Literally, thank you, Sondheim, the moment
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Again, there's nothing in the world that... And Into the Woods lyric doesn't speak directly to
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So that's the joy of the theater. That's the point of the theater, is..
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Where are you now? What do you need now? What do you need to know now
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What do you need to release now? What do you need to move on from now
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What do you need to heal now? And that's what the theater offers us
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is that sacred space to heal and reveal and revel, and especially what Into the Woods offers us
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Yeah
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