HOLAwave: How I Got To Broadway (Part 4) – Special Tony Awards Edition

[HOLAwave represents a series of guest blogs by industry insiders giving informative and educational tidbits for the Latino performer. They can range from acting and auditioning advice, tech tips, legal advice, marketing, producing tips, and so on. Get caught up in the wave– the HOLAwave.]

HOW I GOT TO BROADWAY (Part 4) – Special Tony Awards Edition

(or, A Night With Antoinette [Perry])

Last week, I was lying in bed, dizzy and a little nauseous. Was last night just a dream? Did that all really happen. My mind was racing.  The room was spinning. Honestly, I was just super hungover and starving. So, I did what any self-respecting member of a Tony Award winning musical would do– I grabbed my phone and ordered a pizza for delivery because YOLO [you only live once]!

Oh yeah, Fun Home won the Tony Award (also known as the Antoinette Perry Award) for Best Musical. That actually happened. This "Little Engine That Could" beat out the competition. We shouldn't do it for the accolades, but it definitely feels great.

Tony day was a buzz of activity. I got dressed in a fancy tux and went to the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall. Just two years ago, I attended the Tonys as a seat filler. It was surreal to be back, but this time with an actual ticket.

All of the Best Musical nominees performed a number at the show and we chose to have Sydney Lucas sing the song "Ring of Keys." This 11 year old girl had the audience in the palm of her hand. In the midst of the other performances that were full of dances and costume changes, here was our show. Just a little girl in the middle of Radio City Music Hall singing a beautiful song. If you haven't seen it, look it up on YouTube and grab some tissues.

We nabbed some awards and lost others, but feeling like our show was validated by the greater community was incredible. We also made history by having the first ever female writing team win for Best Score (Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori). That's pretty badass.

So, if you haven't seen Fun Home yet, come over to the Circle in the Square and see what all the fuss is about. 

[Fun Home was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won five of them (Best Leading Actor in a Musical– Michael Cerveris; Best Direction of a Musical– Sam Gold; Best Book of a Musical– Lisa Kron; Best Original Score – Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori; and Best Musical.]

Joel Pérez is a performer living in Brooklyn, NY. He's done work on TV in "Person of Interest" (CBS), "The Big C" (Showtime), and "Black Box" (ABC). He has toured nationally and internationally in In the Heights and Fame. He will star in the upcoming Broadway production of Fun Home after originating the role off-Broadway at The Public Theater. He has participated in developmental labs with the Sundance Theater Lab, Soho Rep, Atlantic Theater Company, and many others. He has also worked on several commercials and voice-overs. He's an ensemble member of Broken Box Mime Theater and Pregones Theater. He studied at Tufts University, The British American Drama Academy and Upright Citizen's Brigade. He is repped by BRS/GAGE and Abrams Artists Agency. For more information, click here.