Motherf**ker Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis Sheds Tears of Joy for His Nominated Actors

The morning the Tony nominations are announced, phones start ringing off the hook for the happy few who get nods. As usual, Broadway.com is among the callers offering congratulations and getting responses. Here are the first reactions from 2011 Tony nominees. Congrats to all!

Stephen Adly Guirgis
Nominated for Best Play, The Motherf**ker With the Hat

“This is surreal. I watched [the nominations] on NY1, and when I heard the play’s name, [I had] no reaction. But at the end, when I heard Elizabeth [Rodriguez] got nominated, that’s when all the emotion came out. I just started crying. I felt so grateful, but especially for Elizabeth and Yul [Vazquez], who I’ve known and worked with for 20 years. They have been my family. When I had to tell my mother that she was dying, there were two people in the room beside my sister: Yul Vazquez and the priest. And Elizabeth, we’ve just been through the war [over the years]. I was so happy for them. I grew up 15 blocks from the Beacon Theatre [where the Tony ceremony will be held]. I saw Muddy Waters there, I saw Neil Young there, I saw Bob Dylan there, so it’s just a lovely feeling. Even when the [pre-opening publicity] storm was going on, we felt good because the audience we were getting was so reflective of the real New York City. The audience gave us our affirmation, so we felt that even if the play closed in the week, we had done something positive. The fact that things have gone so well since opening is surreal.”