A Tony Nominee With the Same Name Almost Gives Scottsboro Boys’ Joshua Henry a ‘Heart Attack’

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!

Joshua Henry
Nominated for Best Actor in a Musical, The Scottsboro Boys

“I woke up early to work out and my girlfriend decided to put the live stream of the announcements up on her laptop. They said [Book of Mormon Best Actor nominee] Josh Gad’s name and I almost had a heart attack. Then they said my name afterward. I thought I was going to flip out, but I just sat on the ground and thought, ‘Did that really just happen?’ I just wanted The Scottsboro Boys to get a nomination for Best Musical, that’s all I really cared about. Then to get all the nominations we did, it’s really just overwhelming. It really was a dagger when the show closed. I’ve been trying to let it go and I think I have in certain ways, but it was so powerful. It’s great to see it honored like this. I’m in rehearsals [for Porgy and Bess] so when I walked in there was a great round of applause. I haven’t had a free second yet to talk to my [Scottsboro co-stars]. I think my battery is about to die, I’ve been getting so many calls, but I can’t wait to talk to them. I always said that doing this show with this amazing creative team would be enough, but to see [late composer Fred Ebb] honored does justice to the great work he did before he left us, and John Kander completed the project in such a masterful way. I have a lot of friends in other shows, so I’m just excited to be around everyone who’s been nominated at the Tonys. It’s always a thrill any time I can be around the Broadway community.”