It's 'Full Steam Ahead' for Matilda's Lauren Ward, Who Didn't Expect Her First Tony Nomination

The morning the Tony nominations are announced, phones start buzzing with texts and calls for the happy few who get nods. As usual, Broadway.com is thrilled to be among the callers offering congratulations and getting responses. Here are the first reactions from 2013 Tony nominees. Congrats to all!

Lauren Ward

Nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, Matilda

"I sort of live in a box. I have three kids and I’ve got a very tight schedule, so I actually didn’t know the nominations were coming out today. I know that sounds strange, but I kind of live day to day, like, ‘What do I have to do today? I was actually at my daughter’s school meeting, where they were talking about transferring her to fourth grade. My phone was on vibrate, and I was like, ‘Why is my phone buzzing?’ I picked it up, and there were tons and tons of texts saying congratulations, and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess the Tony nominations came out, we must have done well.’ They said, ‘Oh, we’ve got 12 nominations,’ and I would say, ‘Oh, fantastic!’ And then another text was like, ‘No, you got a nomination!’ And I went, ‘Oh, wow! I didn’t expect one!’ So it’s wonderful, I’m thrilled. The most moving bit was I received messages from some of my dearest friends. They were so happy for me and so amazingly supportive. My kids have no idea, none. And that’s probably how it should be. Any time I have to get dressed up for an event, my kids are like, ‘Why do you have that makeup on, mom? You look funny!’ My husband [Matilda director Matthew Warchus] has business in London at the moment, and he doesn’t get back until next week, so I’m single-parenting this week with my nanny. I’ve got to pick up my kids, and then do the show tonight, and then we’ve got a press thing tomorrow, so it’s sort of full steam ahead, trying to balance the two worlds."

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