Sam Tutty Isn’t a Stranger to New York Anymore, Thanks to Two Strangers

Sam Tutty, starring as Dougal Todd in Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), is no longer a stranger to New York. After living in the city for six months while performing at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway, he is finally on the other side of the native New Yorker jokes that Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s new musical is chock-full of. Tutty sat down with The Broadway Show host Tamsen Fadal and dished about his new perspective, how he prepares for the two-hander and why being a part of the Broadway community takes the cake.

Tutty has been playing Dougal since 2023, when the musical played off-West End. Since that moment, Two Strangers have carried cakes across London, Boston and, finally, New York City. “It sounds a bit cringey, but it does feel like the show is home,” he says. “The story's amazing, because from Christiani Pitts' character Robin’s perspective, she really represents the New Yorker—but within that is the realisms and the sort of obstacles that New York presents, whether it's rent or prices. Then there's my character, Dougal, who just reveres the city. There's the best of both worlds coming into it.”

With a show full of nods to the infatuations and frustrations New Yorkers experience on a daily basis, the audience filled with resident New Yorkers helps everything fit into place. "Only now do I understand the script completely," Tutty adds of what's he's picked up on during his time living in Manhattan. “We did our first dress run way back when, and there were laughs where I was happy to just blitz through the script. But they laughed, and I just fully felt finally connected to the show.”

For those unfamiliar with the concept of the show, Tutty’s got you covered. “Dougal is flying to America to see his estranged father and he's met at the airport by the sister of the bride,” he explains. “So, these two people come into contact with one another and it's a sort of story over two days about how they change each other's lives in a very unlikely, unorthodox way.” A show that consists of only two people can be quite intense, but Tutty is taking care of himself in order to perform as best as he can, eight shows a week.

What does it take to be a Broadway star? Tutty starts with water. “As soon as I wake up, I give myself a bit and then I start drinking water,” he says. “I try to rest the voice as much as I can, but there is not a recipe for a good show. The main one other than water would be rest and relaxation and just forgiveness for whatever happens, whatever I'm doing in the day. Trusting that the show's in my body, the songs are in my body.”

An Olivier Award winner for his performance in Dear Evan Hansen, Tutty knows what he’s talking about. Two Strangers is his Broadway debut, and with Tony Awards season right around the corner, he’s completely immersed. “I love the community of Broadway,” he says. “That's the thing that I've really learned. There's so many things outside of the show that we all as actors and performers in Broadway have to do and it's those people that understand the lifestyle you have to live and the anxieties we feel. There's that level of camaraderie that I'm really, really, really excited to explore more.”

Watch the full interview below.

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