Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) Star Sam Tutty on His First Tony Nomination and the Little Show That Could

Sam Tutty has plenty of reasons to pop the cork. The U.K. native is a Tony nominee for his Broadway debut in the two-hander musical rom-com Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York). Tutty won an Olivier Award in 2020 for starring in Dear Evan Hansen in the West End. In Two Strangers, he plays Dougal Todd, an excitable Brit who braves the Empire State to attend the wedding of his absent father. After arriving in New York, Dougal is greeted by the bride’s world-weary sister, played by newly minted Tony nominee Christiani Pitts.

“I think the show trusts the audience. I'm really proud that this show makes the audience listen. It forces the audience to remember small references that they successfully do every night that we then call back much later in the show, especially when a lot has happened,” Tutty told Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek. “It trusts that Broadway audiences are going to be entertained by two people and a single set. Not only entertained, but moved to stand up every night. I'm just so proud that the show has allowed the audience to be like, 'I am capable of doing that.'"

Two Strangers arrived during a season that boasts several large-scale Broadway productions. “I love that there are shows out there that [are] amazing massive budget spectacles," Tutty said. "I think that's the beauty of the season, because obviously we're catering to the public, and the public can come and see both of those things. They can be moved by both things. Two truths can exist.”

The trajectory of Two Strangers has transcended Tutty’s wildest dreams. “I said yes to this job on the basis that it was going to be six weeks in the Kiln Theatre in North London, Kilburn and then I was going to be done. Then two and a half years later, I'm sitting here with you,” said Tutty, who has been involved with the production since its regional premiere in 2023. “I hope that people out there, like graduates and students, see this as an example of just saying yes to the job, if you want to. No matter how small it is, no matter what the pay, no matter where it is, say yes, because literally you could be sitting here right now.”

“I thought I used up all my luck in getting a place in drama school, let alone getting Evan Hansen, let alone being here, Tony nominated. Younger me always wanted this success, but the fact that it has come so quickly, it's sort of overwhelming. It's very strange,” reveals Tutty. “I'm just trying to be like, this is all fun and this will pass and next year I'll have a quiet year probably or who knows and who cares? It's the ebb and flow of a tide of this industry. So I'm just trying to let go of any sort of expectation.”

One perk of his meteoric success? Some new duds. “I bought myself a nice jumper that I wanted for ages and it was so expensive. And I was like, 'You know what? I deserve this.'"

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