Mary Testa was in bed when she found out she got a Tony nomination for her performance as Aunt Eller Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. Around 8:40 AM her agent called her, and then later, Bebe Neuwirth—who was the one to announce her nomination live—emailed her personally to say congratulations.
"I was so happy to see your name!," she wrote.
Testa dropped by NBC News 4's morning hour to discuss the show and how it’s adapted to today’s times. The script is the same, the music is the same—except for the orchestra (which is now a seven-piece bluegrass band).
"There are very dark themes that run underneath," Testa explains. "There’s racism, mysogency, separatism, outsiders, and that’s very much what we sort of bring out in it." In addition to the themes, the three-time Tony nominee discussed her role as the one who has her nose in everything.
Watch the clip below.