"I had been keeping it a secret for quite some time," Randolph says of landing the role of Oda May. In the meantime the actress was working on a reading of Betty Boop the musical. "It's actually quite great – I think it's gonna be a hit," she laughs, adding, "I hope they call me!"
Randolph's reading was interrupted by a series of urgent phone calls from her agent, who asked if she had her passport. She says, "I had been up for an international Nestle's commercial and they were gonna film it in like Uzbekistan, and I was like, 'Oh! I got it!'"
On a break from the reading, Randolph excitedly asked her agent, "Am I goin' to Uzbekistan!?" The agent replied, "No, you're going to London."
The actress playing Oda May in the original West End production of Ghost the Musical had suffered a minor knee injury, which would keep her out of the production for a brief period of time. Producers told Randolph to quickly pack her bags and grab her passport.
photo by Joan Marcus |
London ultimately led Randolph to Broadway, and on June 10 she'll be among five actresses competing for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical Tony Award.
"This Tony nomination, I mean, What? This is crazy! I am so blessed, so humble, so grateful. This nomination really represents our whole cast," Randolph says.
"For me, Oda May is like playing on stage," she laughs. "I feel like I'm robbing people! You're paying me to do this?"