Jayne Houdyshell
Jayne Houdyshell, who was recently nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Hattie Walker in the Broadway revival of Follies, was in Los Angeles preparing for the limited run of that Stephen Sondheim-James Goldman musical when she heard the news of her nomination. "I got up and made my coffee and, as usual, opened my computer to check for emails, and there were a lot more emails on my computer than are usually there," Houdyshell told me the morning nominations were announced. "It was all my East Coast friends already knowing and having been up for a while. It was a wonderful, wonderful surprise. I'm still a little bit in shock, really. It hasn't quite sunken in, but it's fantastic, and I'm so happy for everyone in our company and the show itself."

Follies, which is currently playing Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre through June 9, earned a total of eight Tony nominations, including one for Best Revival of a Musical.

Houdyshell, who succeeded fellow 2012 Tony nominee Linda Lavin in the role (Lavin played Hattie in the Kennedy Center run, but opted for The Lyons when Follies headed to Broadway), said, "From the moment that I was cast in this show and started rehearsals, it was an utter thrill to be part of the company—every step of the way through our New York run and now remounting it here in L.A. It has been nothing but pure joy to do. There's something so special about this character of Hattie. I've loved playing her. She's a pretty joy-filled person herself, and it always buoys me up to be able to do the show. That's what's special about it and also to have been part of this and to continue to be part of this company with all of these terrific people. I mean, to a person, everyone is so terrific. I just love it. I love doing it, so it's very nice to receive this incredible recognition, and I'm so grateful."