Tony Nominee Sadoski Sees Reasons as Departure for Playwright LaBute

By Andrew Gans
June 5, 2009

It's been quite a year for actor Thomas Sadoski, who made his Broadway debut in March as Greg, the factory worker struggling to find a better life, in Neil LaBute's Reasons to Be Pretty, and was Tony-nominated for his performance in that four-person play earlier this month.

Sadoski, who also appeared in the Off-Broadway mounting of Reasons, says the LaBute drama at the Lyceum Theatre is a departure for the playwright of bash: latter-day plays, The Shape of Things, The Distance From Here, Fat Pig, Some Girl(s), Wrecks and This Is How It Goes, among others. "Most of Neil's plays generally tend to have a little bit of a darker-edged tone to them," Sadoski said at the recent Tony nominees press reception. "[Reasons to Be Pretty] is a play where Neil's really taken a step out and said, 'I'm going to take a risk and write a character who is learning to grow up and learning to be an adult and learning to listen. I'm actually also going to take a look at life and say that it is possible that humanity can move forward and that it's not necessarily always black and white, that there are grays and reds and blues in this world.' I think it's a much lighter piece for Neil, and I think it's a much braver and much more honest piece for Neil. I think that's why this ended up [on Broadway]."

The young actor, whose Off-Broadway credits also include Becky Shaw, This Is Our Youth, Gemini, All This Intimacy, Stay, Where We're Born and The Joke, also spoke about what the Tony nomination means to him. "You start out in this business and want to have your work recognized," Sadoski explained. "As far as having it happen at this point in my career, it's an absolute shock — especially with this group of guys. It's an incredible honor and one that I do not take lightly. It's inspired me to work harder in the future and let the people know whose support without whom I would not be here, to let them know how much I care about them. It's as much a testament to them and their hard work as it is to mine."

And, what was playwright LaBute's reaction to the three Tony nominations Reasons received?

"He's over the moon," Sadoski said. "He's so proud, he's so happy. It's funny. You don't think of Neil LaBute as being somebody who gets giddy, but he certainly was when I talked to him."

Thomas Sadoski is nominated for a 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. Others in that category include Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage; Raúl Esparza, Speed-the-Plow; James Gandolfini, God of Carnage; and Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King.