Reaction from some Tony Award nominees

Reaction from some Tony Award nominees

NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction from some Tony Award nominees:

"Before this began, I thought I knew what it would be like. But you can't imagine what it is. There's the muscle and the brain, but also the spirit and the heart. And it's fun, if fun also incorporates a huge amount of fear." — Tom Hanks, best actor in a play nominee for "Lucky Guy."

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"It's an amazing collaborative experience. That was enough for me. Then to be recognized by a Broadway community I'm so proud to be part of is mind-blowing." — Patina Miller, best actress in a musical nominee for "Pippin."

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"What a wonderful honor it is to be nominated. A special thanks to my incredible ensemble and amazing director. You make me grateful to be a part of this Broadway company and community." — Judith Light, best featured actress in a play nominee for "The Assembled Parties."

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"It's great to show I'm not just this one thing. Just as actors like to show off their versatility, writers like to do it, too." — Playwright Douglas Carter Beane, who had two shows on Broadway this season, the big musical "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella" and the intimate play "The Nance." Both earned nominations.

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I'm so proud of everyone involved and grateful that audiences have responded so positively to the play." — Nathan Lane, best actor nominee for "The Nance."

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"I'm going to have a coffee with my agent today. That's about as crazy as I'm going to get. We're a low-key bunch of people. We all just get on with it." — Tim Minchin, who wrote the songs and lyrics to "Matilda: The Musical."

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"When a show closes earlier, you say, 'Ah, who knows if they'll remember?' So I'm beyond thrilled that they remembered our show." — Scott Ellis, who directed "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."

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"Audiences will tell you when you've got it right and when you've got it wrong. I'm thrilled to say that there seems to be a happy marriage between what I like to talk about in the theater and what my audience wants to hear." — Harvey Fierstein, the Tony-nominated book writer for "Kinky Boots."

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"I feel relieved. When you get to my age, you just get to a point where you stop listening to the Tonys and you just assume you're not going to be nominated." — Nicholas Martin, director of "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike." He turns 75 soon.

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"The thing about acting in the theater is that it's a long distance race. You just have to put your head down every night. You can't ever rest on your laurels because, by and large, people only see that one performance." — Bertie Carvel, best leading actor in a musical nominee for "Matilda: The Musical."

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"It's the biggest band I was ever in. The saddest thing for me was when the show opened. What are you gonna do? You can't sit there every night and hang with them." — Songwriter Cyndi Lauper on the company of "Kinky Boots."