Cranston, O'Dowd, McDonald, other Tony nominees chat

NEW YORK -- On Wednesday, a little more than 24 hours after the 2014 Tony Awards nominations were announced, some of Broadway's biggest names gathered to schmooze and exchange congratulations.

Some recalled where they were when the good news arrived -- in several cases, in bed. Chris O'Dowd, tapped for leading actor in a play for his performance in a revival of Of Mice And Men, was 'spooning' with his wife when the phone call came. 'There was quite a lot of screaming, a little whiskey drinking, and then back to bed.'

James Monroe Iglehart, a contender for featured actor in a musical for his inexhaustible Genie in Disney's Aladdin, was also with the missus. 'I thought for sure that I would jump up and run around the house, but I ended up just crumpling up into a ball of joy and tears.'

Sutton Foster, up for leading actress in a musical for Violet, has already lined up two dates for the big night: 'I'm going to bring my fiance and my dad. That I'm excited about.'

Others discussed the physical challenges their roles have posed. Featured actor in a play nominee Reed Birney plays a cross-dresser in Harvey Fierstein's best-play candidate Casa Valentina, and is now 'a little mystified as to why women didn't burn high heels before they burned bras. The heels are torture -- barbaric.'

Bryan Cranston, another nominee for leading actor in a play for his portrait of LBJ in All The Way (up for best play as well), admitted that he's heading home after shows with 'a wrecked body. I try to give (Johnson) a sense of being heavy, which he was, and I'm not; and for some reason I've developed an almost S-shape on stage, where my neck and my stomach are out and my neck is curved. I need physical therapy.'

Tony Shalhoub, also tapped in that category, juggles three roles in Act One: 'I've had to change my eating and sleeping habits. One of the challenges is just changing the clothes. I have an amazing dresser.'

Leading actor in a musical nominee Jefferson Mays can top that: He plays eight roles in A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder, 'and they all die, eight times a week. So 64 times a week, I die.'

Tyne Daly, up for leading actress in a play for Terrence McNally's Mothers And Sons, spoke with McNally, who is also nominated, about audience reaction. 'Mr. McNally accuses me of being a laugh whore -- but so is he,' she quipped. 'Laughs are good, and gasps are good. But I really like the silences, where there's a collective quiet, where the audience has to know what happens next.'

If/Then lyricist Bryan Yorkey, a nominee for best score with composer Tom Kitt, noted he has 'been accosted' by women 'who have asked me if I'd been reading their diaries.' Kelli O'Hara, up for leading actress in a musical for portraying another woman facing conflicts in The Bridges of Madison County, notes that show has also struck a chord with women: 'Reactions are not only about love; sometimes it's about their career vs. their family -- did they ever fulfill that dream they meant to.'

Audra McDonald takes in the applause during the 'Lady Day At Emerson's Bar & Grill' opening night curtain call on April 13 in New York.(Photo: Brad Barket, Getty Images)

O'Dowd has noticed 'a lot of vocalizing' in Mice's audiences, 'when it transpires that it's not going to work out great for Lennie or George,' respectively his character and James Franco's. 'I'm waiting for someone to shout, 'He's got a gun!''

Fans also acknowledge his co-star sometimes -- loudly. 'People will stand up and shout, 'James Franco!' Not 'I love you,' or 'Marry me,' just 'James Franco!''

Channeling Billie Holiday in Lady Day At Emerson's Bar & Grill, Audra McDonald, up for leading actress in a play, interacts with a section of the audience; and at one show 'this lady said, 'Oh, you're trying to make us think this is real!' Shouted it out.'

For Kenny Leon, a nominee for director of a play for his celebrated revival of A Raisin in the Sun, one of the most memorable reactions was Michelle Obama's. After the first lady and the president saw the show recently, she told Leon that she wanted to see it again -- with her mother and daughters.

'That was the greatest compliment to me -- especially the daughters,' Leon says. 'She obviously felt this play was speaking to a new generation in a way that would empower her girls.'

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