ENTERTAINMENT
Mindy Kaling Reacts to Her First Tony Award Win for A Strange Loop: ‘Could Not Be More Proud’
The Office alum produced A Strange Loop alongside RuPaul, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Porter, Ilana Glazer, Alan Cumming and more
Mindy Kaling is celebrating!
On Sunday night, the 42-year-old actress and writer shared her excitement on social media after A Strange Loop, which she produced, won the highly coveted category of best musical at the Tony Awards – marking her first Tony win.
“I could not be more proud and ecstatic for the creative team behind @strangeloopbway,” Kaling wrote on Instagram, posting a complementary graphic. “When @benjpasek told me about @thelivingmichaeljackson’s musical, I read it instantly, and couldn’t believe how audacious and hilarious it was. And I hadn’t even heard the music or seen the incredible cast perform it yet! I so rarely get to experience something both profoundly moving and wholly original.”
“A Strange Loop is that – and I’m so happy the Tonys see that too. This musical was years and years in the making and tonight is the shiniest celebration of that hard work,” she continued. “CONGRATULATIONS!!”
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The Mindy Project actress kept it simple on Twitter, retweeting the news from the Tony Awards’ official account along with the message, “Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!”
In April, Playbill reported that Kaling had signed on as a producer for the show, alongside RuPaul, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Porter, Ilana Glazer, Alan Cumming, Zach Stafford, Cody Renard Richard, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul.
NEW YORK – JUNE 12: Producer Barbara Whitman and the cast and crew of “A Strange Loop” at THE 75TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS, live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Sunday, June 12 on the CBS Television Network. Emmy Award winners Darren Criss and Julianne Hough co-host THE TONY AWARDS: ACT ONE, an hour of exclusive content streaming live only on Paramount+, followed by Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose hosting THE 75TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS. (Photo by Mary Kouw/CBS via Getty Images)
The musical follows Usher, “a young, Black, gay theatre writer grappling with his toxic inner thoughts while trying to write a musical about a young, Black, gay theatre writer grappling with his toxic inner thought while trying to write a musical about… and on and on,” the outlet reported.
A Strange Loop made its off-Broadway debut in 2019 at Playwrights Horizons and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2020. Its Broadway run began in April, where Usher was played by Jaquel Spivey. The actor, 23, was nominated for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical at the Tonys this year, though the prize ultimately went to Myles Frost for MJ The Musical.
A Strange Loop also won best book of a musical, and its best musical cinch made Hudson, 40, an EGOT winner. The award gave the actress and singer the final trophy she needed to round out the EGOT quartet in addition to her Emmy, Grammy and Oscar.
The 2022 Tony Awards aired live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on CBS and Paramount+.
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