And the Tony Nominees Are…

Gideon Glick, Tony Award Nominee, “To Kill a Mockingbird”
In this episode of “And the Tony Nominees Are…” Gideon Glick, Tony Award Nominee, Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Dill in “To Kill a Mockingbird” shares his childhood stint as Rapunzel and how meaningful it is to be nominated for playing a young queer boy.
TRANSCRIPT
-A lot of -- A lot of making forts,
and going to the fort and not hitting the lava,
and Power Rangers.
And we would do Rapunzel.
I played Rapunzel.
And we would put mattresses on the staircase,
and my brother would have to climb up the staircase
on mattresses as if it was a tower.
And then I would have to slide out of it.
It was really -- It was really thrilling -- and dangerous.
♪♪
-A lot of -- A lot of making forts,
I'm Gideon Glick, and I'm nominated for
Best Featured Actor in a Play for "To Kill A Mockingbird."
My brother and sister and I
used to put on shows all the time at home.
We would do "The Little Mermaid"
or "Little Red Riding Hood" or "The Three Little Pigs."
I was obsessed with my sister's Barbie dolls.
When we asked for our Kids' Meal,
uh, they would say, "boy or girl."
So she would have to say girl
'cause I always wanted my -- my little Barbies.
And she had these paper dolls too,
that you could put different paper dresses on.
I had a lot of stuffed animals.
I'd just hold court with them.
I don't know what I was doing.
Oh, I sta-- I had a coven.
I created a coven in school with my three best girlfriends.
I started piano lessons, and I wasn't very good at piano.
I'm still not.
And I got bored,
so I just started singing the songs that I was playing.
It was actually "Memory" from "Cats."
And I remember my mom came in, into the room.
She said, "Were you just singing?"
And I said, "Yes."
And she was like, "Oh, that was -- That was good."
And that kind of -- that's when --
that was my first, um, conception
of "Oh, what I'm doing could be good."
Bernadette Peters' performance of "Gypsy,"
that was one of those moments where I thought,
"Oh, I -- I have to do this.
I have to do whatever she's doing."
'Cause it was so, so -- it changed me.
But then, her performance at the Tonys was so incredible.
This is not the theater.
This is Radio City Music Hall.
And I don't understand how she could tap into that,
'cause it's a -- it's a profound performance.
I grew up just doing musicals.
And it was only when I moved to New York after I left
"Spring Awakening," I started doing plays.
And I -- I, um, it's not ever what I set out to do.
I thought it was just gonna be musical theater.
And now I predominantly do plays.
I was in the seventh grade.
And it was a pretty transformative book for me,
just because that's how I learned
how to be a critical reader.
And to think now that I'd be in "To Kill A Mockingbird,"
as 10-year-old, it just kind of, uh --
life is really surprising and unexpected.
To be recognized by the community is --
is really moving to me.
And then, I'm also really moved for Bill --
that Bill is recognized.
This is not a -- a character
that typically comes to the forefront.
It's just it's very moving to me
that this young, queer boy could --
who -- who's searching for acceptance
and searching for love could be accepted in this way.
I think it could only happen now.
And I -- I really hope that it's --
it's taught more now in schools.
I -- I hope this adaptation is gonna affect that,
'cause he's based off Truman Capote.
He was a young, queer boy. And --
And it can only happen now, and that shows progress.
Getting to work with Celia and Will --
they're one of the most extraordinary parts
of this whole thing because we're --
we're three kids, but we're kind of one kid.
We're one unit.
We're separated, almost.
We exist in our own kind of realm, and it just doesn't --
no performance exists without the other.
And -- And no performance is good without the other.
It all lifts each other up.
And that -- And that's been a really profound experience.
There's a -- It's a secret language.
And -- And it's a --
And the odds of that working out are very, very, very little.
And -- And it has.
And it's been, um kind of blowing my mind.
♪♪
The coven. [ Chuckles ]
♪♪
-A lot of -- A lot of making forts,
-A lot of -- A lot of making forts,
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