Sara Chase on being a first-time Tony nominee for her role in ‘Schmigadoon!’

The first-time nominee discusses the thrilling news and the musical she gets to perform in that she calls "just pure joy."

She’s a first-time Tony Award schnominee!

“I was in shock all morning,” said Sara Chase while taking stock of her lead actress Tony Award nomination for playing Melissa Gimble in Schmigagoon! “Here come the tears.”

Make no mistake, they’re happy tears. “I am just so forever grateful for Christopher Gettelli,” Chase said of the musical's director, “for just seeing something in this weird character actress and saying, ‘No, we should put her front and center.’”

Chase previously starred as Myrtle Wilson in the original cast of The Great Gatsby on Broadway, and she made her Broadway debut in First Date. She is best known for playing Cyndee Pokorny on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: The Interactive Special.

Chase’s Tony nomination is one of 12 nods the musical earned, and New York Theatre Guide’s review hailed the show as “a pure delight for any fan of musical theatre.”

Drawn from the Apple TV+ series of the same name, Schmigadoon! gently lampoons musicals – and the notion of people constantly bursting into song and elaborate dance numbers. That gleeful conceit wraps around the story of a current-day New York couple played by Chase and Alex Brightman. grappling with relationship hiccups when they find themselves stuck in Schmigadoon, and only true love can get them back home.

“I’m so grateful that that show has gotten so recognized, because I think it's so well deserved,” said Chase. “I just love it, and I really hope other people come and discover it as well.”

Asked what theatregoers can expect from the show, she called it “just pure joy: I want them to know that when they come to see Schmigadoon! they can leave their troubles at the door for two and a half hours. They will be filled with hope and inspiration and a big smile on their face.”

The Tony Awards will be handed out June 7 at Radio City Music Hall during a telecast hosted by P!nk. The awards will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Get Schmigadoon! tickets now.

Photo credit: Sara Chase (center, in pink) and the cast of Schmigadoon! on Broadway. (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)