Lea DeLaria Talks Tony Snubs, Jazz, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK & More

Lea DeLaria talks Tony snubs and TV superstardom!

Caustic comedienne, versatile jazz vocalist, notable Broadway performer and now TV actress on the rise, Lea DeLaria discusses her many different sides as part of a revealing new interview.

Recounting her Broadway success in 1998's ON THE TOWN and her surprising lack of a Tony Award nomination, DeLaria shares, "When I did "On the Town" on Broadway and I didn't get the Tony nomination that everybody in New York thought I was going to get, I got a phone call from my dad who asked if I thought this happened because of my sexual orientation. Honestly, my head almost exploded off my shoulders. Their ability to change and accept me really helped in terms of our relationship together. Because a lot of kids are struggling with this issue right now. And it's important for them to know parents can come around."

Discussing jazz vocalizing, DeLaria points to a popular performer in comparing recent duet partner CONAN O'Brien, observing, "I've gotta say CONAN ranks somewhere between [Broadway star] Alice Ripley and [jazz singer] Janis Siegel. He's a little on top of Alice Ripley and a little below Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer. Janis and I duet on the record [on "Suffragette City]. She's amazing. We're blowing for our lives on that, aren't we?"

Furthermore, sharing her enthusiasm for the third season of Netflix hit ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and its positive portrayals of LGBT characters, DeLaria offers, "I have died and gone to lezzie-feminist heaven! That my two worlds collide so perfectly-thank you Jenji Kohan. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being as strong as you are and as smart as you are and as funny as you are and as talented as you are and being able to create something like this. It's amazing. There aren't enough words. It's like I'm eating ice cream off of Natalie Portman's belly. It's great."

Check out the original article on the matter here.

Lea DeLaria has appeared on Broadway in the revivals of ON THE TOWN and THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW in addition to many performances in New York and around the country including Off-Broadway, the New York City Opera and more.