How Crystal Lucas-Perry Got Ready for the 2023 Tony Awards
Nobody's had a Broadway season quite like Crystal Lucas-Perry. The actress made her Broadway debut in October playing John Adams in 1776, and went on to earn a Tony nomination for her performance in writer Jordan E. Cooper's Ain't No Mo'. "It was an addictive piece of theater," she recalls of the play, "that I could not stop thinking about from the moment I read it until I set foot in that audition room."
To get ready for the big night, Lucas-Perry checked into the Thompson Central Park hotel—with her parents and siblings on hand—and changed into a custom dress by Julian Mendez, earrings by Misho, a Benedetta Bruzziches clutch, and Michael Kors shoes. Tinika Sadiku did her hair for the awards show, and Daryon Haylock did her makeup, and she got dressed with the help of stylist Eric Archibald and assistant Sevn Rodriguez.
"I'm so very grateful," the actress told T&C of her nomination. "It feels wonderful to be seen as part of this community of Tony nominees."
Here, Lucas-Perry took T&C along as she prepared.
"When I thought about what I wanted to look like for the Tony Awards, I thought about if there was a way to encapsulate all of the characters that I've played, but also a way to bottle up the joy, the beauty, and the unwavering strength and poise—just the Black Girl Magic—of not just what I am, but so many people who look like me who have been in this position."
"I wore a custom yellow okra silk satin dress by Julian Mendez. It brings out my jewel tones, and I think that is kind of the parallels the fact that I've been surrounded by people who bring out the best in me. I've been gifted with a play that's allowed me to bring out the best in the work that I do, and so I should have a fitting garment that brings out the glow. I was fortunate enough to work with Eric Archibald as my stylist, and he understood that this was going to be a moment when we got to bring out Crystal."
"For my hair and makeup, what I wanted to do was to have them be as flowing and elegant as my dress. I like to let things happen naturally, and sometimes the idea of trying to do too much takes away from where the focus needs to be. When you have such a beautiful gown, there's not much that you need to do. We're leaning toward less is more, because I'm already enough."
"There's something really beautiful about just having a chest that doesn't have any distractions; I don't want anything to take away from my face. The focus for jewelry will be these exciting Misho earrings; there's already so much going on with my dress, I don't want to do too much."
"I got ready at the Thompson Central Park hotel, and I was celebrating with my family. I'm one of five kids, and I have two incredible parents; they all flew out from Detroit, Michigan.
to support me. I wanted them to be a part of this moment because they've been a part of every moment thus far; my parents, my mom in particular has never missed an opening night and my dad has never missed a closing. I'm very blessed in that way."
"There were a lot of moving parts to this day, but it was not going to be chaos, because I'm a planner. The whole point of anything that I do is to create less stress on myself so that I can be as present as possible. I had an itinerary for the day—that shows up in my performance, and it definitely showed up in how I celebrated, so that I could actually enjoy the moment."
"Before I started to get ready, I knew I wanted to get some good exercise in so that I could let off some steam and have some time to myself. I wanted to set everything up so that I could enjoy the moment."
"Being nominated for a Tony is huge, and it means so much to me and to the little Crystal who was making plays and fashion shows and musicals in a living room. I'm just so honored, and so humbled—and it feels like really delicious fuel to continue the work that I've been doing."
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