NEW YORK, June 8 — Six Tony award-nominated actresses discussed how they became Broadway names ahead of 2014’s prize-giving ceremony on June 8.

Tyne Daly and LaTanya Richardson Jackson, both nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, and the quartet of Sutton Foster, Idina Menzel, Jessie Mueller and Kelli O’Hara (Leading Actress in a Musical) all spoke as part of a round-table with Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter.

Foster, nominated for her part in “Violet,” was originally cast as the out-of-town understudy in a production of “Thoroughly Modern Milly” before filling the same role on Broadway, while Menzel (“If/Then”) was taken to see shows as a pyjama-wearing toddler and later worked as a singer when a friend with the right contacts submitted her for her breakthrough role in “Rent.”

O’Hara, nominated for “The Bridges of Madison County,” had a background in opera and was not well acquainted with movers and shakers on Broadway. Consequently, she knew no fear when interrupting big timers Nic Hytner, Craig Carnelia and Marvin Hamlisch on a lunch break and conducted an impromptu audition for “Sweet Smell of Success.”

Likewise, LaTanya Richardson Jackson (“A Raisin in the Sun”) found herself performing in front of eminent theater founder Joseph Papp quite by coincidence and took him on his word when he suggested she come see him in New York, then won the lead role in “For Colored Girls.”

And though Jessie Mueller, here nominated for “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” comes from an acting family, in common with Richardson Jackson she was happy performing elsewhere in the States and even turned down a callback from casting guru Jim Carnahan — before promptly hopping on a plane to New York the very next week and auditioning until she became established.

Tyne Daly, of “Mothers and Sons,” grew up in the New York area like Menzel and was exposed to life on Broadway as her father was an understudy. “I’ve always poo-poo’d that idea [of getting a big break],” she told the panel, but she changed her view upon returning to theater following a run as co-star in “Cagney & Lacey.”

“Because I had a following on TV, they took a chance and put me on stage. Nobody thought I could do it except me, which was really kind of fun...but I think there was a break, which as I said I didn’t used to believe in,” she said.

The 68th Annual Tony Awards are to take place on June 8 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, with host Hugh Jackman returning to take over from Neil Patrick Harris, who is under consideration for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. — AFP-Relaxnews