"Now is not the time to faint," Audra McDonald says she thought to herself when she won her first Tony Award. "I'm a fainter. I faint a lot."
Five additional Tonys later, on her recent appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, the performer recounts the antics of that first awards ceremony, at which she took home the trophy for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Carrie Pipperidge in the 1994 revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel.
McDonald is a current Tony nominee for the 2019 revival of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. The two-hander, which co-starred Michael Shannon, is also nominated for Best Revival of a Play.
McDonald goes on to share (to our relief) that she didn't faint when she saw Carol Channing smiling in the first row: "Carol Channing is my Xanax." As well as the upcoming Tony Awards, McDonald and Meyers discuss CBS' The Good Fight, her work with the non-profit Covenant House, and the time she met Aretha Franklin. (She'll soon be seen as Franklin's mother in the Jennifer Hudson-led biopic Respect. Watch the trailer here.)Eddie Korbich and Audra McDonald in Carousel, 1994
Eddie Korbich and Audra McDonald in Carousel, 1994
Joan Marcus
Audra McDonald and cast in Carousel, 1994
Audra McDonald and Fisher Stevens in Carousel, 1994
Joan Marcus
Audra McDonald, 1994 Tony Win for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Carousel
Zoe Caldwell and Audra McDonald in Master Class, 1995
Jay Thompson
Audra McDonald, 1996 Tony Win for Best Featured Actress in a Play, Master Class
Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell in Ragtime, 1998
Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell in Ragtime, 1998
Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell in Ragtime, 1998
Audra McDonald, 1998 Tony Win for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Ragtime
Mary Testa and Audra McDonald in Marie Christine, 1999
Audra McDonald in Marie Christine, 1999
Audra McDonald and Anthony Crivello in Marie Christine, 1999
Vivian Reed and Audra McDonald in Marie Christine, 1999
Audra McDonald in Marie Christine, 1999
Audra McDonald and Ethan Hawke in Henry IV, 2003
Paul Kolnik
Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan in A Raisin in the Sun, 2004
Audra McDonald and Sean Combs in A Raisin in the Sun, 2004
Audra McDonald in A Raisin in the Sun, 2004
Sean Combs and Audra McDonald in A Raisin in the Sun, 2004
Audra McDonald, 2004 Tony Win for Best Featured Actress in a Play, A Raisin in the Sun
Audra McDonald and John Cullum in 110 in the Shade, 2007
Steve Kazee and Audra McDonald in 110 in the Shade, 2007
Audra McDonald and cast in 110 in the Shade, 2007
Audra McDonald and Christopher Innvar in 110 in the Shade, 2007
Audra McDonald in 110 in the Shade, 2007
Audra McDonald and David Pittu in the Shakespeare in the Park production Twelfth Night, 2009
Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, 2012
Michael J. Lutch
Audra McDonald in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Michael J. Lutch
Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, 2012
Michael J. Lutch
Audra McDonald and NaTasha Yvette Williams in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, 2012
Audra McDonald and Phillip Boykin in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, 2012
Audra McDonald, 2012 Tony Win for Best Actress in a Musical, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Jessica Molaskey, Elena Shaddow, Audra McDonald and Christiane Noll in the 2013 NBC TV special The Sound of Music Live!
Audra McDonald and Bryn Terfel in the 2014 New York Philharmonic concert presentation Sweeney Todd
Audra McDonald in the 2014 New York Philharmonic concert presentation Sweeney Todd
Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, 2014
Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, 2014
Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, 2014
Audra McDonald, 2014 Tony Win for Best Actress in a Play, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Brandon Victor Dixon and Audra McDonald
Julieta Cervantes
Brandon Victor Dixon and Audra McDonald
Julieta Cervantes
Brandon Victor Dixon and Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald and Martha Plimpton in Hello Again
Audra McDonald
Hello Again LLC
Audra McDonald and Martha Plimpton
Hello Again LLC
Michael Shannon and Audra McDonald
Deen van Meer
Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon
Deen van Meer
Will Swenson and Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell