As of July 1, Tony Award nominee Nick Cordero has been in the hospital for 90 days.
He is awake after being unconscious and on a ventilator since March 31 due to COVID-19 complications. His wife, Amanda Kloots, initially shared the good news May 12. “Guys, we might have to change our hashtag to #CodeRocky because Nick, Dada, is awake!,” Kloots said in an Instagram story.
Kloots has been sharing updates about Cordero’s condition on her social media as well as requests for prayers, good vibes, and a daily dance to Cordero’s song “Live Your Life” with the hashtag #WakeUpNick. On April 18, friends of the family Erin Silver, Aimee Song, and Jacey Duprie, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to support Cordero, Kloots, and their 10-month-old son Elvis. At the time of this updated publication, the fund has raised $589,164.
The GoFundMe will help pay medical bills, as well as eventual rehab costs. Click here to donate.
According to Kloots' Instagram, Cordero first became ill March 20. While initially diagnosed with pneumonia, doctors at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles used a more invasive test and the result was positive for coronavirus. After a day in the ICU, doctors decided to put him on a ventilator; Cordero was able to call Kloots to tell her the news at the time.
Cordero was responding to medication for COVID-19. After a problem with bloodflow to his leg he was taken into surgery April 12, but doctors ultimately had to amputate Cordero’s right leg. Cordero successfully made it through surgery and on April 19, Kloots announced on her Instagram that it had been a calm day in the ICU. In more recent weeks, Cordero has undergone two rounds of exosome treatments. Kloots is now permitted to visit her husband in the ICU while wearing protective gear.
Kloots and Cordero first met as members of the cast of 2014’s Bullets Over Broadway. Cordero earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance as Cheech. Cordero then originated the role of Earl in Waitress, offering humanity and depth to a difficult character—the abusive, desperate husband of piemaker extraordinaire Jenna. He left the Sara Bareilles musical to originate the role of mob boss Sonny in A Bronx Tale: The Musical, which earned him a Drama Desk Award. Cordero and his family moved to Los Angeles where Cordero starred in the newly mounted production of Rock of Ages (the show that marked his Broadway debut in 2012). Rock of Ages closed March 14 due to concerns over the pandemic.
The pair wed September of 2017, even performing this special first dance. Kloots and their son Elvis Eduardo remain healthy and positive at home in Los Angeles. To support the Kloots-Cordero family, click here to donate to the GoFundMe drive.
This article was updated July 1, 2020, from an earlier version.
