Last week I learned that one of my best friends from college, Bobby Spencer (known as J. Robert Spencer on Broadway) was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Next To Normal. To say that I am proud of Bobby would be an understatement akin to calling Kim Kardashian “slightly curvaceous.”

Bobby Spencer is one of the most talented people I know. He has the ability to make everyone around him laugh hysterically and then two seconds later he can make them cry their eyes out.  This man’s presence is so powerful that when he walks into the room you feel it. When we were both students at Shenandoah Conservatory, I admired Bobby’s commitment to the craft of theatre and his overwhelming talent. He was the Big Man on Campus (if theatre schools have that sort of thing). Bobby is a terrific singer with incredible acting range and chops. He also plays several instruments, as you may have seen him do in Jersey Boys. But what I always thought he had was an intangible magnetism, a star quality I guess is best described as charisma. Whatever that “It” factor is, Bobby Spencer has it.

My passion for musical theatre has dwindled significantly in the last few years, as my love for doing stand-up comedy has grown. But seeing my friend realize a dream we once both shared, the dream being nominated for a Tony Award, takes me back to days I spent in rural Virginia trying to find my motivation both onstage and off.

Here’s to Bobby Spencer, an extremely deserving multitalented performer and a hell of a great guy! I hope you win the prize, but it is an honor to be nominated. And for me, it is an honor to be your friend. Break a leg, old pal!