A lawmaker-turned-Broadway producer is officially a Tony Award nominee.
Former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) celebrated “Paradise Square,” the Broadway show he co-produced, which earned a nomination in the best new musical category on Monday.
The nomination, the 60-year-old ex-House member wrote on Twitter, is the “result of hard work and perseverance at every level.”
The show, which follows the Civil War-era lives of Black Americans and Irish immigrants in New York’s Five Points slum, is one of five nominees competing for the best new musical, along with “Girl From the North Country,” “Six: The Musical,” “Mr. Saturday Night” and “MJ.”
Crowley, who lost a Democratic primary to now-Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018, told ITK last month that he “fell in love” with “Paradise Square’s” material, noting he would not have been able to get involved with the production while still working at the Capitol.
“If there was any concern about life after Congress, this has been exhilarating, and great fun, and great joy,” Crowley said at the time.
The Tony Awards is scheduled to air on June 12 on CBS.