For many 2017 Tony nominees, there was a distinct moment they realized they wanted (and could have) a life in theatre. As Dear Evan Hansen director Michael Greif calls it, the moment that “turned my whole professional and every aspect of my life around.”

For some like Come From Away’s Jenn Colella, it was her Broadway debut: “Any doubts that I had about being ready or if I was up to par quickly faded,” she says in the video above.

For Hello, Dolly!’s Gavin Creel, it was “when I watched the 1991 Sondheim celebration at Carnegie Hall and I saw Patti LuPone sing ‘Being Alive'’’ that set him on his course. And for Isabelle Stevenson Award recipient Baayork Lee, who made her debut in the original The King & I, she caught the bug as a child actor. “When you're five years old and you are standing in the middle of the St. James Theatre and you're looking at the chandeliers and all the velvet seats ... you say to yourself, 'Self, this is where I want to be!'"

Watch the video to hear the full stories and discover those moments for more of the 2017 nominees.

CELEBRATE THE 2017–2018 SEASON WITH THE TONY AWARD SEASON COMPILATION ALBUM!