After Making The Great Gatsby a Tony-Winning Musical, Costume Designer Linda Cho Is Ready to Work

At the 77th Annual Tony Awards on June 16, the costume designer Linda Cho picked up the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for her work on The Great Gatsby—the show’s sole nomination and award for the night. “I just wanted to tell you about my mom,” Cho said on stage. “When I was a teenager, she said, ‘You’re a woman, you’re a minority, you will never succeed in anything artistic,’ and it was out of love. It was out of protection.”

Her mom would be “amazed” at her nomination, added Cho, before paying tribute to her collaborators and team: “I do one part of what you see at Gatsby every night. It takes trusting collaborative partners, our director, producers, writers, an entire village of people who craft and care for the 275 costumes you see on stage every night. I’d like to acknowledge my team.”

Elaborating to The Broadway Show in the winners room afterward, Cho explained that her definition of 'success' is getting to continue to work. “I am so happy that I get to do this for Gatsby, for our show. For me the work has always been the reward. Winning a Tony means I get to do other cool things—the best cool things that I hopefully get asked to do. It just means more work.”

Watch the video below featuring Broadway.com Managing Editor Beth Stevens' interview with Cho from earlier in the year, including a tour of The Great Gatsby's designs.