My mom was a single mother. She had six siblings in a big Irish family, all descended from shanty Irish folks who arrived after the Famine. They settled along the Cuyahoga River. It's the river that caught on fire. We're real good at picking real estate.

Rory O'Malley

Categorized in : Good Mother Fire Family

The only way to get to that next peak is to be ready for that next valley. Being raised Irish, you know to always be ready for the bad times.

Rory O'Malley

bad you bad-times way

You can't waste time in your life trying to hide the truth.

Rory O'Malley

you truth time life

Growing up in bars might sound like child abuse. And if it does, then you're what my mom would call 'Protestants.'

Rory O'Malley

child you growing-up mom

The key to doing eight shows a week is maintaining your energy. Getting as much sleep as possible and a big, healthy breakfast is the best way to make that happen. My mainstay is granola cereal, a banana, and soy milk. I also try to add a side of fresh fruit with yogurt and peanut butter toast.

Rory O'Malley

best fruit sleep breakfast

It's profound to watch a little African-American girl light up when she raps as George Washington and she realizes that Washington's story is her story. That this history belongs to all of us.

Rory O'Malley

story girl light history

It's definitely a high when you walk onstage and everybody starts applauding before you even say anything.

Rory O'Malley

high walk say you

We cannot give up on working toward that more perfect union.

Rory O'Malley

give cannot more perfect

I can't believe women walk around in stilettos. I would not make it two steps.

Rory O'Malley

walk women two believe

I love how passionate Elder McKinley is about his faith, but he's a perfectionist in a bad way... to the point he denies his true feelings. It's a common story, unfortunately.

Rory O'Malley

bad faith love way

The way to talk about something sad is to sing a funny song about it.

Rory O'Malley

sad song funny way

Being a kid and growing up in Cleveland, the Tonys were how you saw Broadway shows: you got to hear from each show, and that's what inspired me to live my dream, so the fact that I am getting recognition from them, it's mind-blowing.

Rory O'Malley

live i-am me you

As a kid, I had nightmares about Freddy Krueger just from the trailers on TV!

Rory O'Malley

nightmares about just kid

I loved 'Les Miz' and 'Into the Woods' - I used to cast 'Into the Woods' with my friends, even if they'd never stepped on stage before.

Rory O'Malley

loved never friends woods

When I came out, I thought coming out meant giving up a marriage and a family. That was, to me, the most difficult part of the coming-out process.

Rory O'Malley

thought me marriage family

Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence are such legends.

Rory O'Malley

lawrence martin legends

The 'Cheers' family seemed like my family.

Rory O'Malley

seemed cheers like family

Mom was a single mother. So three aunts and three uncles and all of mom's friends pitched in as weekend warriors.

Rory O'Malley

friends weekend mom mother

I played Sky Masterson in 'Guys and Dolls' at St. Ignatius. I walked out onstage at one point looking for Nathan Detroit, and I'm supposed to say, 'Has anyone seen Nathan Detroit?' But, instead, I said, 'Has anyone seen Sky Masterson?' I immediately realized what I'd done, so I said, 'Wait a minute. I'm Sky Masterson!'

Rory O'Malley

wait looking done sky

I always thought I would move to New York after graduation, but, instead, I moved to Los Angeles. I realized I was more scared of that choice than I was of New York, and I thought, at 22, I should get it over with.

Rory O'Malley

new choice thought graduation

I spent a lot of my time, growing up, at the Beck Center. I'd be in plays there, and I'd get there an hour or two early just so I could be there, where I felt safe and where I belonged. And that's such an important feeling to have as a young kid. The theater community, and especially the Beck Center, really embraced me and got me started.

Rory O'Malley

feeling me community time