Cruz said she'll "never ever forget" being able to duet with Michele in the musical
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NEED TO KNOW
- Hannah Cruz was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the Broadway musical Chess
- Cruz shared with PEOPLE her excitement about performing a duet with Lea Michele, whom she admired as a Glee fan
- Cruz wore a Christian Siriano gown to the Tonys and credited her husband, Edred Utomi, for his support
Chess star Hannah Cruz is taking in the "dream" full-circle moment of getting to work with Lea Michele, after being a huge Glee fan.
Cruz, 34, attended the 2026 Tony Awards in New York City on Sunday, June 7, where she was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her role as Svetlana in the Broadway musical Chess.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE on the red carpet, she said that she is "still trying to find the words."
"It's a question you get asked a lot and I try to give different answers, but this really is just the dream of my life come true," Cruz said. "You don't prepare yourself for this to happen, and so I feel like I'm floating through a dream. I'm really trying to stay present so I can really bank all of this and remember it forever because it's remarkable."
Credit: Tricia Baron/Shutterstock
Speaking about her duet with Michele, 39, during the musical, she continued, "I'll never forget the first time I got to sing 'I Know Him So Well' with Lea Michele. That was like … Getting to look in her eyes every night and share that moment with her after watching Glee so ferociously growing up and now getting to call her my friend, my sister, I'll never ever forget that."
As for Cruz's favorite mashup from the comedy series, which ran from 2009 to 2015, she said the pairing between the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Heads Will Roll" and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" from Glee's season 2 episode is still on repeat in her playlist.
"I listen to it every Halloween. It's so good," she said.
During the 2026 Tony Awards, both Cruz and Michele made an appearance in the show's opening number, as Pink, who was hosting, performed a remix of "Lady Marmalade."
"Some leading ladies are reigning like true Chess queens," Cruz sang as Pink walked off the stage into the audience.
Michele then appeared, belting, "And we don't do it for the awards."
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Ahead of the performance, Cruz revealed to PEOPLE her glam process for the Tony Awards at the St. Regis Hotel. On the red carpet, she donned a soft blush-colored Christian Siriano gown with a mermaid hemline.
"This gorgeous dress by Christian Siriano. I was initially scared of this dress because it felt quite vulnerable. But I couldn't be happier with the way the whole look turned out," she said.
"The Dior Suite at the St. Regis was the perfect backdrop for this look," the Chess star added. "As we were checking out the next day, the bellhop told us the suite is a favorite of Elton John's, which tracks."
While she was getting ready, Cruz was joined by her husband Edred Utomi for a few glamour shots.
"My handsome hubby arrives!" Cruz said. "It almost felt like our wedding since we had spent the night before apart. Me at the St. Regis and him at our apartment with our kitten. I was so excited to see him."
"Truly couldn't have done anything this season without Edred by my side. Before the ceremony even began, I felt like a winner," she said about a photo of them posing in her gown and him in a tuxedo.
Credit: Michaelah Reynolds
Chess centers around a Cold War-era chess match between two men who also find themselves in a complicated love triangle. Along with Michele, who plays Florence, and Cruz, the musical also stars Nicholas Christopher as Anatoly, a Russian chess player and Svetlana's estranged husband, and Aaron Tveit as Freddie, his American rival.
Michele looked back on her time playing Glee's Rachel Berry during an interview with PEOPLE in November 2025. She recalled last rewatching the series to show her son Ever Leo, 5, her performance of Frozen's "Let It Go" from the first episode of season 6.
"He has started to know that mommy is a singer," she said, "And I wanted to play him me singing a song."
She added that he is "really into" Frozen, but didn't fully grasp what she's was doing, as he "doesn't understand that it was a television show."
Michele, who also shares daughter Emery Sol, 22 months, with husband Zandy Reich, has brought Ever to some musicals along the way — including her run in Funny Girl and going to see Jonathan Groff.
"A really special moment recently was when I took my son to go see him in his Broadway show [Just in Time]. Jonathan came up to Ever during the show and sang to him," Michele said. "Ever was smiling from ear to ear."
Chess is playing at the Imperial Theatre through June 21.
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