When Will Brill got home after winning his first Tony award, he was a little, well….spooked. “I was in bed and somebody texted me like, ‘How are you feeling?’” Brill recalls. “And I was suddenly hit with like, There’s a Tony in this house. It can’t be seen. It is lurking! So weird.”

A week after winning best featured actor in a play for his performance in Stereophonic, Brill admits it still “feels a little weird.” His portrayal of Reg – the hilarious, endearing, and often frighteningly coke-and-booze-addled bass player in Stereophonic’s fictional 1970s rock band on the verge of mega stardom – made Brill the only cast member from the most-Tony-nominated-ever play to bring home hardware. But on Tony night, Brill made sure to give his full cast its due: in his delightfully off-the-cuff acceptance speech, he asked all his castmates to stand up for an ovation (he also, memorably, thanked his therapist).

Like his fellow Stereophonic cast members, Brill wasn’t an experienced, trained musician before joining the ensemble. But acquiring the skill to convincingly play one onstage (and perform the play’s Tony-nominated score by Will Butler there) was the kind of deep-dive experience Brill has long relished as an actor: His wide-ranging roles have included Dr. Astrov, in the hyper-intimate off-Broadway production of Uncle Vanya that took place in a private New York loft last year, as well as Roy Cohn in Showtime’s miniseries Fellow Travelers, and the peddler Ali Hakim in the 2019 Broadway reimagining of Oklahoma!.

As Stereophonic continues its run on Broadway through Jan. 5, 2025, Brill spoke to Billboard about adding Reg to that list, as well as about his action-packed Tony night.

Have you started to come to terms with cohabitating with your Tony?

Sort of… I mean, people keep like asking, “Where are you going to put it?” I don’t know…. wherever it…looks good? Wherever it fits? Like, I had to put my bike in this one corner because that’s where it fit. I don’t have a lot of art in my house, and now I have this thing I’m like, obligated to display.

You have to put it somewhere unexpected, like the bathroom.

Totally. My idea, which I believe is a step too far, was to put it in the toilet. So it’s really a surprise to anybody who is using the bathroom. I have a buddy who keeps his in the fridge. And I heard that Ian McKellen keeps his many awards on his roof so that they can “rest.” I don’t know what that means, but that’s allegedly what he does.

Before we discuss anything else, I need the story of your ensemble for Tonys night: the pleats, the jewelry… it was a look!

I was working with a stylist, Savannah White, and we had bounced around a lot of ideas of stores and designers and we were largely on the same page: Vivienne Westwood, Thom Browne, Commes des Garcons, and Issey Miyake, who I didn’t really know of until he passed. I just saw an article about him and started Googling him and was really moved by his aesthetic.

So then Savannah came back with the two looks [of Miyake’s] that I wound up wearing. I was like, “Oh my God, this is so unlike anything I’ve seen, and I have to imagine it’s going to be totally unlike what anybody else is going to be wearing.” I wanted to be wearing something that wasn’t following a gender binary, and I feel like Issey’s stuff hangs on any human body beautifully. I felt really lucky that we sort of nailed it. Everything was sort of flowy and weird and off-kilter — and few straight lines except for the pleats themselves. It was really a fun fit.

Your speech was iconic, to say the least. When you thanked your therapist, it became one of the most-memed moments of the night. How did you hear about that?

My PR person came up to me and was like, “The internet loved your speech.” And I was like, “Oh, that’s so nice. I just assumed that it was like, either the internet loves your speech or hates your speech — I had no idea that me shouting out my therapist was going to be any kind of a big deal or that shouting out the rest of my cast, for that matter, was going to be a big deal too. But they both sort of showed up everywhere. I got a really sweet text from my therapist that at first was all caps, “HOLY S–T, YOU WON! F–K YEAH!” And then, two minutes later, “Oh my God Will, this is so sweet,” which really made me happy.

You also gave a shoutout to your bass teacher. What was the process of learning the instrument like for you? You really get the physicality and personality of a bass player down, as well as the technical aspects, which seems uniquely challenging.

It was really important for me to look authentic. I had experience learning an instrument for a [project] before — I learned to play 12 songs on the guitar for this David Chase film Not Fade Away, and that’s actually where I met Robbie Mangano, who was in The Grandmothers of Invention and is an astonishing guitar and bass player. He taught me and Jack Huston how to play guitar for the movie.

But it was a different thing; we really just needed to look like we were playing the songs, which were pre-recorded by essentially the E Street Band. We didn’t actually have to play for sound, we just had to look like we knew what we were doing, and there were all sorts of ways to cut around the fact that we didn’t know what we were doing.

So for this show, I called Robbie to help me learn the bass. But Robbie was also weirdly at the intersection of my life where I started to think about sobriety, which is like another huge part of Reg. I got really drunk at a show of Robbie’s, and he wrote me this two-page letter, where he was like, “I’ve seen too many talented people not have the life that they should because they got caught up with drugs and alcohol, and I really believe in you and I count you as a friend and I hope that that would not be something that happened to you.”

At the time I couldn’t hear it, and I actually wound up not talking to him for several years because I was so embarrassed. Years and years later, I got a divorce and then I got sober and then [Stereophonic] came back around. So by the time I called Robbie to start learning the bass again, I was two years sober and got to tell him that he was a big part of that. And he wound up saying to me, “Wow, that’s crazy. I am recently sober too.” It was really crazy and moving. So he’s been a very special touchstone in my life.

Great bass players especially seem to have this innate comfort in your own skin. Was that natural for you to achieve or more of a journey?

It was a journey, for sure. But what was cool was, when I was a little kid, I thought I was going to be a magician. I would practice card tricks alone in my room for literally 12 hours a day. I didn’t pursue magic because it was too scary to perform in front of people these things that required incredible dexterity. But when I started learning the bass, it triggered this long dormant part of my brain, which was like the joy of doing something dexterous 1000 times alone in your bedroom and losing sleep over it and trying to perfect this one thing and getting closer and closer. So I really felt like I was practicing magic again.

You and your castmates opened for Will Butler at his own actual album release show just a few weeks after previews for Stereophonic started. What was that like?

It was insane. A lot of people took videos with their phones and sent them to me afterward, and I was so embarrassed at how stiff and terrible I was that I was like, “Okay, you don’t have to just get good at the bass, you have to look amazing, you have to be able to dance and play the bass at the same time.” It still never feels like it’s easy, but it’s cool to have audiences come now and say that it looks like it’s easy, because that’s sort of the goal.

Were there particular bass players who were models for your portrayal of Reg?

I definitely watched videos of John McVie playing. Will Butler is the only frontman I can think of off the top of my head who also plays bass, and he is so dance-y in his shows — he’s so free, he’s a true wild man on stage, and he was really a big source of inspiration.

I went to see Muna recently, and the band that opened for them [Nova Twins], it was these two British girls playing kind of hardcore music and dressed up sort of like punk-style Raggedy Ann. The bassist would jump around and run around the stage, and I remember thinking like, “I want to get close to that and I want to have that freedom of movement.” Other than that, learning the instrument was so hard and learning the play was so hard that there was not really a lot of room outside your imagination to do extra research.

This seems like such a lightning in a bottle kind of experience for all of you. Has it in any fundamental ways changed what you want from the work you do going forward?

Yeah, for sure — but I think every role I play, to a certain extent, is a reassessment of what I want to do going forward. The ultimate thing that I love about performing and exploring characters is exploring the different the levels of myself that I don’t know completely or understand and by extrapolation exploring the human condition more and more deeply.

I was just talking about this in therapy today, actually. Like, I’m constantly straddling a line: Am I doing justice to myself and the role that I’m playing by putting in an amount of effort that actually does meaningful excavation for myself and for the people coming? Or should I be resting a little bit more, and can the process be easier and more joyful?

I would say the peddler in Oklahoma! was a more joyful than difficult experience for me; probably A Case For The Existence of God was too and probably Fellow Travelers was a little more joyful than it was difficult. And then Uncle Vanya and this have both really ridden on the cusp of joy and difficulty. They have been the most challenging experiences of my life, but also deeply, deeply gratifying.

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Travel deals and promos are making that vacation getaway to far-off places or cozy staycations more obtainable. Rather than put that beachside getaway off for another month, you can take advantage of savings up to 50% off, and paired with luggage deals, you can travel the world more affordably.

Whether you’re planning on going to any festivals and concerts this summer or just want a change in environment, beaches and unexplored regions await.

Summer savings events are going on now including Prime Day travel promos that’ll tempt you to take advantage of that PTO and go on a much-needed vacation. To take some of the stress out of finding the best travel deals, we did the research and rounded up the hottest deals, steals and promos so you can focus on stocking up on travel necessities.

See below for the best travel deals — from flights to experiences — that will help make sure you have the best vacation yet. These promos aren’t going to last forever, though, which means you need to act ASAP to avoid seeing the dreaded “sold out” or “offer expired” message pop up.

What Are the Best Flight Deals?

Jet off at a fraction of the price as airlines slash prices throughout the year to help you fly for less. No matter where you want to go, don’t drop hundreds of dollars on a round-trip ticket. Check below to see what the current best flight deals are.

Southwest Airlines

Amazon is celebrating its latest Prime Day with 50% off Southwest Raid Rewards Points starting Tuesday (July 16) until Wednesday (July 17) at 11:59 p.m. ET/PT, which you can score through the official Prime Day Travel Deals page. In addition to Amazon’s promo, Southwest offers a low-fare calendar with one-way flights starting at $59.

United Airlines

United is offering low-fare flights from select cities including Chicago, New York City, Denver, San Fransisco, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. All you have to do is book a trip from one of the cities listed and you can score flights as low as $91 roundtrip. You can also personalize your picks by entering your max budget for trips within your spending limit.

Skyscanner

Skyscanner looks across a variety of airlines to find the cheapest tickets on the market worldwide. You can enjoy the low-priced tickets any time of the year, not just during the holidays. Right now, some round-trip flights are as low as $35, so don’t miss out.

Amazon Prime

Still in school? Amazon Prime has partnered with Student Universe to offer Student Prime members an additional 10% off already-discounted flights, hotels and more. All you have to do is sign up for a Student Prime membership and activate Student Universe to start saving. Currently, Student Prime has a six-month free promo when you sign up; after the trial ends, your membership will cost $7.49/month and will include all the benefits of an Amazon Prime membership.

CheapOAir

Whether you’re looking for last-minute cheap flights or just want to book ahead, CheapOAir is offering $15 off when you sign up for emails. To redeem the offer, just click to enter your email, and a unique code will be emailed to you to use on your booking. One-way flights start as low as $40 right now to domestic destinations in the U.S.

Hopper

Hopper is another destination where you can score major savings on hotels, flights, rental cars and more. When you sign up, you can collect vouchers and cash back to redeem on flights, stays and rental cars. The site also scours the web for the best deals to help you save money and even tells you what time of the month to purchase plane tickets.

What Are the Best Hotel Deals?

Flights aren’t the only thing to think about. Booking a hotel room can be just as pricey, leaving you with little to spend on food and activities. Don’t worry, though: These deals are here to offer you savings.

Expedia

Expedia members can take advantage of 25% off hotel bookings and vacation packages during its Big Summer Sale. It’s valid on domestic and international travels when you book by July 14 and travel by Oct. 24. Signing up for Expedia’s One Key membership is free — just provide your email and you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits including exclusive deals and savings.

IHG Hotels & Resorts

IHG is offering up to 15% off hotel and resort bookings when you either book a Stay Longer and Save rate for at least three nights (and place a non-refundable deposit) or book with the Book Now, Pay Later rate (no deposit required). You can also score at least 10% off when you do a Book Early and Save rate, which only requires you pay for your trip up to three days before at select locations.

Hilton Resorts

Hilton’s Resorts World Las Vegas is celebrating its 3-year anniversary with up to 30% off rooms and suites. As an added bonus, you can check out the current Las Vegas residencies to add to your growing itinerary.

Hotwire

Hotwire aims to find some of the deepest discounted hotels — such as up to 60% off last-minute stays. Some offers are as low as $21/night, which means you can book your stay for less than $100/night.

Caesars

Caesars is hosting its Vacation Sale, dropping rooms to as low as $22 a night (regularly as low as $31). You can experience luxurious comfort before heading out to explore Las Vegas — and with all the savings you rack up, you can make sure you leave with a treasure-worthy souvenir.

Booking.com

Between now and Sept. 30, 2024, you can score up to 15% off stays with Booking.com’s Getaway Deals. Some stays are as low as $17/night right now. Low prices like these don’t happen every day, which is why you should act sooner rather than later.

Student Universe

Being in school can have its perks like up to 60% off hotels on Student Universe. Signing up is free and will give you access to all their discounted rates including on flights.

Airbnb

Don’t want to drop a ton of money on a hotel? Airbnb offers stays in a variety of homes that you can customize to your preferences. Plus, for ultimate privacy you can opt for a private stay meaning you get the entire place to yourself — and some stays are as low as $11/night right now.

What Are the Best Rental Car Deals?

Not every destination will have the luxury of public transportation at your fingertips and if you want to do some road exploring of your own, then you’ll need a car. Thankfully, we’ve rounded up the best deals available below.

Avis

Prime members can take advantage of up 30% off car rentals and earn a 10% gift card when you book through Amazon during Prime Day. The promo will only being going on during July 16-17, so make sure to snag the deals while they’re live.

Budget

The name says it all as Budget is having a major Car-Cation Weekends Sale promotion going on. Right now, when you rent a car for a 3-day weekend, you’ll receive up to $60 off in addition to one free day on a future car rental when you “Pay Now” at the time of your booking. If you were worried about having enough space to hold all your festival gear, think again.

SIXT

Another Prime Day-only deal you can look forward to is up to 15% off SIXT car rentals. You’ll have to be a Prime member in order to redeem the deal as well as book it through the Prime Day Travel Deals page. If you’re not currently a Prime member, Amazon is offering a 30-day free trial for new users who sign up, which will include access to the exclusive Prime member-only deals.

Kayak

Kayak isn’t afraid to floor it when it comes to offering great deals on cars. The rental service compares the price of competitor and aims to offer at least 32% off the full price. And, right now you can find car bookings for as little as $12/day.

What Are the Best Cruise Deals?

Sail around the islands and escape the city with a cruise that’ll bring photo-worthy moments and memories to last a lifetime. Travel Tuesday deals are also making sure you don’t have to break the bank either, so you can enjoy your vacation without avoiding your wallet’s gaze.

Carnival Cruises

Prime members are being treated to up to 40% off Carnival cruise experiences when you book through the Prime Day Travel Deals page. The promo goes live for Prime Day, which starts July 16 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET/PT on July 17.

Hurtigruten Expeditions

Hurtigruten Expeditions is slashing prices on expeditions by up to 45% off. Plus, if you become an ambassador with the cruise brand, you can receive an additional 5% off on bookings and experiences.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises will have you sailing over to their deals page as they’re currently offering 75% off a second guest for any cruise as well as up to $200 in savings on rooms. Act quick though as the deal is only going on for a limited time. For additional savings, you can score $50 off a trip when you sign up for emails.

What Are the Best Experience Deals?

For anyone planning a staycation or to score some deals on excursions during their trip away from home, there are various ways to book an activity without burning a hole in your wallet. Scroll down for our finds on the best experience deals.

Viator

Amazon is encouraging you to embrace your wanderlust spirit with an exclusive Prime Day-only deal for Prime members. For July 16-17 only, you can score 10% off select Viator experiences when you book through the Prime Day Travel Deals page.

EF Travel

You can save up to $500 on select experiences or up to $700 on last-minute trips during EF Go Ahead Tours’ Semi Annual Sale. These include European getaways, journeys throughout Asia and more. The travel group was designed to help solo travelers vacation with ease. They’ll do basically all the work for you including building an itinerary, helping find flights and even providing down time for you to explore on your own.

Getaway

Getaway wants to celebrate warm weather with 30% off summer stay when you use the code GETOUTSIDE for a limited time. Choose from the various locations spread across the U.S. including New York, Massachusetts, Washington, California and more. You’ll also be able to personalize your experience to your needs including adding on an instant campfire, provisions and even a late check out.

G Adventures

For the month of June you can save up to 20% on G Adventures‘ pre-planned adventures around the globe including Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and more. The brand aims to keep your travel group small so you can enjoy the experience without feeling overwhelmed.

Groupon

Groupon’s sale wants to encourage new experiences with an additional 10% off select deals when you use the code PROMO at checkout. Everything from deep tissue massages to entrance fees at the petting zoo are being completely slashed. We even found one deal that was just $3!

Taylor Swift is gearing up to play three shows in Dublin as part of The Eras Tour, and she’s getting some love from Ireland’s most famous rockers as she plays their hometown.

On Friday (June 28), Swift shared on her Instagram Stories a photo of the flowers and a sweet note that she received from iconic rock band U2.

Alongside a bouquet of white, pink and purple roses and lilies was a card that read, “Dear Taylor, welcome back to our hometown…leave some of it standing?!!!!”

The note was signed, “Your Irish fan club, Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry.”

On her Instagram Stories, Swift responded by captioning her post with “Already feeling that Irish hospitality!! @u2, thanks for always being the classiest & coolest.” Swift also included an Irish flag emoji.

The note came as Swift is set to perform three shows at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on June 28-30. Paramore will open each of the shows.

Swift has seen numerous artists and celebrities in attendance at her The Eras Tour shows. Beatles legend Paul McCartney recently danced with fans at one of Swift’s concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium, while others who have attended The Eras Tour include Shania Twain, Haim, Diplo, Selena Gomez, Billy Joel, Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman and Maren Morris.

Following her Ireland concerts, Swift’s tour itinerary through the rest of 2024 includes stops in Amsterdam, Milan, Munich, London, Toronto and Vancouver.

Meanwhile, Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department spends its ninth week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album marks her 14th project to top the Billboard 200.

Pharrell Williams and Louis Vuitton are facing a lawsuit over their launch of a high-end line of “Pocket Socks,” filed by a California company that says it’s been using that same name for more than a decade on a similar product.

In a case filed last week in Los Angeles federal court, Pocket Socks Inc. says the luxury brand’s product — a literal sock-with-a-pocket that launched at Paris Fashion Week last year and sells for the whopping price of $530 — infringes its existing trademark rights to the name.

“Much attention and publicity has been generated for Louis Vuitton’s ‘Pocket Socks,’ including defendants, the press, and consumers using the name ‘Pocket Socks’ for their product which irreparably injures Pocket Socks’ longstanding brand and trademark rights,” the company’s lawyers write in the June 20 complaint.

Louis Vuitton announced in February 2023 that Williams would serve as the company’s men’s creative director, and he debuted his first line for the company later that year at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.

One of the items apparently rolled out at last year’s event was the Pocket Socks — a pair of knitted socks that feature a pocket adorned with a pearl. The socks received some notoriety in January when Jermaine Dupri was razzed on social media for wearing them during his Super Bowl halftime performance. Though currently unavailable for purchase, the socks are listed on Louis Vuitton’s UK website for £420 — roughly $530 in U.S. dollars.

Louis Vuitton’s new product didn’t sit well with Pocket Socks Inc., which says it’s been using that exact same name since 2012 for its own line of socks that feature a zippered pocket sewn into each pair. In its lawsuit, the company says it owns several federal trademark registrations for the brand and that the new product clearly infringes those rights.

In a statement announcing the new lawsuit, Pocket Socks Inc. claims Louis Vuitton’s new line “threatens to undermine the hard work and dedication” that has gone into building the brand: “This massive luxury brand and their designer Pharrell Williams should know better and behave within the law,” said CEO Evan Papel.

In technical terms, the lawsuit accuses Williams and Louis Vuitton of infringing both the trademark to the name as well as the so-called “trade dress” — meaning the actual look of the product. The sale of similar-looking socks under the same name is “likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive consumers,” the lawsuit claims.

As the case moves forward, one possible defense argument from Williams and Louis Vuitton could be that the name Pocket Socks is too “descriptive” to serve as a trademark. Under U.S. trademark law, terms that merely describe the goods or services being sold cannot be locked up as an exclusive brand name.

Neither a rep Williams nor Louis Vuitton immediately returned requests for comment.