Christopher & Clay Rice-Thomson: From Tour Love to Twin Dads

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Christopher and Clay Rice-Thomson exclusively tell BroadwayWorld about their first year as new dads to twin boys Cooper and Carter.

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After Christopher and Clay Rice-Thomson were married in November 2019, they dreamed of starting a family. Nearly seven years later, the proud dads are about to celebrate their twins’ first birthday on May 31.

“I was thinking about our apartment earlier,” Christopher exclusively tells BroadwayWorld on a particularly “loud day” when their infant sons, Carter Bradley and Cooper Jeffrey, “were exploring their vocal range” in their one-bedroom New York apartment.

“I looked at our living room, and I was like, ‘ Man, a year! ’ A year ago, we probably had some boxes prepped, like diapers and wipes, maybe a crib in the corner,” he explains. “But to look at our living room now — what used to be a giant shag rug and a beautiful glass table is now a five-foot by nine-foot playpen, and there’s baby stuff in every corner. What was once a semi-clean apartment is now just a whirlwind of baby stuff.

“But we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Christopher, 38, and Clay, 33, met in 2011 when they both auditioned for the Broadway national tour of West Side Story . After booking the job and hitting the road, their friendship turned romantic — and the rest, as they say, is history.

“We’ve been together almost 15 years now. We have traveled the world, and we’ve gotten to tour together,” says Clay, explaining that they were ready to embark on their next adventure together: starting a family.

The couple documented their journey to fatherhood on YouTube and social media, showing fans and followers firsthand how they found a surrogate and learned that they were expecting twins. They even captured the moment they met their sons.

In the early stages of making their dream a reality, Clay explains, “We threw around the idea of: What if we had biologically linked kids to each of us that shared an egg donor — how special would that be?”

Cooper is biologically linked to Clay while Carter is biologically linked to Chris, and they were carried by the same surrogate. “It’s the coolest experience,” says Clay.

The last year has been a whirlwind for the musical theater artists. But in the best way, they say.

Clay, who was performing in the ensemble of Broadway’s Moulin Rouge! before their babies were born, eventually returned to work — and though he admits “it was hard,” he says: “It was what I’ve always wanted to do: have a family and work on Broadway.”

“It was fun and chaotic to do a two-show day on three hours of sleep,” he says. “But it was a dream to get to do what I love and then come home and get to feed the boys.”

Instead of taking shifts for the boys’ around-the-clock feedings in the first few months of their lives, Christopher and Clay would do it together. “We are a team,” says Clay.

“Watching the person you love, discovering a new part of them — I’m not going to talk about it too long or I’ll cry because I love this guy so much — but just to watch your partner,” Christopher begins. “It’s the way that he can pick up the pieces…we strengthen each other.”

Over the last year, Carter and Cooper have had so many firsts. They’ve been to Disney World to meet Mickey. They’ve visited their dad backstage on Broadway (and even got a picture with him in costume !). They’re now standing and waving. “The stories that we’ll get to tell [them about] the people who have held them, like Jodi Benson is their fairy godmother,” says Clay.

While Christopher and Clay’s families live outside of New York City, the couple has a lot of support around them in the Big Apple, including aunties, uncles and besties who will help out when needed. The new fathers also strive to employ former students to babysit.

“We want to support young artists and make sure our money is going to help their livelihood,” says Christopher. “Also, we really care about keeping our kids around artists. … We want them to be around people who are energetic and are charismatic.”

“And can sing!” Clay adds jokingly.

The Rice-Thomsons realize that they’ll eventually have to move out of their one-bedroom as the boys continue to grow — and they’ve even considered expanding their family in the future. But, for now, they’re simply soaking in their first year as fathers.

With Clay’s run in Moulin Rouge! officially wrapped, it’s Christopher’s turn to work out of town. They’re busy, but grateful.

“Every parent I’ve ever met — or even our own parents — they’ve all severely under-hyped how cool it is to be a dad,” says Christopher. “It’s so special to have these little ones, even when it’s hard, even when they’re loud or you can’t quite get them to sleep, like tonight.

“It is hard to describe how special it is to have part of your heart outside your body,” he adds. “It’s really cool.”

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski

Schmigadoon!

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Exclusive-For-the-Rice-Thomsons-Raising-Twins-in-Their-One-Bedroom-and-Working-on-Broadway-Is-the-Dream-20260524)._