Sutton Foster Recalls Transporting Her Tony Awards Cross-Country: TSA Was 'Very Unimpressed'

"They had no idea what they were," says Foster of airport security handling her two Tonys

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Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Sutton Foster‘s a mainstay on the Great White Way – but the talented actress’ Tonys once left some TSA agents scratching their heads.

“I lived in L.A. for about three years, so they were there,” Foster tells PEOPLE of her two Tony Awards.

But after marrying producer Ted Griffin, 45, and buying an N.Y.C. penthouse, “I was like, ‘No, they need to be in New York,’ so I had to travel them back,” says the Younger star.

But when she packed them in her luggage, she caused much confusion at the airport.

“”Security pulled them out, and they were like, ‘What are these?’ And I was like, ‘Those are my Tonys.’ And they were very unimpressed,” says Foster, 41.

Despite her high-standing in the Broadway community, she says security seemed underwhelmed.

For more on Sutton Foster and her New York penthouse, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.

“They had no idea what they were, and they just put them back in and were like, ‘Okay, enjoy your flight.’ I was like, ‘Come on, man!'”

Now that they’ve been returned to their rightful city, Foster’s Tonys sit atop a shelf in the living room of her Upper West Side condo, which the star opened up to PEOPLE for an exclusive tour.

While the trophies are displayed casually beside books, wedding photos and tchotchkes, Foster says it’s still strange to have them in her possession.

“It’s weird: I still feel like ‘m 15 years old and practicing my Tonys speech in front of my mirror,” she says. “But I’m unbelievably proud of them.”

The Broadway veteran – who nabbed the awards for her turns in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes – has found TV fame in recent years. After starring in defunct ABC Family hit Bunheads, Foster took the lead role in TV Land’s hit Younger; she’s currently filming the third season, and the series was recently picked up for a fourth.

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