Laurie Metcalf, Jeremy Pope, Jeff Daniels, and more.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
AintTooProud
Youve been inAint Too Proudfor several years before Broadway.
Youre playing Otis Williams in something based onhis bookand youve worked with him on the character.
What I really love about him is its so eerie how similar we are.
He would say something and it would scare me a little bit because that was something Id actually say.
They had my back, everyone was checking in, but we made it out alive.
Both pieces feel like ensemble pieces.
Yesterday [when the nominations came out] we had two group threads going on, blowing up.
It was just so cool to watch.
We wanted to create a sense of things floating on and off, because its a memory play.
It is inherently a part of the play.
Beetlejuice
They changed a lot ofBeetlejuicebetween its run in Washington, D.C. last fall to Broadway.
How has your character changed?The character in D.C. was this capital-D degenerate, conniving, mean-spirited.
He was this guy that had this dastardly plan.
Hes like aBorscht Beltcomedian.
Hes a roast comedian.
But the cartoon tells this really different story of these two palling it up.
If those are the two signs of the Cross, then theBeetlejuicemusical is the third sign of the Cross.
The literal Holy Spirit.
Its such a reminder of the importance of community, its such a community embrace today.
Have you gotten to talk to the rest of your co-stars?Yeah, we have a group thread.
Well, who is the shadiest person on theBoys in the Bandgroup thread?Imsonot saying that.
But I know who it is!
BurnThis
The director Michael Mayer had wanted to stagethis revivalfor a long time.
TheCherShow
Inthis show, you have an incrediblenumber of costume changes.
Is there one thats the hardest to pull off?Chers Mohawk costume.
She doesnt put on one sensible pencil dress.
All of that needs to come off in some 20 seconds.
That change, I have about nine people working on it at the same time.
Thats the one that I cross my fingers and trust the team around me.
Look at the crowds, all these interviews going on.
To be nominated is astonishing, to play here is amazing.
I kept saying Im not a singer.
It was in character.
The Ferrymannow has a new cast in New York led byBrian dArcy James.
They did such an amazing job, the show delivered beyond my wildest expectations.
I think were lucky that we have some absolute heavyweights out there.
This is not a replacement cast, this is no B team.
Your partner, Jez Butterworth, wrote the playout of your own familys history.
What was it like to play that?Its largely my mothers experience of the world.
Its incredible to be able to get up onstage every night and feel so at home on it.
The whole time Im aware that Im telling somebodys real story.
I was like,If Nathan Lane thinks its funny, Im going in the right direction.
Which is terrible, but then the play will switch on a dime.
Hes also made me cry.
You had to step into this role after Andrea Martinbroke her ribs.
What was that like?You just put blinders on.
I love Taylor Mac, Id doneHir,and I embrace that worldview.
Theres so much going on inGary, from piles of dead bodies to blood to dancing penises.
Its not cartoonish, its heightened and its camp-ish and its burlesque, but its real.
It was a delicate little dance that we had to do.
We tried to make it work, but then her pain was so absolute.
But they rose to the occasion, and theyre brilliant.
He really has shown his magic.
Then its too bad he wasnt nominated.It fucking is.
Pardon my French, but it is one of the most upsetting things of the year besides climate change.
It pissed me off that he wasnt nominated.
Its a lot of physics, and definitely a number of people have gotten hit in the head.
You get a great big Act Two number as Persephone with the solo Our Lady of the Underground.
I get into the gravelly part of my voice, I like to play around with certain sounds.
Its like a real clown exercise in that way, and I deeply enjoy that as a performer.
Playing Hades, you have to hit these incredibly low notes when you sing.
Whats the lowest note?Its a G below the staff, the lowest G on the keyboard.
Youve played this role for several years as the musical has developed.
What makes it all possible is to have such a brilliant acting partner in Amber Gray.
Id never had to do the show without her, so I think my performance would probably fall apart.
Tell me about the process forthis play.Lucas is super-collaborative and loves working with the actors.
Hes so open to all the input.
Whole ideas have come in and also been cut.
What if, instead of me supporting you all those years, itd been the other way around?
and its since been cut, but then its been replaced by this whole other speech.
You get attached to stuff and then its gone.
There are some cultural references that maybe resonate less and others more loudly.
KingLear
Youre playing both Cordelia and the Fool inthis production.
Do you see a connection between the characters?I approach them as completely distinct.
Theyre both the truth speakers of the piece.
I dont get to do that very often.
Will [Chase] is extremely funny, were laughing constantly.
Its a lighthearted situation.
You started onOklahoma!at Bard in 2007.
When we did it the second time, Obama was president and theyd just affirmed marriage equality.
When we did it at St. Anns, Trump was president and Kavanaughs hearings were going on.
And now were at Circle in the Square.
The worlds changed and the shows gotten deeper and more personal and more confident.
Thats unique for me.
Ive been acknowledged and looked at my entire life for my chair and for overcoming my disability.
Its really wonderful when theyre rapt and theyre horrified and theyre in it.
You mix batter onstage with milk and eggs and corn-bread mix at the top of the show.
Thats not actually baked into something, right?Thats thrown out.
You wouldnt want to eat that!
The eggs are real, but you just wouldnt want to eat that.
Whats it like playing that scene?Its one of my favorite parts of the whole experience.
The filming illuminates the underbelly, as it were.
How do you approach it?Well, I certainly bring the fruit part!
But its one of the most celebratory moments that Ive ever had to do onstage.
Its a nice peek into a private, celebratory, moving, regretful moment and also fun and funny.
Ryan Murphy announced he was doinga film versionofThe Promfor Netflix.
The energy will be the same.
Congrats to you and Caitlin Kinnunen youre both nominated in the same category forThe Prom.Its like family.
Im thrilled for her and shes thrilled for me.
Your character, Dee Dee Allen, isa big Broadway diva.
I put on that 12-pound sequined gown, Im good to go.
Its like,Oh, here she is.The cast all meet together backstage before the curtain comes up.
Downbeat, then were ready to go.
I was like, Mom, oh my God!
ToKillaMockingbird
Aaron Sorkinhas talked aboutwanting to find something different in Atticus Finch in writing the play.
Mockingbirdgot nine nominations but didnt get nominated for Best Play.
I lovedWhat the Constitution Means to Me.I loveGary.I loveThe Ferryman.
Im really happy for the nominees that were included.
Its a way to ingratiate yourself.
Hes learning that not everyone possesses those traits.
If we dont, then you just head to the Sour Patch Kids.
Is that how Juilliard teaches actors to get into character?
Tootsie
You directed bothKiss Me, KateandTootsiein quick succession.
I was so happy whenKiss Me, Kateopened.
I was like, Oh, thank God.
Youre playing a part that was played by Jessica Lange on film.
Its still very much alive, and were still fine-tuning the best performance.
Hes Bill Murray, so what are you going to do?
Im not going to do my Bill Murray impression, no one wants to see that.
One of your big moments is singing this very dense, very fast song.
Now it will never leave my head, its running on a loop constantly.
Ive had all this PT done on my neck muscles, because theyre so overworked.
My massage therapist is like,What are you doing?I have three hours of it every week.
People always ask me where I breathe in the song and I say, Oh, the applause!
WhattheConstitutionMeanstoMe
What was your reaction to your double nomination?Utter shock.
The whole trajectory of the show has been thrilling and unexpected.
This is not where I imagined it would end up.
That debate at the end of the show is about whether to keep or abolish the Constitution.
I remember you saying people decide to abolish itabout one in five times.
Has that ratio changed?Its remained exactly the same.
Young people abolish it.
European people abolish it a lot.
TheWaverlyGallery
This play was originally performed Off Broadway in 2000.
There was something about the frailty that Elaine May brought to the play.
SpecialTonyAwardforLifetimeAchievementintheTheatre
Youre currently performing inMy Fair Ladyas Mrs. Higgins.
He said that Dame Diana Rigg was leaving and would I be interested in taking her place?
Was it an immediate yes?I said Id like to think about it, of course.
Jennifer Ehle, my daughter, said the first thing I should do is see the show.
IsabelleStevensonTonyAward
What made you start doing this work?My friends were dying.
I dont hold myself up as the only person that did that.
