This week we welcomed the wondrous Jennifer Simard to the swanky M&V virtual studio. Jennifer has nabbed a Tony nomination for her performance as the jujitsu fiend Sarah in Marianne Elliott’s revival of “Company.” This is her second nomination after her tour de force as the slot-machine-humping Sister Mary Downy in “Disaster!”

Jennifer describes herself as a character actress, and we were happy to hear her make a proud case for that specific type. What she was too modest to say is that she is also one of the funniest actors currently working the boards. Perhaps you saw her as Ernestina in the Bette Midler revival of “Hello, Dolly,” or as Miss Hannigan in “Annie” at the MUNY in St. Louis.

She had great wisdom to impart during our conversation, and aspiring actors would be well advised to take her tips to heart. She also shared an anecdote about a close encounter of the mucus kind with her “Company” co-star Christopher Sieber. You won’t be able to unhear that story.

To wrap up the episode, we went over some shows we’ve seen recently:

Elisabeth was impressed by the Encores! revival of “Into the Woods,” even though she certainly did not need to see this show again.

Peter saw several world premieres in Washington, including Studio Theatre’s “John Proctor is the Villain” by Kimberly Belflower, who he thought has written one of the best plays since the return of theater. He also spent time with Carol Burnett on the occasion of her receiving the Stephen Sondheim Award from Signature Theatre in Arlington, Va.

Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marksvincentelli.substack.com/subscribe