@ This Stage Podcast

 

Don’t tell Helen Hunt she’s in her third act.

The 47-year-old Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning multi-hyphenate is too busy playing the Bard’s fiercely independent Beatrice in The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’ limited run production of Much Ado About Nothing opening December 12 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Or making Thornton Wilder’s iconic Stage Manager her own this past July in Barrow Street Theatre’s record-breaking David Cromer-helmed revival of Our Town in the West Village.

Not to mention co-starring as Liev Schreiber’s wife in the January release Every Day, directing an episode of her former Mad About You co-star Paul Reiser’s new self-titled NBC series, nailing a long board stunt on Oahu’s North Shore for the upcoming feature Soul Surfer or penning her own surf culture film.

“How many acts [in life] are there?” she inquires dryly while seated in a chilly Brentwood church anteroom following rehearsal on the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving. “Is three the last? Shakespeare has five acts in this play so I’m going to hope that’s what we’re talking about!” she laughs then coughs. Hunt is fighting off something, and LA’s unseasonable cold snap coupled with the room’s low thermostat doesn’t help matters.

Dressed in a grey cowl neck sweater, mid-length black skirt and boots, with a red and black checkered wool coat placed over the chair back behind her, the former child star appears tired but focused. Words matter to her. Those she selects are precise and thoughtful, never frivolous. Sans make-up, long blonde hair scattered about her shoulders and posture erect, she conveys an earnest artist persona despite having just emerged from fine tuning one of theater’s most beloved comedic heroines. Off stage, time is a precious commodity and spending it discussing a project she’s passionate about reveals a director mind trained to make every minute count.

Hunt is certainly no stranger to comedy or those concocted by Shakespeare. In 1990, she played Bianca in Shakespeare in the Park’s staging of Taming of the Shrew starring Tracey Ullman and Morgan Freeman followed by Viola in the 1998 Lincoln Center production of Twelfth Night. In between she won four Emmys and four Golden Globes for the hit sitcom Mad About You plus an Oscar and Golden Globe for 1998’s As Good As it Gets opposite Jack Nicholson. This latest foray would not be happening without her keen interest in exploring the classic role.

“He’s written a brilliant thinker in Beatrice and it’s fun to get to bring that to life,” Hunt explains. “She is at the mercy of her own brilliant mind: it serves her and then it doesn’t serve her, then it serves her again and that’s really the joy of the part. What I’ve discovered more than anything in the rehearsal process is Beatrice and Benedick are not the same–I don’t know exactly what Tom [Irwin her co-star] is doing because that’s not my business–but Beatrice is just a joyous woman who is yes, liberated and outspoken and incredibly quick in her mind, but she is also enjoying her life and that’s really fun to play.”

SCLA celebrates its 25th anniversary with the Much Ado mounting and the Kirk Douglas location, made possible by a special arrangement with the Center Theatre Group, marks the organization’s first traditional proscenium production. Founded by its Executive Artistic Director Ben Donenberg in 1985 with a free production of Twelfth Night in Pershing Square, SCLA has since presented ambitious LA-centric, site-specific and often outdoor performances of Shakespeare alongside its nationally recognized youth outreach program Will Power to Youth,

Editor’s Note: Caroline Aaron and Marilu Henner are reunited onstage in Charles Busch’s revised version of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, directed by Jeff Maynard, at La Mirada Theatre of the Performing Arts. Previously, they appeared together on Broadway in Andrew Bergman’s 1986 comedy Social Security directed by Mike Nichols. The Tale cast features Richard Sabitri, Eileen T’Kaye and Geoffrey Wade. Caroline, who plays the Allergist’s Wife Marjorie Taub, and Marilu, who is her strange visitor Lee Green, took a break during rehearsals and interviewed each other.

Caroline Aaron: All right, I am going to start because you have done this part before. So here is what I want to know. How is this Lee Green different from your last Lee Green?

Marilu Henner: Well, first of all it was eight years ago.

CA: Have you ever reprised a role before?

MH: Just Grease. I played Marty so many times in Grease. It was like I’d do Grease then I’d go out and do another show and then go back to Grease which was like my unemployment, you know. Instead of going on unemployment I’d go onto Grease. But it was very different. I mean first of all, the musical is different.

CA: It is different. You are revisiting songs and stuff like that. I mean, I know a musical tells a story but this [Allergist’s Wife] is such a whole story and you have such an incredible character. The character is defined by the relationships in the play.

MH: Absolutely.

CA: Because you don’t find out anything else about her life except within the story of the play. There is no other back-story except for the one she mirrors to the people on stage. But really it’s almost like she doesn’t come alive until she is in the presence of people, right?

MH: Right. That’s why it’s so easy for the audience to believe she might be a ghost.

CA: That’s why I think more than any other role you might reprise, the relationships in this are going to change it. So now let’s say in some ways this is a love story.

MH: Right.

CA: And it’s a love story between our two characters. Okay so now you are changing love objects, right?

MH: Yeah.

LISTEN TO A CLIP OF MARILU AND CAROLINE INTERVIEWING EACH OTHER

CA: How did Lee change?

MH: Well first of all it’s just two completely different times in my life and so you know of course as an actor you are always bringing your life to the stage anyway and it totally informs your character. I think because I was going through a divorce at the time, my children were little, I was living at my sister’s home in New York, I was working on a book… you know there were so many other things going on in my life it was feeling kind of like looking for a place to land.

CA: So you could bring that to her?

MH: I could bring that to her and also as my sister said I could have been a little bit on the prowl that summer. (laughter) So, there was that feeling. And now I am so happily married to the love of my life, my children are older, I know they are in a safe place, so it’s not like I am worried about what’s going on in my life.

CA: And you are home.

MH: And I am home. It’s a completely different thing so I understand Lee’s journey better and that means even more to me.

CA: Okay so now that’s the part you bring in with you, right?

MH: Yes.

CA: So now what I am interested in is…

MH: What happens when I am there?

CA: Right. When you first played the role you had a relationship with Rhea Perlman.

MH: Yes.

CA: Who was your love interest the last go around and now you have a relationship with me that’s also ...

OPENING NITE CHAT: After nearly three weeks of previews, Leap of Faith has officially opened at the Ahmanson. The cast appears to have had ample time to comfortably settle into their roles and the crew has beautifully delivered the perfect splash of excitement to the finale. Raul Esparza, talented four-time Tony nominee, delivers a performance that shows why he received the accolades but Brooke Shields is a delightful surprise. She holds the stage with a presence and simplicity that meshes nicely with her singing voice. Esparza’s soul-filled 11-o’clock number “Jonas’ Soliloquy” particularly awed the audience; not an easy feat since it followed Nicholas Barasch (young crippled son of Shields) raising his angelic voice in the show stopping “People Like Us.”

Observed enjoying the evening: Jimmy Smits, the gorgeous Vanessa Williams, Ben Vereen, the elegant Susan Sullivan and Eric McCormack. The opening night party was held at J Restaurant on Olive. Given the size of the crowd, the venue was somewhat uncomfortable and the waiters carrying trays of hot finger-food quickly vanished as they appeared to run out of appetizers (except for cheese and crackers) early in the evening. The tiny squares of desert cheesecakes were scrumptious. Overheard among the attendees: “It’s so dark I can’t see if the cast is here.” “Are there any drinks? Is it really a no-host bar?” “Loved the young boy. What a voice.” “Don’t bother going upstairs, there’s even less space to move.” “Esparza reminded me of a young Al Pacino.” “No. Andy Garcia.” “Loved the gospel and that big sistah has the voice of life. She’s amazing. So is the guy who plays her son.” The “sistah and son” were Kecia Lewis-Evans and Leslie Odom, Jr. Directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford, Leap continues through Oct. 24.

THE BOOK NOOK: Patti LuPone: A Memoir is everything you might expect from an actress known for her outspoken honesty as well as her talent. The little Sicilian girl from Northport, Long Island is always just beneath the surface and never permits LuPone to stray from telling it like it is. When revealing the struggles encountered throughout her huge success as Evita, the one name she doesn’t divulge (for whatever reason), described as her “subversive alternate,” can easily be “googled.” By all accounts, the first American actor to win an Olivier, twice nominated for an Emmy, winner of two Tony Awards (also a five-time nominee) and holding two Grammy awards, LuPone can be considered a “star.” Yet, perhaps what makes her admired by peers both successful and not may be the fact she is never far removed from the insanity associated with becoming an actor. The memoir candidly unveils her painful on again off again seven-year romance with Kevin Kline, the never-ending requests to audition despite noted success and numerous battles with anyone threatening her integrity or beliefs (including people who had the power to hire and fire). And fired she was, in a devastating manner, by Andrew Lloyd Webber. But, most of all LuPone courageously allows readers to witness her deepest fears, embarrassment and disappointments. For example, regarding Evita, “I had just done the biggest show on Broadway and at this point the rest of the world was thinking I was a huge Broadway star. But the reality is it’s not what you think it is. It never is. Goddammit.” Whether you are a struggling actor, a LuPone admirer or someone who just loves knowing what happens behind the proscenium, you’ll love this intimate look at the lady, her life and the biz. Written with Digby Diehl, the book includes nearly 100 photos and an eight page full-color insert, published by Crown/Random House…The Lee Strasberg Notes, edited by Lola Cohen,

The stage is alive with the sound of Cricket. That’s Cricket S. Myers who is so ubiquitous on the Los Angeles theatre scene a regular patron cannot attend often without hearing her work.

As a sound designer Myers infuses so many local productions with aural augmentations she reels off a resume full of hits and reels in recognition for those hits with auspicious alacrity. In the last year alone she captivated Ovation voters to honor her with four nominations for Battle Hymn presented by Circle X Theatre at [Inside] the Ford, Mary’s Wedding at the Colony and two at the Kirk Douglas, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and The Little Dog Laughed. This brings her Ovation total to 10 nominations in a mere three years.

She first heard her calling while a freshman at her Michigan high school. She relates, “My mother who teaches there ran the drama club. She encouraged me to try out for the school play, Toad of Toad Hall. I was cast as one of the ferrets. I don’t remember a lot about that production except all us ferrets were costumed in these cute flowery dresses. We were the villains but it’s hard to be evil when you’re dressed in flowers.

“I quickly found out I have extreme stage fright. I coped with it because I could sort of conceal myself among the other ferrets. I knew though acting wasn’t for me. But I met the most amazing people backstage. I became enchanted with their energy and their passion. I wasn’t meant to be onstage but I couldn’t keep away from that energy. Our high school did two plays a year and I worked on all of them in all kinds of capacities, working my way up to stage managing my senior year.”

She let herself be talked into taking one last stab at an onstage appearance her senior year. “My friend who directed Memorandum persuaded me to play the secretary. I didn’t have many lines. I mostly had to sit there brushing my hair. I managed to handle that okay.”

Cricket Myers – Audio Sample “Door Roll Closed” from Haram Iran

She then headed off to Colorado College in Colorado Springs where she earned her BA in theatre. She says, “When you’re 18, you just want to get out of your own town. That wasn’t the only reason I went there though. Colorado College doesn’t offer the normal semester of classes. They’re on the block plan where you immerse yourself. You go to one class all day five days a week for three and a half weeks. Then you take four days off and start the next class. The classes are structured for maximum focus on a discipline. For example I took an astronomy class that met from 9 pm to midnight which allowed us to concentrate fully on our subject.”

If that system precipitated great benefits in studying the celestial bodies, Myers truly harvested an untold abundance when she shifted her stargazing to the luminaries of the theatre. She explains, “They have two different campus facilities in addition to the main campus. One is about a half hour away. The other consists of some cabins about three hours away. When we studied Shakespeare, our professor took us to the cabins because he wanted us removed from the distractions of everyday campus activities.

“Another class required us to see and discuss as many plays as possible. Well you can’t see too many plays in Colorado in three and a half weeks so that professor took the whole class to London. Each student chipped in $500 plus air fare but we got a refund from our dorm fees and cafeteria tickets for that time which just about covered our costs.”

Armed with her BA, Myers wanted more and decided to aim for a graduate degree but took a brief detour with an internship at Midland Community Theatre in Texas.

Tuesday, Jan. 27 representatives of three of LA’s larger theaters gather to discuss critics and arts coverage with Larry Mantle on KPCC.

Can Theater Survive Without Theater Critics?

Recent reports of the elimination of theater critic, writer and editor positions at several Southern California newspapers comes as a blow to Los Angeles’ stage community. How will the decline in media coverage of the theater arts affect the arts in LA? Larry Mantle talks about the problem with Geffen Playhouse producing director Gilbert Cates, Pasadena Playhouse artistic director Sheldon Epps and Center Theatre Group artistic director Michael Ritchie.

Listen to a full broadcast of the January 27th episode of AirTalk by clicking here (including lead story about SAG negotiations).

Bad Apples  Rubicon Theatre Company  8-16

Arsenic and Old Lace  Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Company 8-17  ½ price TIX!

The Weekly Armenian  Open at the Top Productions 8-17  ½ price TIX!

Arms & the Man  Little Fish Theatre 8-17  ½ price TIX!

Confessions of a Catholic Child   The Virtual Theatre Project 8-18

The Hasty Heart  Pacific Resident Theatre 8-18  ½ price TIX!

Taking Flight  Fountain Theatre 8-18  ½ price TIX!

Invasion! The Musical  Flying Pig Productions 8-18  ½ price TIX!