Chatting About Culture with Mr. Crane

There's a pretty good chance that David Hyde Pierce won't see this. That's because when I interviewed him for Continental magazine a few months back and I asked him about whether he uses social media and is on Facebook or Twitter, the erstwhile Niles Crane responded rather quickly and tersely, "I'd rather die." Alright, fine. So that subject was a dead end. But thankfully, there was plenty else for us to discuss, and some of that conversation is now on planes and on the magazine's website for all to read.

No surprise, the man folks know from his TV, film, and stage roles is not much different from the man I "met" on the phone back in August. He was well spoken, even-keeled, polite, and calm, and happy to chat about subjects as varied as Alzheimer's research and the difference between theater audiences in New York and London. I thought he'd be turned off by a question or two about Frasier, the show on which he starred for 11 years, but instead he told me he's always happy to talk about it. "I have only been blessed and not been cursed by 11 years of Niles," he said of the role for which he won four Emmy awards.

Pierce and I conducted the interview so he could promote his role in the current Broadway revival of La Bête, which opened in mid-October and is scheduled to close in early January. In the play, Pierce plays a sophisticated director who clashes with a boorish performer, and that gave me the perfect opportunity to ask him for his thoughts on the current state of pop culture. I figured he'd have something to say about the gap between silly reality shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and more substantial fare, and I was right:

"There’s always going to be a large market for crap, and there’s always going to be a smaller market for high art. And the really great works of theater are the ones that manage to bridge the gap. Shakespeare did that. He had his clowns smack in the middle of Hamlet because he understood not only the theater, but that life is a mixture of extreme comedy and extreme tragedy. Life very seldom separates itself into one or the other. The things I’ve been drawn to, Frasier included, are things that mix both the high art and low art, or comedy and seriousness."

It was truly a pleasure to speak with David Hyde Pierce. If you'd like to read my article, just click here.

Everybody Loves Kristin

Kristin Chenoweth — the original Glinda in Wicked, the boozy April Rhodes on Glee, the Tony-winning star of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and an Emmy winner for her role on Pushing Daisies — is one of those actresses who everybody knows and everybody loves. So when I got the chance to interview her recently for Continental magazine, it was definitely a thrill. Chenoweth was just as sweet and nice and fun and bubbly as I'd expected her to be, and she gave me "good quote," which I used in the article I wrote about her, which is now live.

I interviewed Chenoweth because she's back on Broadway in the first-ever revival of Promises, Promises. If you've never heard of this musical, it's based on the Oscar-winning film The Apartment, which starred Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Chenoweth stars as Fran Kubelik (the MacLaine role), who is having an affair with an executive who will never commit to her. Sean Hayes, from Will & Grace, makes his Broadway debut as Chuck Baxter (the Lemmon role), a coworker of Kubelik's who has a crush on her. Baxter rises up the corporate ladder because he's gotten in with some horny executives, to whom he rents out his apartment each week so they can (individually) hook up with their mistresses. (Martin Lieberman fun fact: In high school, I was in a production of Promises, Promises, and I played one of those executives, a guy named Eichelberger.) Mix in a book by comedy God Neil Simon, great music from Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and an early 1960s Mad Men-esque setting, and you've got a fun, poignant, timeless and yet totally current musical.

As I learned during our chat, Chenoweth and I were both in productions of Promises, Promises when we were younger. "I was Fran, and I had a very limited understanding of what this girl was going through," she told me. "Now, I know." Regarding Fran, Chenoweth continued, "this is a woman who has spent a lot of time with the wrong man hoping it’s going to be different. And I don’t care who you are, I know just about every woman in my life has a story like that. It doesn’t even matter how old you are. You can be 19 or you can be 40. That’s something that stands the test of time."

Of course, I also asked Chenoweth why she thought Wicked has touched such a chord in so many people. "There is in every one of us a little bit of Elphaba and a little bit of Glinda," she explained. "Elphaba, who is green and is immediately outcast because of that, actually has quite a tough little exterior but is not so tough on the inside. Glinda is pretty on the outside, but what drives her? Insecurity. And then she grows into heartbreak. The show is about love and forgiveness and friendship, and those are the reasons why it has become a classic. Nothing makes me prouder than to have been a part of something like that."

So that's just a taste of what we discussed. If you'd like to read the whole article, go right ahead and click here. Enjoy!

I Could Be Stamos' Wingman

Over the course of the nearly 7.5 years that I worked on Continental magazine, I was lucky enough to interview a fair number of big-name celebrities, including Nathan Lane, Jennifer Hudson, Mitch Albom, Jesse L. Martin, Ginnifer Goodwin, Idina Menzel, Jason Lee, Joan Allen, Jason Mraz, Roger Bart, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. But I have to say, none of them was as much fun to chat with as John Stamos, who I recently interviewed for a freelance article in the magazine (my first such assignment since I left that job). And of course, I'm telling you this because the article is now online.

I spoke (by phone) with the erstwhile Uncle Jesse, who is currently starring on Broadway in a revival of Bye Bye Birdie, and the real bummer was that the article was so short and couldn't adequately convey just how cool John was. I mean, he volunteered to dish on the Olsen twins (I said no thanks, that I knew all I needed to know about them). We discussed how we're both single, and how we could go out together and be each other's wingman (full disclosure: the wingman thing was my idea — but he agreed). He mocked his buddy Bob Saget (something he does often), and spoke affectionately about another good friend, Don Rickles. And he was just so easy to talk with, so charming, so open, and so nice, that I wished I could have extended the chat longer than my allotted time.

If you're interested, here are some quick quotes from our interview that fell on the editing floor.

On "creating" a role in a new Broadway production, after stepping into other productions in the past when they were midway through their runs: "I’m happy that I got to do the other stuff first because I think I needed to pay my dues. And maybe I wasn’t ready before to do what I’m doing now. So I think I’ve worked for it. This wasn’t just handed to me. And I’m up for the challenge."

On maintaining his youthful appearance: "I take care of myself for the most part. People who aren’t from Hollywood, they say it’s special creams and ointments. But I guess genetically I’ve just been lucky to hold on to my youth. I’ve never had any plastic surgery or done Botox."

On his time on ER: "It was the best. It was the best adult role that I’ve gotten to play. And probably, with how challenging it was, the best time I’ve ever had on television. I mean, Full House was fun, but on ER I felt like a real actor. And I worked with some really incredible people that I learned a lot from."

If you're flying Continental during the month of November, you'll see my article on page 52. If not, just click here to read it. And of course, if you're in New York, go see John's show!

Lights Up on Washington Heights

Just a quick public congrats to Lin-Manuel Miranda, who won a Tony Award Sunday night for Best Original Score of a Musical for his In the Heights. His show also won Best Musical. And while Lin did lose Best Lead Actor in a Musical, I'd say he still had an impressive evening. Why do I care about this? Well, in case you've forgotten, I interviewed Lin for Continental, and his win continues a decent streak I've had of picking Tony nominees and winners. So yeah, congrats to Lin and congrats to me.

"King" of Broadway

The announcement today that Whoppi Goldberg will host the Tony Awards this year reminded me that I never put up a link to my story about likely nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of the Broadway show In the Heights. Lin-Manuel, who is only 28, started writing his show when he was a sophomore at Wesleyan and never expected to act in it. But his collaborators found that no one knew the show's freestyle raps as well as he did, and thus, somewhere along the way to Broadway, Lin-Manuel became the star. The rest, as they say, is history.

A quick anecdote: The first time I called Lin-Manuel, I got his outgoing voice mail message. It gave a quick idea of what kind of guy he was. "Hello, you've reached [with an accent] Lin-Manuel Miranda, or in English, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Leave a message at the beep." For some reason, I found that really funny. When we spoke, Lin-Manuel was quick-witted, fast-talking, and very engaging; it was a really enjoyable interview. And for more insights about Lin-Manuel, check out his YouTube channel, where you can watch, among other things, Lin-Manuel lip-synching and dancing to "King of Wishful Thinking" from the Pretty Woman soundtrack. Actually, the video is so priceless that I've embedded it below.

Anyway, here's a link to my article so you can read it if you'd like. We'll find out Tuesday morning if Lin-Manuel is among those who've been nominated for a Tony. I'd wish him all the luck in the world, but I really don't think he needs it. Chances are good this guy will collect not just one but a couple statues when they're awarded next month. Good for him.

Raise this Roof

Hey there. Just a quick plug because an article I've written is now live on the Interweb for you to read and enjoy. It's about the new Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which for the first time features an all-African-American cast. I interviewed Debbie Allen (who you most likely know from the TV show Fame), and, well, you can see what she had to say right here.

Bart and Martin

Mitzi, Fetus, and I went to see Young Frankenstein on Broadway Thursday night. The show's been so heavily hyped and it has such a great pedigree and it's based on such a classic movie ... so how could it not be a disappointment? I don't want to go into too much detail, but I'll say the conventional line that while YF is entertaining, it's no The Producers: it's not as funny and none of the songs are as memorable. That said, the sets are huge and impressive, as are the special effects, and Andrea Martin, who plays Frau Blücher, and Christopher Fitzgerald, who plays Igor (pronounced "eye-gor," of course), are both really good. And Roger Bart ...

Well, you may recall that I interviewed Roger Bart for Continental's November issue. When we spoke, he suggested I come and say hello when I see the show. So after the curtain fell, and he changed into his street clothes, we got to spend a few minutes with Roger in his undecorated but spacious dressing room. He was really nice, very welcoming, and totally laid back, especially considering that just 15 minutes earlier he was giving a pretty manic performance on stage in front of 1,800 people. Roger told me he thought my article was "very sweet," and he was surprisingly candid about what it's like to perform in such a large theater (the Hilton Theatre is bigger than the St. James, where The Producers was, and yet it's smaller than the theater in Seattle where YF played a tryout run over the summer). Of course, it was totally awkward given that Roger and I really don't know each other, so we didn't overstay our welcome. But it was very cool of Roger to invite me back in the first place.

All the other major cast members — including Megan Mullally and the adorable Sutton Foster — were hanging out in the hallway outside the dressing rooms after the show, so I took the opportunity (with Roger's dresser's permission) to quickly introduce myself to Sutton, who I had interviewed in 2005 for another Continental story. And when she stopped right in front of me, I told Megan she did a nice job, though I don't think she heard me because she and Andrea Martin were a bit preoccupied with something. (Megan had been on Live with Regis and Kelly that morning, and she was giving Reege a hard time because he hadn't come backstage when he saw the show. I just wanted her to know that I didn't make the same mistake.) And it was all pretty cool. Mitzi and I hung out with Idina Menzel in 2004 when we saw Wicked (I also interviewed her for Continental), but that theater wasn't half as nice as the Hilton is. So, all told, a pretty exciting night for us.

Monster Man

The new Continental magazine is now on planes, and in it is my profile of Roger Bart, who you may recognize from his roles as Carmen Ghia in The Producers, George the psychotic pharmacist on Desperate Housewives, or the federal prosecutor who gets into it with Russell Crowe in American Gangster. Bart was a really fun interview, and I’d like to think the story at least partly captures that.

Because of a limited word count, there was much I couldn’t fit into the story. One thing Bart and I talked about at length was the idea that as a character actor, people really have no idea what he’s like off-stage and off-camera. The main reason for that is Bart’s decision to keep taking on roles that are way out there. “One of the reasons I’m most comfortable with those roles — and most character actors are — is because I find myself very liberated when I’m behind a character,” he told me. “The cool thing about not having the world know me is that I can continue to leak aspects of my personality out, and whatever I want to expose, I have more control over that. People who know me very well say, ‘Well, that’s where he begins and ends, and everything else is just a funny hat.’ The more mysterious you are to the public, the more you can get away with.” And we laughed at the fact that a guy so well known for playing such effeminate roles (see also Stepford Wives) also starred in Hostel: Part II, where he was castrated and got to say such lines as “I am fucking Hercules!”

As I noted above, Bart also has a brief role in American Gangster, where he gets to bark his dialogue at Russell Crowe, who he also shared the screen with in The Insider. Here's a quick anecdote Bart told me about reteaming with Crowe: “This is the second movie I am in with Russell Crowe. In the first one, he was a little rude to me, and this time I get a chance to say ‘fuck you’ to him. So when we were reading it, he turned to me and said, ‘You’ve been dying to say this to me ever since The Insider, haven’t you?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I have.’”

Anyway, the reason for the article is that Bart has stepped into the Gene Wilder role in Mel Brooks' new Broadway adaptation of Young Frankenstein. “This whole show is, for me, a statement about stem cell research. [Director] Eli Roth told me Hostel 2 was about Hurricane Katrina. So that’s where I’m coming from,” Bart joked with me. Seriously, though, I hear Frankenstein is really good; I'll be seeing it in early December and will let you know what I think then. For now, if you'd like to read it, you can find my article here.

Totally Legal

Thought I'd put up a link to my story in the new issue of Continental magazine. As you can see, it's the cover story and it's about Laura Bell Bundy, who plays Elle Woods in the new Broadway adaptation of Legally Blonde. Reviews of the show (which opened Sunday night) have been mixed, but some critics (like the ones at Variety and The New York Times) say it's a lot of fun and that Bundy gives a very good performance. A year ago I interviewed LaChanze, who won the Tony for her performance in The Color Purple. In 2004 I interviewed Idina Menzel and then she won the Tony for Wicked. (I had an off year in 2005 when Sutton Foster didn't win for Little Women). Will my pick win this year? You can count on me to keep you in the loop, though not as obsessively as I did with Jennifer Hudson. For now, here's a link to my Laura Bell Bundy story. Enjoy.

For the Kids

As Robbie Williams would say, we were "doin' it for the kids" today. Despite cooler, wetter weather than last year, WalkAmerica was still a good time, and it was all for a good cause. I walked with eight of my coworkers (to support our client, Continental Airlines, which is an official sponsor of WalkAmerica) and we all did it within two hours. That's not bad, considering it was a loop from the Hatch Shell, down Storrow Drive to Western Ave, and then back down Memorial Drive to the Museum of Science, and back to the Hatch Shell (a total of about 6.5 miles). And yes, there was Montilio's cake waiting for us when we got to the finish line, so that made it doubly worth it. I'm pleased to say I raised $468, which is $118 more than last year (why 18? click here for that answer), so let me take this opportunity to publicly thank all who contributed. (If you still want to donate, you can. Just click here.) Now I can take a load off and relax before it's back to work tomorrow.

Keep On Walking

Since I enjoyed it so much last year, I’ll be taking part in March of Dimes’ annual WalkAmerica again later this month. As was the case last year, I’m going to be fundraising and walking, but because I’m not a fan of charity solicitations, I’m not going to be sending out mass emails asking for donations. Instead, I'm posting this appeal, and there’s a link on the right side of this blog. I might also chime in every now and then with an update on my “training," but that's it. No hard sell, no guilt trip from me.

Last year I walked largely to support my company's efforts to support our client, Continental Airlines, which is the official airline of the March of Dimes' National Ambassador program and of WalkAmerica. It was a really worthwhile and successful day for both me and my coworkers, so I'm more than happy to support the cause again. And a worthy cause it is: if you don't know, March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

I hope you will choose to help me either with your donation, your words of support, or even with your participation — the Walk is on April 29 at the Hatch Shell, and we make a six-mile loop around the Charles. Come on out and walk with us! The more the merrier.

Thank you in advance for your contributions and support.

Foresight is 20/20

File this post under: Patting myself on the back; Ego stroking

Watching the Golden Globes Monday night, I was struck by how cool it is to know that I interviewed Jennifer Hudson before she became, well, Jennifer Hudson, Golden Globe winner, big huge star, and likely Oscar winner. So allow me to re-post a link to my story from the December issue of Continental magazine, and to send some public props out to Todd, who helped me set up the interview back in, like, September. And if you still haven't seen Dreamgirls, well, what are you waiting for? I've seen it twice and I'd gladly see it again. And again.

Maybe my review isn't enough and you need some further proof of how good the movie — and Jennifer herself — is. So here's a link to Jen's recent appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, where she performed "I'm Changing," or you can just watch it below. I'm so impressed that I got to chat with Jennifer on the way up. It's so cool. And I can't wait to say that I interviewed an Oscar winner. That's much cooler than being able to say I interviewed a Tony winner.

Anyway, enjoy this clip of Jennifer Hudson on Letterman and go see the movie.

Dreamy

If you're at all interested, just wanted to point out that my profile of Jennifer Hudson, which appears in the new issue of Continental, is now online. Jennifer, you may recall, was a finalist on American Idol a few years ago (the year Fantasia won), and she's likely to be an Oscar-winner for her role in the new movie, Dreamgirls. I got to chat with her on the way up, which I thought was pretty cool.

Also in this issue is a story about the new show High Fidelity, which opens on Broadway this week (it's based on the movie and book). You may recall I saw the show when it was in Boston a couple months back, and while I didn't love it, I did think the music was good. Anyway, I hope the show does well regardless.

A Real Show Man

The Tony Awards were handed out last night, and for the fourth year in a row, Continental has proven to be a positive jinx. What I mean is, whatever we've had on the cover of our May issue has won. In 2003, it was Marissa Jaret Winokur, who won best actress for Hairspray. In 2004, it was Idina Menzel, who won best actress for Wicked. Last year, it was Spamalot, which won best musical. And this year, it was LaChanze, who won best actress for The Color Purple. The cooler part, at least for me, is that I interviewed Idina Menzel and LaChanze thinking both would be a front-runner for the award. I also interviewed Sutton Foster, who was nominated last year and this year (though she didn't win either year), and suggested profiling Winokur back in 2003. So, because my Tony prognostication skills are apparently quite good, I just thought I'd gloat for a minute on here. Congrats, LaChanze!

Purple Read

Another story of mine has gone live online, so I thought I'd post a link. I interviewed LaChanze, the star of Broadway's The Color Purple, for the May issue of Continental. Just click on the link to check it out. There's also a story about Martin Short, who'll be coming to Broadway in August. Someone else wrote that one, though.

Walk This Way

Since it's one week from today, just thought I'd post another plug for WalkAmerica, in which I'll be participating next Sunday here in Boston. As you may know, aside from being a great excuse to walk for six miles around the Charles River, this is a fundraising event to help in the fight against birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. (If you want to learn more, click here to read a recent story from Continental magazine.) Like so many out there, it is such a worthy cause and I'm looking forward to being a part of this special event. If you are up to it, please help by making a donation. My company is generously matching all money raised by employes, so whether you give $5, $10, $20, $50 or any other amount (and anything you feel comfortable giving is appreciated), consider that doubled. Donating is easy, just click here. Thanks in advance.

Big Story

If you're like me, you watch Grey's Anatomy on Sunday nights at 10p.m. But maybe you're not like me, in which case you watch Big Love on HBO at that time. And in that case, you know Ginnifer Goodwin, who stars as Margene, one of Bill Paxton's three wives. (She was also in Walk the Line and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!) I had the chance to interview Ginnifer a couple months ago for Continental magazine and the article I wrote is now online. Just click here to read it. I also interviewed Ginnifer for Student Advantage Magazine and that article will be online in a couple weeks.

You may be interested in that name of hers, so here's a little outtake that didn't make it into either story:

"You know what, I was born J-e-n-n-i-f-e-r, but I was raised in the South and had a thick southern accent, and my mother always pronounced it Ginnifer and I was Ginny. So when I moved to Boston [to attend school at Boston University], I had a teacher, specifically one teacher, who I grew to love and adore, who always called me Jenny and Jennifer, and I would literally not answer her because I thought she was speaking to someone else. In my world it was kind of an uproar because when I finally caught on that it was me, I said, 'Oh no no no no, my name’s Ginny, and she said, 'No, your name’s Jenny and we will call you Jenny. I was like, you know what? I’ll give you guys lennen instead of linen and I’ll give you pillow instead of pellow, but my name is my identity and I’ve just never heard it pronounced in such a way. And I called my mother without explaining the situation and I said, 'How do you pronounce my name?' And she repeated it for me and I said, 'So it's not Jenny? And she said, 'No. You’re a southern lady.' And I said, 'Well how do you feel about me changing the spelling, because it's really jarring to me to be called this other thing.' To me it was like you might as well be calling me Amanda, like that’s a different name. And my mom was like, 'Oh yeah I completely agree,' and we changed it. It made it far easier if everyone called me Ginny."

Yeah, she's a chatty one (we were on the phone for just about 45 minutes). And in the SAM story, you'll get to read much more of what she had to say. Enjoy!

I'm Walking the Line

This year, for the first time since I was in eighth grade, I’m participating in WalkAmerica. It’s on April 30, starting at the Hatch Shell in Boston. Yes, this means I’ll be walking six miles, and I am not at all worried about that. It’ll be no problem, as opposed to when I did the walk when I was 13 and could barely finish. (Aside from my youth, the snacks along the route didn’t help much.)

Anyway, WalkAmerica is an event sponsored by March of Dimes that seeks to raise funds for research in the fight against birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Continental Airlines, whose inflight magazine I am the managing editor of, is a national sponsor (we wrote about their participation in the March issue), so some folks from my company and I are participating to support the cause and our client. (If you’re reading this and will also be walking, we’ll be the ones in the blue Continental t-shirts.)

I always feel awkward asking for donations from people because everyone has their own preferred causes and financial demands, but I thought I would just post something here in case any of my readers wanted to make a donation to support March of Dimes. If you do, I thank you. Any amount is appreciated. All you have to do is click on this link and follow the instructions. As an incentive, my company will be matching any money raised, so a $25 donation from you is really a $50 donation, for example. You can also sign up to walk or volunteer to help in other ways if walking or donating money aren’t your thing.

Thanks again in advance.

Winter Wonderland

A couple months ago, I interviewed William Moseley, one of the young stars of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Admittedly, for reasons I won't get into, I did it under duress, so I went to see the movie itself out of obligation. It's also worth noting that I didn't like the Lord of the Rings movies (I fell asleep during the first one and never saw the other two) and have only seen the first and third Harry Potter films.

So what a pleasant surprise that I generally liked Narnia. The first third or so is quite magical, as each child discovers the world waiting through the wardrobe. You discover it as a viewer right along with them, and that's great fun. The middle third is a bit much, the effects aren't so great (all those talking animals look really fake), it's dark (because it's taking place at night), and really, you're just waiting for the big battle to happen. Fortunately, when it does, it's pretty cool. So in brief, I'm giving Narnia a B.

Now It's My Turn

Alright, enough of this plugging of other people's work. I wrote the cover story (or, some would say, cover stories) for the October issue of Continental magazine. It's our twice-annual Broadway special, and I interviewed Tony winners Nathan Lane (regarding his role in the new revival of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple) and Michael Cerveris (regarding his role in the new revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd). You can read the stories here. Enjoy.