Peter Jay Fernandez from the Tony-nominated ‘All The Way’ on Encompassing The Civil Rights Movement on Broadway
ANDY DRACHENBERG: How did you become a part of All The Way? PETER JAY FERNANDEZ: My agent called me and told me about this play about LBJ, his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and his re-election in 1964, which fascinated me. I was excited when I saw that Robert Schenkkan, who I knew many years before […]
Playwright Will Eno Discusses Dead Squirrels, The “Great Unknown” and ‘The Realistic Joneses’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: What do you aim to achieve in your work? WILL ENO: I believe you have to make a play that is specific and real enough that audiences can plug into it and go along with it, while also having some space left for an audience to have their own thoughts and feelings. The audience […]
Audra McDonald Talks About Becoming Billie Holiday in ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: What about Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill drew you to this production and this character? AUDRA MCDONALD: I wanted to be part of Lady Day because of the accuracy of Lanie Robertson’s description of Billie Holiday. The portrayal may not be easy to take in because of what she’s going through at the moment that this […]
Derek Klena Talks ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ and His Broadway Debut as Fiyero in ‘Wicked’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: Why is The Bridges of Madison County a project that you wanted to work on and how did you get involved? DEREK KLENA: The obvious pull that drew me to this project was the amazing creative team I’d get to work with. I was a huge fan of Jason Robert Brown and Marsha Norman before […]
Caitlin Kinnunen Talks Getting Swept Away in ‘The Bridges of Madison County’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: Why is The Bridges of Madison County a project that you wanted to work on? CAITLIN KINNUNEN:What made it so that I really wanted to be a part of the show is the amazing creative team. I am such a fan of Bart Sher, Jason Robert Brown and Marsha Norman. Marsha actually has written two […]
Michael McKean Reflects on 1964, Hoover and His Path to ‘All The Way’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: What brought about your involvement with All The Way? MICHAEL MCKEAN: Every now and then producer Jeffrey Richards calls me and asks me if I’d like to be part of a production and every now and then he asks, “Can you do something for me?” So Jeffrey called me when I was in Ashland, Oregon […]
Marsha Norman Talks The Heart of ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ and Working with Jason Robert Brown
ANDY DRACHENBERG: What is the story at the heart of The Bridges of Madison County? MARSHA NORMAN: The heart of the story is about the choices that come upon us by surprise and how those surprises shape our lives. We think that we can make all of these great plans about life, when really it’s the surprises […]
Kelli O’Hara Talks ‘The Bridges of Madison County’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: What is the story at the heart of The Bridges of Madison County? Kelli O’Hara: The heart of this story is the love story- the absolutely heartbreaking star-crossed lover type of love story. Bridges is about people living in 1960’s America. One day someone shows up on Francesca’s doorstep and it changes everything for the rest of […]
Jason Robert Brown Talks ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ and The Importance of Collaboration
ANDY DRACHENBERG: Why did you decide to write the music for The Bridges of Madison County and how do you hope Broadway audiences respond to the show? JASON ROBERT BROWN: I wanted to write a show that would move people. I wanted to write a show that the music and the story together would make audiences feel something […]
Bart Sher Talks About Transformative Theatre and ‘Bridges’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: What attracts you to directing a show? What makes a show “great?” BARTLETT SHER: If it’s a new show that’s never been done before and it’s made it from scratch, it’s really important that your collaborators are good. Often I’ll make a decision about a story based on finding the right kind of collaborators […]
Bryan Cranston Talks LBJ and ‘All The Way’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: How did you become a part of All The Way? BRYAN CRANSTON: I knew that I wanted to step away from television so, about a year before we were finished with “Breaking Bad,” my agency in New York was looking for a play for me to be a part of after my television series came […]
Steven Pasquale Talks ‘The Bridges of Madison County’
ANDY DRACHENBERG: Why is The Bridges of Madison County a project that you wanted to work on? STEVEN PASQUALE: Well, that’s easy. It’s really about the creative team: Jason Robert Brown, Marsha Norman, Bartlett Sher and Kelli O’Hara – it’s an East Coast theatre all-star team. I’d work on anything they’re working on, and Bridges is great source material. Who […]