The Royal Treatment w/Sutton Foster! Plus, Jenn Colella in 'Suffs'!

Summary

Summary of "The Royal Treatment w/Sutton Foster! Plus, Jenn Colella in 'Suffs'!"

Episode Release Date: September 4, 2024
Podcast: The Broadway Show: Uncut
Host: Tamsen Fadal

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of "The Broadway Show: Uncut," host Tamsen Fadal delves deep into the hearts and minds of two powerhouse Broadway actresses: Sutton Foster and Jenn Colella. The episode offers listeners an intimate glimpse into the creative processes, personal journeys, and the profound impact of their respective shows, "Once Upon a Mattress" and "Suffs."

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Interview with Sutton Foster: Reviving "Once Upon a Mattress"

Embracing the Role of Princess Winifred

Sutton Foster opens up about her exhilarating experience portraying Princess Winifred in the Broadway revival of "Once Upon a Mattress." She describes the character as "wild" and "unhinged," emphasizing the freedom and collaborative spirit the role offers. [00:50]

Sutton Foster:
"It's been amazing. It's really been a delight and a joy. And it's really fun to play such a wild, unhinged character. There's so much freedom." [00:50]

The Collaborative Spirit of the Cast

Foster highlights the supportive and innovative environment within the cast, where each member contributes ideas and encourages one another. This synergy fosters a dynamic and vibrant production.

Sutton Foster:
"We all are giving each other ideas, cheering each other on. It's a room full of yes people." [00:50]

Physicality and Comedy in Performance

Discussing the physical demands of her role, Foster mentions a challenging three-minute sequence involving twenty mattresses. She balances the physical comedy with mindfulness to ensure safety and performance quality.

Sutton Foster:
"There's a little bit of mindfulness. Cause it is a very physical role... there is a lot of freedom and a lot of play." [01:55]

Connecting with the Legacy of Carol Burnett

Foster shares a touching moment of meeting Carol Burnett, the original actress who made the role of Princess Winifred famous. She describes the encounter as "surreal" and deeply meaningful, underscoring the impact Burnett had on her as a role model.

Sutton Foster:
"Meeting her was surreal because I still feel like that kid sitting in the bean bag watching the Carol Burnett Show... she gave me her blessing." [05:12]

Personal Insights and Inspirations

Reflecting on her journey, Foster speaks about her first Broadway experiences and the lasting impressions they've left. She recounts witnessing an understudy step into a major role during a national tour of "Me and My Girl," which sparked her fascination with the magical aspects of theater.

Sutton Foster:
"What's that? Like, what's going on behind the curtain? Like, what is that magical thing?" [08:30]

Working with Amy Sherman-Palladino

Foster discusses her collaboration with renowned writer Amy Sherman-Palladino, praising her humor and unique voice. Their partnership on the Encores production showcases a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity in the script.

Sutton Foster:
"Amy Sherman Palladino has... you know, maybe giving it an update... she seamlessly weaved a new little voice throughout it." [09:11]

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Interview with Jenn Colella: Championing Women's Suffrage in "Suffs"

The Essence and Impact of "Suffs"

Jenn Colella delves into the political and historical significance of "Suffs," a musical celebrating the women's suffrage movement. She emphasizes the show's relevance in today's socio-political climate, underscoring the ongoing struggles and the necessity for continued advocacy.

Jen Colella:
"It's wild. The reverberation of these women's voices... it's something we need right now." [11:26]

Portraying Historical Figures with Depth

Colella discusses her role as Carrie Chapman Catt, highlighting the complexity of portraying a real person who balanced personal beliefs with public advocacy. She strives to present Carrie as a multi-dimensional character who was both a leader and a human being with flaws.

Jen Colella:
"She's very complex. But anytime I'm in the mindset of Carrie, I try to think you're doing the best you can." [21:36]

Personal Growth Through Historical Research

Preparing for her role in "Suffs," Colella admits her initial lack of knowledge about the suffrage movement. Through intensive research, she gains a deeper understanding of the movement's dynamics and the resilience of its leaders, which enriches her performance both on and off the stage.

Jen Colella:
"Learning about the movement and these women is helping me be a better person and advocate." [13:44]

Balancing Motherhood and Broadway

Colella shares the challenges and joys of balancing her role in "Suffs" with motherhood. She credits her wife, Mo Mullen, for managing their family life, allowing her to pursue her passion for theater while nurturing their daughter.

Jen Colella:
"Being her mom has definitely put things in perspective. There's nothing more important." [16:23]

The Perfect Timing for "Suffs"

Discussing the show's debut, Colella acknowledges the timing as pivotal, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The delayed opening became a lesson in patience and trust, ensuring that the show resonated deeply with audiences when it finally premiered.

Jen Colella:
"Had we opened all those times, it might not have been received in the same way." [18:25]

Influence and Recognition

Colella expresses gratitude for Hillary Clinton's support of "Suffs," noting how influential figures can amplify the show's message. She views this recognition as a testament to the show's significance and impact.

Jen Colella:
"Hillary Clinton quoted 'Suffs' in her speech... it feels very powerful." [19:43]

Collaboration with Shayna Taub

Highlighting the collaborative nature of the production, Colella praises Shayna Taub for her leadership and inclusivity. Taub's acknowledgment of the team's contributions fosters a sense of unity and shared purpose within the cast and crew.

Jen Colella:
"Shayna... she shares all of the collaboration credit with us." [20:41]

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Conclusion

This episode of "The Broadway Show: Uncut" masterfully captures the passion, dedication, and complexity of two leading figures in the Broadway scene. Sutton Foster's portrayal of Princess Winifred in "Once Upon a Mattress" and Jenn Colella's commitment to bringing "Suffs" to life exemplify the transformative power of theater. Through their stories, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the intricate blend of history, artistry, and personal growth that defines Broadway today.

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Notable Quotes:

• Sutton Foster:
  "It's really fun to be silly. I can be completely free and do all those silly things." [01:37]

• Jenn Colella:
  "We are seeing some signs... this sense of hopefulness and joy politically that we have not felt." [12:11]

• Jen Colella on Motherhood:
  "She's made me love the morning as a theater person. It was six this morning... it's been beautiful and challenging to do both." [16:15]

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This detailed summary encapsulates the essence of the episode, providing listeners with a comprehensive overview of the discussions, insights, and heartfelt moments shared by Sutton Foster and Jenn Colella.

Transcript

[Tamsen Fadal]

Welcome to the Broadway show Uncut. I'm Tamsen Fadal and this is a big one. Two huge interviews on this episode of the pod. Well behaved women rarely make history. I'm sitting down with one of the stars of Suffs, Gianculella. But first, Once Upon a Mattress is back on Broadway. The revival starring Sutton Foster, Michael Urie, and so many more. Sutton was already Broadway royalty. Now she's Princess Winifred. It's a very role that made Carol Burnett famous way back in 1959. I caught up with Sutton Foster at the Skylark. We're gonna jump right in to Once Upon a Mattress because we know it's a revival. There's been some, like, really funny ladies and you are right up there with them. How's this been?

[Sutton Foster]

It's been amazing. It's really been a delight and a joy. And it's really fun to play such a wild, unhinged character. There's so much freedom. The whole thing has felt so collaborative. An amazing cast. We all are giving each other ideas, cheering each other on. It's a room full of yes people. And it's been really, really great. And audiences have been amazingly responsive. And it's really fun to, like, be silly. I have a friend that comes and see the show. They're like, you're an idiot.

[Tamsen Fadal]

You're ridiculous.

[Sutton Foster]

And I'm like, I thank you. You know, they're like, you're so silly. And I was like, thank you.

[Tamsen Fadal]

But I think it lets that all out.

[Sutton Foster]

It does. I can be completely free and like, and do all those silly things that, you know, nothing is contained. So it's really been fun.

[Tamsen Fadal]

I have to imagine there's such freedom in that too, of not like thinking, you know, maybe you're not thinking ahead so much or just get to do whatever you want to do physically with every part of that.

[Sutton Foster]

There's a little bit of. You have to have a little bit of mindfulness. Cause it is a very physical role. There's a lot of physicality, a lot of physical comedy stuff. And I have a three minute sequence on 20 mattresses and my father is still very concerned I'm going to fall off the bed. So I have to be very mindful about it. And it is. There's a bit of choreography, but within all of it there is a lot of freedom and a lot of play. And what I love too, about the characters in the show too, I mean, Once Upon a Mattress is loosely based on the Princess and the Pea. And I play Princess Winifred, who's the. You're not your typical princess who comes to town and hopes to marry the prince and has to pass a test to prove that she's a real genuine princess. And there's just a bunch of a cast of crazy sort of characters. There's so much room for each individual actor, comedian to bring so much of themselves to it. And so it's just a. It's a wonderful. I keep thinking it's like a soup and you have all these ingredients and we just get to make like a really cool stew every night. And it's really, really fun.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Were you a princess person? Did you want to be the princess or.

[Sutton Foster]

Not really.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Me neither.

[Sutton Foster]

I know, me neither. Not really. And one of the things I love about Princess Fred is she has this really great speech at the beginning of the show when we first meet her and she talks about what it means to be a bride and she's like. Because I've heard all these amazing things about being a bride. And she goes off and most of it's about she gets to do a lot of fun stuff and she gets a pow and. And she gets to do everything together. And like, as opposed to I'm gonna meet my prince and live happily ever after or whatever. But it's more like I get a friend and we get to do fun things and like that. I thought that was really great. My daughter, I have a daughter who's seven who's not a princess person at all. And I was like, what do we think about Princess Fred? Is this a princess we can get behind? And I've only got the half thumb. I haven't gotten the full thumb yet. It's the thumb test.

[Tamsen Fadal]

As you keep working on.

[Sutton Foster]

I know. As you keep working on the role.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Maybe you'll get the full thumb.

[Sutton Foster]

Yeah.

[Tamsen Fadal]

I love that. That's fun though, right?

[Sutton Foster]

Yeah.

[Tamsen Fadal]

And didn't we always kind of want to do that? Not always. I mean, I think a lot of us didn't always want to have to be the perfect princess or the perfect bride or the perfect girl. And so I feel like this allows you to be.

[Sutton Foster]

Exactly.

[Tamsen Fadal]

It's okay.

[Sutton Foster]

Well, she just is like. I think that's what's so fun about this character. She's. She just is. She's free spirited, she's excited, she's optimistic, she's adventurous, she's curious, she's different. But. And not knowing, it's not like she's walking into a town going, I'm different. She just is, you know, so there's something so freeing about it. And she's very uncomplicated, which is also really fun.

[Tamsen Fadal]

So nice in this day and ages.

[Sutton Foster]

I know she's just sort of hopeful and wide eyed and kind of curious and herself. And herself.

[Tamsen Fadal]

And I feel like there's that message for all of us, but especially for the younger girls too.

[Sutton Foster]

Exactly. That you can be embraced for just being who you are.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Carol Burnett originated this role. You met her?

[Sutton Foster]

I did.

[Tamsen Fadal]

What was that for you?

[Sutton Foster]

Surreal. Overwhelming. I grew up watching the Carol Burnett Show. As a kid I would watch the Carol Burnett show and the Muppet Show. In my mind they were both on the same night. They were both. And I would watch them back to back. So I always say I'm like part Muppet, part Carol Burnett. So I grew up watching her and I grew up watching this funny lady who was unafraid to be goofy. She was just, always has been a role model for me. So meeting her was surreal because I still feel like that kid sitting in the bean bag watching the Carol Burnett Show. She held my hand and she gave me her blessing, you know, to play Fred and this role that made her a star. It was really her big, her big break was playing Winifred in the original Once but a mattress in 1959. And so she's to be able and the show, you know, means so much to her. And so for her to give me her blessing was a pretty big deal.

[Tamsen Fadal]

I'm wondering about the ensemble and working with everybody like that because that is what that show is about. You just have to just enjoy each night on stage. It's not that long, but it feels like you're playing, working, playing, working, but excited to let people walk out in a time where I think that a lot of people have a lot of stress and frustrated and can walk in there and have some joy. And I think that's what we're all looking for, right?

[Sutton Foster]

And yes, and it's a show I've. That opening night, my 7 year old daughter and my 77 year old father were both at the show and they both, you know, I was like, did you both laugh? I'm like, say yes. But they were both. It's a show that can span, you know, it's a show for everybody, which is also really, really nice to see. And it's for us too and the cast to hear the kids in the audience when the kids are there and giggling especially at some of the really silly things, that is just the best, the best. And I keep thinking, oh my gosh, this could be some kids like first Broadway show, you know, and they're seeing this, like, how cool that this is. Their introduction to Broadway is really, really, I feel, a great honor.

[Tamsen Fadal]

What was yours? What was your first Broadway show?

[Sutton Foster]

Well, my first Broadway show in New York was Miss Saigon. I was older. I was 17. But if I had to think about my first show, one of the first shows that was incredibly memorable to me would have been a national tour. I grew up in Michigan and outside of Detroit, and there was a national tour of Me, My Girl, Me and My Girl that came through, and it was at the Fisher Theater. And I remember the night that I saw it, there was an understudy on for the lead role, which was a big, big, big role. And, oh, my gosh, it's so crazy to think about. And so. And at the end of. And I remember being like, oh, there's an understudy on. And then when the curtain went down, I heard the cast behind the curtain scream and applaud for the. For the person who went on. And I remember going, what's that? Like, what's going on behind the curtain? Like, what is. I want to know what's going on. What's the secret? Like, what is that magical thing? And so that was a major imprint.

[Tamsen Fadal]

You know, I love when you say imprint because I think that sometimes we don't remember what got us to where we are today as adults and grown up and, you know, and standing. Sitting here and. But there are some that. You've said two things so far that have been printed.

[Sutton Foster]

You. Yeah.

[Tamsen Fadal]

And Carol Burnett watching Carol Burnett show, which we, you know, it's just really special.

[Sutton Foster]

Yeah. And I see it now through my daughter, because I have. And I'm watching what sticks to, you know, it's like Velcro. What sticks with her, you know, and like, what. And as. I mean, as. And as we continue to evolve as humans and. And what attracts us and what we're curious about and what stays and what we hold on to and what inspires us and all of those things.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Let's talk a little bit about working with Amy.

[Sutton Foster]

So Amy Sherman Palladino has. Is a longtime friend now. We originally worked on Bunheads together. I was a huge Gilmore Girls fan. She's the writer, creator of Gilmore bunhead's extraordinaire, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And so when Lear Debessinet, who is our director of Once Upon a Mattress, she approached me to do the Encores production and that we did earlier this year, when we were talking on the phone, she was talking about maybe bringing someone in to do a pass on the script just to, like, since it was written in 1959 and it's 2024, you know, maybe giving it an update. And the first person I thought of was Amy, because she's the funniest lady I know. And in many ways, she's a Fred. She is like her own individual person, unique in every way. And she. I literally sent her a text, and she was like, yeah, yeah, let's do it. And I was like, okay. I'm sure there's, like, something we need to, like, you know, this can't just be done over a text. But she did, and she did this beautiful pass on the script, honoring everything that has been done before and just putting, like, the way she sort of seamlessly wove, like, a new little voice throughout it. It was really beautiful. And just to have her be a part of this and to have her be a part of the theater community, I was very excited because she's such a theater nerd and she loves theater so much, and I feel very excited that she made her Broadway debut with Once Upon a Mattress. And she's forever a friend, if, whatever, wherever she goes, I will follow. And so I'm just. Oh, good. Yeah.

[Tamsen Fadal]

All right, well, we'll be looking for that then.

[Sutton Foster]

Yes, me too.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Suffs is blazing trails on Broadway, a celebration of those who fought to earn women the right to vote. It's truly a perfect musical for this moment. I caught up with one of the stars of Suffs, Jen Colella, at the Skylark. You know, when I went and saw Suffs, I went. I didn't realize what we. What we needed to do to get here and what we still need to do.

[Jen Colella]

Isn't that wild? The reverberation of these women's voices that we're able to speak and sing on stage is causing this effect directly to women. We're hearing this right now in the present moment, as if we need to hear it right now, because we do. So while so much has happened that has moved us forward, we still have such a long way to go. And Suffs is kind of showing us that in a lovely way, just by presenting a beautiful piece of history that actually happened. It's wild.

[Tamsen Fadal]

It is wild. And then I think actually when I was sitting there watching, I was thinking, like, where are we gonna be in 10 more years? How this show looks in 10 more years will we have, you know, advanced in a lot of different ways? I mean, we're seeing some signs of it.

[Jen Colella]

We are seeing some signs, right? That's the other thing that's happening right now is this sense of hopefulness and joy politically that we have not felt. It's also interesting to be in a show that is a musical but still is very much political. Even if we try to stay, you know, when we try to stay, like bipartisan, it's not. It's partisan. It's women's suffrage. And we're making a statement by just sharing something that actually happened. So, Yeah, I think 10 years from now, I have some hope that we will have actually made some great strides from the tide that we're feeling right now.

[Tamsen Fadal]

It's women that are part of history recently. Part of history as well.

[Jen Colella]

Absolutely. I mean, this whole the suffrage movement was only 100 years ago.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Isn't that crazy?

[Jen Colella]

It's not that long ago. Just a second ago. So I played Carrie Chapman Catt. She was the president of the National American Woman's suffrage association for 20 years and fought tirelessly. I mean, devoted more than 80% of her to this cause and to peace across the world. And she's just one tiny little piece of the story. Alice Paul, you know, was in prison and went through hunger strikes with all of her buddies. Ida B. Wells put herself and her family at risk because she continued to speak up for what she believed in. These women were pioneers for women speaking out and not just conforming. And we need them right now. We need to be reminded of their strong voices in this moment.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Do you feel like you learned a lot going back and doing research and going back and figuring out how to research this role?

[Jen Colella]

Tamsen? I had no idea anything about the suffrage movement. Maybe, you know, Susan B. Anthony. Right, right, right. Like Seneca Falls was in there somewhere from some quiz. I did not know anything about it. And so learning not only about the movement, but about these women and how they had to work together and sometimes fight one another for forward progress is really helping me be not only a better person, but a better advocate for things that I believe. I believe being like a strong, playing a strong character also means that I need to be a strong leader. And to do that, I need to hear some of the lessons that they taught us about, you know, being persistent even when it's not cute or demure, to be that way.

[Tamsen Fadal]

When you look at roles like this and you look at come from way. I mean, you've played real people like Beverly Basse, a real, you know, somebody who came to, I don't even know how many shows at this point.

[Jen Colella]

Oh, my gosh. She really. She would not miss the Opening of a letter. Really. She loves.

[Tamsen Fadal]

She is awesome. She's just like. When I met her, it was like 50 shows or something. And that was at the beginning. Talk about that though, playing real, real women. Because I think that there's something to that. And I wonder, is that more interesting, more complicated, more pressure?

[Jen Colella]

I think it's all, all of the above, a little bit more pressure because I want to honor these women and the case of Beverly Bass in Come From Away. She was still very much present and with us. And so I wanted to make sure that I was giving her that I was doing her justice. As far as Carrie Chapman Catt is concerned, she was a complicated person and had. That I actually don't believe in, although I know the core of her was moving toward what she believed in and that was women's rights and peace. So, yeah, it makes it difficult. I also played in Chaplin. Who did I play? Hedda Hopper.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Oh, right, right, right.

[Jen Colella]

She was a real woman who was also very, very complicated. Wow. And I'm noticing as we talked Hampton.

[Tamsen Fadal]

That is there another one that I'm not thinking?

[Jen Colella]

Oh, I played Amelia Earhart at Crin Princeton. A Malpean Shire piece called Take Flight. Yeah, it's all these like women who like break these glass ceilings in some way and break the mold. So I'm honored that people see me in that light.

[Tamsen Fadal]

You break your own mold though, too.

[Jen Colella]

Try to, yeah. I think I actually. I just try to be to myself and I think in doing so sometimes that breaks the mold.

[Tamsen Fadal]

But I think that's the right way to do it. Don't you? You do it too well. Okay, I'll be right there with you. I'll be right there with you. Let's talk about you, I guess started this show and had a five month old little girl, a five week old, five day old date, five day old.

[Jen Colella]

Get into it. I know. Can you stand up?

[Tamsen Fadal]

I can't even say that.

[Jen Colella]

I know I can't.

[Tamsen Fadal]

How did you do that? How do you do it? Does it work with your sleeping schedule?

[Sutton Foster]

Maybe.

[Jen Colella]

I have to give credit to my wife, Mo Mullen. We realized that these two things were happening at the same time. That I was giving birth to a Broadway show that I've been working on for seven years and to our child at the same time. And she said, I know that you need to put your heart and this is part of your life's work. I have believed in suffs for so many years and turned other things down so I could be a part of it. And so she's just taken the reins and really is the one to get up with Morrison, our daughter, more often. I still do because I love the mornings now. She's made me love the morning as a theater person. That never happens. It was six this morning. I get up and she's in her crib and she sees my little face, and she does this little, like, coy smile. It's the best if you forget about what time it is or I don't care what sleep is. It's been beautiful and challenging to do both. But being her mom has definitely put things in perspective. There's nothing more important. I've never been able to say that theater's always been the most important thing. So now I have a new kind of love of my life and focus, and it just makes kind of going to work feel actually even more beautiful and like a privilege because I know that I get to tell her the kind of work that I'm doing, what I'm working on right now, to tell her about Suffs and how it happened in this moment. Like, how Suffs is fitting into the Zeitgeist in this moment feels like alchemy and something very, very special. So I look forward to sharing that with my daughter.

[Tamsen Fadal]

I'm so happy for you.

[Jen Colella]

Thanks, buddy.

[Tamsen Fadal]

On so many fronts.

[Jen Colella]

Thank you.

[Tamsen Fadal]

You know, you mentioned that the seven years and how. And even longer than that, I think, to bring this here to Broadway. Let's talk a little bit about that. Because, you know, maybe seven years ago, it would not have been received like we're looking at it today. It would have been a very. It would have been a very different time. A very different. Maybe even a very different message received by people. Maybe a different enthusiasm. Talk about how this is that perfect time, because I think it really is. And it did take a long time.

[Jen Colella]

It took a long time. And there were many moments when we wanted to open and we couldn't because of COVID Because of. Mostly because of COVID actually. And we were upset that we couldn't open right on the Centennial. We were upset that we couldn't be the first show back. We kept having these milestones. We're like, this is where we're supposed to be. This is when we're supposed to open. And it's really been a wonderful lesson in surrendering to what is and just focusing on the work and creating a family unit within that workspace. Because the way that it's happened has been absolutely perfect. You're right. Had we opened all those times, we thought we wanted to it might not have been received in the same way because we are in the flow right now of what's happening, and people can feel it. Our audiences over the past month, I mean, we've had great audiences from the beginning, but as opposed to the feeling of being like, we've got to keep marching, it's like, we gonna cave, Martin.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Right, right.

[Jen Colella]

It's like there's this new, like, infused joy behind it. So, yeah, I think you're right. I think it's a good reminder to surrender to what is and trust that everything is unfolding as it should.

[Tamsen Fadal]

I know you're on a stage every night, but stuff's hit the national stage in a huge way. Talk a little bit about. Can you believe Hillary one of your.

[Jen Colella]

Hill. You mean Hill.

[Tamsen Fadal]

You and your friend Hill.

[Jen Colella]

Awesome, buddy. Oh, Hill. So Hillary Clinton is a producer of Suffs, and she has been very present and very loving and very loyal and not in a producer y kind of way, because this is something that this woman has fought for her entire life. And so last night at the Democratic National Convention, she quoted Suffs not once but twice in her speech. And, you know, we were all watching some together and some individually and just flipped out. We couldn't believe it. It was so beautiful. And we can tell that she believes in our show, but we're also affecting her. I can see us affecting her. And the fact that Shana Taub's words are now coming out of her mouth at that kind of convention in this moment feels very powerful, and we feel really lucky to be a small part of it.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Talk a little bit about working with Shayna and her words and just her presence.

[Jen Colella]

Do you know her, Tams?

[Tamsen Fadal]

I don't know her like, I know you.

[Jen Colella]

She's one of us. She's one of us. She's down to earth, and she's a love, and she believes in treating people well. And she is such a wonderful collaborator. She did this whole thing, but she keeps saying we. She's like, using our words. We're like, not our words. You wrote this thing. You know? She won both Tonys for book and best. She did not win best musical, best score and best book. And she always gives us the credit for it. She just shares all of the collaboration credit with us, which I find really, really extraordinary. Being on stage with her is fun. She's like a kid up there. She loves it. Every night. We're still finding new things. I cannot say enough extraordinary things about her as a person and as a.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Leader and as a messenger, as a Messenger.

[Sutton Foster]

Right.

[Jen Colella]

As a messenger.

[Tamsen Fadal]

That's who she is.

[Jen Colella]

That's right.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Carrie. I know there are some beliefs in that that are. That are hard to. Hard to swallow. How do you do that with a character like that? I mean, it's one that, you know, Beverly Bass there was. You just agree with it. All.

[Jen Colella]

Right.

[Tamsen Fadal]

But with Carrie, how do you do that every night? And where do you. You know, where do you find that? Or is it easier to find that when you don't necessarily agree with somebody, but understand what you're playing?

[Jen Colella]

Yeah, I mean, I guess as actors, we have to be able to see the good in everyone, but I see the good in myself as well. But I'm also hard on myself. I think Carrie would have been hard on herself and some of the things that were not popular views. I think that she had to swallow a lot of her own personal beliefs just to be a mouthpiece during her time. And I know what that feels like as a gay woman. So I try to have compassion for where she was at the time and treat her with as much respect as. As hopefully she treated herself. She must have. You can't have gone that far if you were just talking badly about yourself the whole time. Right. So I try to keep her human and not a perfect person. She's very complex. But anytime I'm in the mindset of Carrie, I try to think you're doing the best you can. This is what needs to happen right now. You've been leading this cause in a great way. So I try to beef myself up and give positive talk to Carrie while I'm in her shoes.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Well, you're doing a beautiful job.

[Jen Colella]

Thanks.

[Tamsen Fadal]

It's so good to see you.

[Jen Colella]

It's always a pleasure to see you, Tamsen.

[Tamsen Fadal]

Is there anything else you're working on right now that you want to talk about, or no? Just being a good mom. Like a mom.

[Jen Colella]

You're the sweetest.

[Tamsen Fadal]

I don't know, a Broadway star.

[Jen Colella]

Making sure my daughter feels like she is strong and awesome and loved and safe. That's my other big job.

[Tamsen Fadal]

I don't think there's any question. I don't think there's any question with a mom like you.

[Jen Colella]

Thanks, buddy.

[Tamsen Fadal]

That's gonna do it. For this episode of the Broadway show Uncut, until next time, I'm Tamsen Fadal.