BWW Interview - Andrea Martin Talks NOISES OFF, 'BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING' & More

Andrea Martin stars as Dotty Otley in Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Michael Frayn's beloved comedy Noises Off. Starring a cast of Broadway A-listers under the direction of Jeremy Herrin, the play is the classic show-within-a-show, as actors stumble their way through the fictional farce, 'Nothing On'. Complete with pratfalls, door slams, unraveling love triangles and flying sardines, audiences are treated to a night of complete pandemonium!

Today the Tony Award winner speaks exclusively with BWW about starring in this high-energy comedic romp and reveals, "I didn't quite know what I was getting myself into!"

When you were offered the opportunity to be a part of this production, was the decision to accept a no-brainer?

[laughing] Yes, it was kind of a no-brainer to be honest with you. I had seen it with Dorothy Loudon, that's the only version I've seen, and it's indelible in my brain to see that comic turn. And Victor Garber, my very close friend, was in the original production. I just remember laughing hysterically, I didn't remember any details, but I certainly remember Dorothy Loudon particularly, I just idolized her. I didn't quite know what I was getting myself into however! I didn't realize how challenging it was going to be. I just thought it was going to be a comic romp, but it turned out there is great skill and precision involved in doing this show.

Between Noises Off and PIPPIN, you have really challenged yourself with a fair share of physical comedy recently. How do you prepare for that?

Well, with PIPPIN, I prepared religiously. I went to circus school, I went to the gym seven days a week, and I was

doing pilates three days a week, I was riding my bike back and forth, and I warmed up every day before the show. I'd never been in better shape. This show however, we started in November, and in July, thinking that I was going to be absolutely fine to go back after six weeks, I had foot surgery, and I have not been able to work out since then. It's been really so disheartening to be honest with you. I mean, I'm running around but I wouldn't say I'm in great shape. I just have a lot of stamina and energy, but I'm not particularly fit, so I really look forward to going back to the gym and riding my back around. Right now I have a car, because it's a really slow process to recover from foot surgery. It's very frustrating. But I love the challenge of having to keep physically fit at my age, so it's good.

Well you look fantastic! In the show you speak with both a British and Cockney accent. Have you ever done either of those before?

No, I've certainly never done Cockney. I did a little bit of an affected British accent in ACT ONE, although my character, Aunt Kate, wasn't really British, it was really an affectation that she put on to feel superior, but I've never really played a straight-out British character. So I started working with a dialect coach in July and worked in a very disciplined way, two or three times a week. And I watched a lot of video, a lot of British sitcoms, trying to get the affectation of how to do a cockney accent in a British TV show from the '70's. So I did a lot of research for sure.

Is it a challenge to switch back and forth between the two roles so fluidly?

You know, it frankly isn't. It's fascinating to me, I don't know why it isn't. I just have in my mind two very distinct people, a stock character from a British sitcom, that Mrs. Clackett is, and then this portentous, forgetful British actress. And you know I've done a lot of characters in my life, a lot of sketch comedy, so that has probably served me well with this show.

As outrageous as both characters are, can you identify with them in any way?

Well, yes absolutely. I mean they both desperately want to do well, they want to serve, they want to come across well, they want to remember their lines, they want to remember their blocking, they want to please. I certainly understand that kind of motivation. They also want to connect, they want to have a relationship, they don't want to face how old they are, so yes, if they seem human to you then it's because I put a lot of myself in them!

With all the precise timing involved with this show, I would imagine it's important that the cast gel with each other quickly. Was that something that happened instantly?

That's a great question. We miraculously gelled immediately. I knew Jeremy [Shamos], he was the only person I knew because we had done a play many years before, but I didn't know the director, I had never worked with Roundabout. But the tone was set immediatly with this cast of very talented people, so we were ahead of the game that way. Everybody brings something very specific and unique in their interpretation of the characters. And the director set the tone from the beginning saying how important it was to be real, even though it's a farce. He said that what engages audiences is the real plight of these people. So I think we worked hard to make them appear like a real acting group, and everybody had different reasons for wanting to be in the play and obstacles to face, but we certainly concentrated on that, and that made it gel very quickly.

I may have imagined this, but during the performance, you were saying a line to Campbell Scott and I thought I saw him break character and laugh for a split second.

[laughing] That is the only time that has ever happened! Oh dear, that was terrible. We were both humiliated, and yet the hell with it, what are ya gonna do - we're human!

Are you being sarcastic or are you saying that really doesn't happen often?

No honestly, it doesn't happen. Oh my God, I'm being completely serious.

That is so surprising to hear because you are all so hilarious, I would imagine there must be times when you just want to burst out laughing.

No, not at all. We are all very disciplined, very conscious of not breaking character, very conscious of being in the real world of the characters we are playing. I don't know what happened that night, I think I did an extra little thing with my finger that may have set him off. But no, we really don't. Actually I don't even like that kind of thing. I think that's an easy way to get a laugh. What's exciting for me is to be able to be in this world, all of us, and still solicit laughter without having to do that. I know audiences love being in on the joke, and listen, we're human for goodness sake, it happens, but it' s not something that we set out to do at all.

And that kind of laugh is certainly not necessary with this play, that's for sure!

No not in this show! [laughing]

NOISES OFF has been revived so many times. What is it about the show that makes it stand the test of time?

Honestly, I think it's a beautifully and intelligently crafted play. It's just a brilliant farce. And Michael Frayn left no stone unturned. It first began in 1983, and over the years he's seen millions of productions of it, so I'm sure he's refined things, and I know there are added things. In the Samuel French version for example, Mrs. Clackett doesn't say "Am I in Spain? No dear, I'm in agony." He had added that line and a couple of others like that. So I just think it is brilliantly written and of course getting the right cast and a fabulous director and playing the truth of it. And it's just hysterical. When I was learning these lines, I'd break out constantly, just from the lines I was saying, for example, "How about the words love, am I getting some of those right?" So I just think it's inherently really, really funny. And who doesn't like a really great play?

And a great laugh. We can all use that these days.

Yes - one hundred percent!

Can we talk about the sequel to MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, because everyone is so excited for that to hit theaters this spring.

Oh, I think it's going to be fabulous. In fact I just heard from Nia [Vardalos] today and she said that they were in the final mix and we're going to do a press junket in March and the movie opens Easter Weekend, March 25th. I honestly think it's going to be a beautiful sequel, that isn't gratuitous, that really will follow in a very tender way the characters from where they were fifteen years ago. I think it's going to be really funny. And every single person was asked back so there's something very sweet about that, it's like a reunion.

What was it like to get together with everyone again?

It was heartwarming, as you can imagine. I mean Michael Constantine is 89 and the actress who plays the Great-Grandmother is in her 90's, and everybody came back, not one person said no and that never happens. So it was beautiful. And I think Nia did a great job and to be honest with you, I think she waited just the perfect amount of time. It wasn't a gratuitous sequel, it wasn't like, "let me see if I can make money immediately after doing the first." She waited until it felt right, it was organic.

There's been rumors floating around that they will one day make a musical adaptation of the original film. Can you picture that?

I've heard people talk about that. I think it would be great to get some greek music in there, like Fiddler on the Roof only Greeks with Ouzo. I don't know anything about it but I could picture it. One day, you'll see me as Aunt Voula on stage singing, "Never ever on a Sunday, a Sunday, a Sunday". So who knows!

Roundabout Theatre Company's Noises Off is now playing through Sunday, March 13, 2016 at the American Airlines Theatre (227 West 42nd Street).

About ANDREA MARTIN: Andrea Martin was most recently seen in the feature film, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and starring in the half hour single-camera television comedy, "Working the Engels." A veteran of television, stage and film, Andrea Martin won Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Awards for her performance in the Broadway revival of Pippin. Her theatre credits include the Lincoln Center Theater adaptation of Moss Hart's Act One; My Favorite Year, for which she received Tony, Drama Desk and Theatre World Awards; the recent revival of Fiddler on the Roof; Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (Tony, Drama Desk Award nominations); Exit the King (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations); Oklahoma! (Tony, Drama Desk Award nominations); Candide (Tony, Drama Desk Award nominations); and the legendary Toronto production of Godspell in which she co?starred with future collaborators and SCTV alumni Martin Short, Eugene Levy, and Dave Thomas.

On SCTV, Martin not only earned two Emmy Awards for her writing, but also created some of television's most indelible sketch comedy characters. Martin has done extensive voice work in television and film (The Simpsons, Anastasia, The Rugrats 3 Movie) and made memorable guest appearances on hit shows such as "30 Rock" and "Nurse Jackie."

Her film appearances include The Producers, Wag the Dog, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Martin was born in Portland, Maine and splits her time between Toronto and New York.

NOISES OFF cast photo credit: Jenny Anderson

NOISES OFF photo credit: Joan Marcus

PIPPIN photo credit: Michael J. Lutch

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2 Poster Art courtesy of Universal

Andrea Martin headshot credit: Jessica Fallon Gordon