Interview: Steve Kazee on APPROPRIATE at The Old Globe

Family events are always stressful, but in “Appropriate,” when the funeral of the family patriarch and three siblings come together again for the first time in years, this comedy-drama is full of fireworks.  Steve Kazee talks about how this play, his character Bo, and how this play proved to be a tempting chance to explore such a complex family and character dynamic.   “Appropriate” plays at The Old Globe through Sunday, February 23rd.

Steve Kazee plays Bo, a brother who returns to a family property to work with his older sister Toni (Maggie Lacey) and younger brother Franz (Daniel Petzold) on sorting through their late father’s items to ready the house for auction. Kazee says that this play and character proved to be an intriguing challenge to bring to life daily in front of audiences.

“Appropriate is one of those plays that grabs you from the first moments and doesn’t let go. It’s a dark, brutally funny, and emotionally charged story about a family unraveling in real-time. At its core, it’s about the things we inherit—not just money or property, but history, trauma, and responsibility.

I play Bo, the middle sibling, who sees himself as the responsible one, the guy who left home and built a life separate from the chaos of his family. But when he comes back to deal with his late father’s estate, he realizes that no matter how much distance he’s put between himself and his past, he’s still a part of it. He’s forced to confront things he’s been avoiding for years, and it gets messy—really messy.”

Steve says there was so much about this show, including the challenge of these characters and the themes that drew him to the play, and it felt like an irresistible acting challenge.

“First, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ writing is just incredible—sharp, funny, and fearless. Appropriate doesn’t just entertain; it digs deep into issues of race, history, and family trauma in ways that feel immediate and uncomfortably real. I was drawn to Bo because he represents a certain kind of man who sees himself as rational, responsible, and well-intentioned but who may not fully grasp the weight of his own privilege or the generational burdens he carries. That kind of complexity is a dream to get to explore as an actor.”

Kazee says that approaching the character of Bo, the middle child who is closer in age to his sister Toni (Lacey) but still finds himself caught between her and Franz (Petzold) as the play unfolds, offered an exciting challenge and depths to explore as a character.

 “Bo is someone who desperately wants to believe he’s in control—of his family, of his finances, of his emotions. But under pressure, we start to see those cracks, and that’s been fascinating to unpack. In rehearsal, a lot of my work has been about understanding his blind spots—what he’s choosing not to see or acknowledge. Working with the cast has been incredible because this play thrives on tension, on the real-time push and pull between characters. The more we challenge each other, the more alive the work becomes.”

Kazee is no stranger to stage, screen, or musicals, having won the Tony Award for lead Actor in a Musical for “Once” in 2012.  He says he approaches each performance type and finds a rhythm for them, but that storytelling in live theatre like “Appropriate” is a real-time challenge for every performance.

“Each medium has its own demands, but at the heart of it, it’s all about storytelling. In musicals, there’s this heightened emotionality—music takes you to places that words alone can’t. TV and film are far more intimate; the camera picks up every little thing, so you have to internalize more. 

Plays, especially something like Appropriate, demand raw presence—you’re living every moment in real-time, with no safety net. What I love is finding the rhythm in each space and figuring out how to make the truth of the character resonate, whether it’s through a song, a glance on camera, or a monologue on stage.”

How to Get Tickets

Catch Steve Kazee and the cast of “Appropriate” at The Old Globe through Sunday, February 23rd.  For ticket and show time information, go to www.theoldglobe.org

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