Maxwell And Finneran Talk Backstage Life

Jan Maxwell And Katie Finneran talked to the New York Times about their backstage habits while appearing on Broadway. Maxwell, currently appearing in LEND ME A TENOR, spends much of her off-stage time in her dressing room with Will Maxwell-Lunney, her 14-year-old son.

“I had Will written into my contract so we could spend more time together,” says Maxwell. “He’s at the age where there are a lot of distractions: friends, girls, life in the city, girls,” Ms. Maxwell said a moment later. “I have a lot of time to kill, so we get to have fights about ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ the Six Day War. It’s the perfect Broadway gig for being a mom.”

"Ms. Finneran first appears about 90 minutes into “Promises, Promises,” at the start of Act II, as the blowsy barfly Marge MacDougall. The actress said she spent the first act on the floor of her dressing room, doing push-ups, sit-ups and yoga, then repaired to her shower stall to balance herself as she did calf stretches."

“I’m actually really grateful I have the downtime, because it takes me a while to prepare for how drunk I need to appear and how crazy I need to sound,” Ms. Finneran said during the matinee show on Wednesday, before huddling with her fiancé, Darren Goldstein, in her dressing room to plan their wedding.

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LEND ME A TENOR received three Tony nominations for Best Revival of a Play, Best Featured Actress in a Play (Jan Maxwell) and Best Costume Design of a Play (Martin Pakledinaz), won an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Jan Maxwell) and received three other Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Director of a Play (Stanley Tucci) and Outstanding Costume Design (Martin Pakledinaz), and received Drama League Award nominations for Distinguished Revival of a Play and Distinguished Performance Awards for Tony Shalhoub and Jan Maxwell.

LEND ME A TENOR opened on April 4 to rave reviews including:

TIME OUT NEW YORK: "Let me spell it out: Lend Me a Tenor is the most howlingly funny and ingeniously staged laugh machine to hit Broadway in years. There's no point in telling you how superbly fun this all is: Go now, and don't wait for the fat lady to sing."

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: "A side-splitting, limber, and fast-moving comedy...much of it is extremely physical in the best way. A great deal of credit goes to Stanley Tucci for delightful flourishes and genius moves in his Broadway directing debut. The rest of the credit goes to the cast; all involved are great."

ASSOCIATED PRESS: "The frantic foolishness has not diminished; what gives this production an unexpected boost is something not usually found in a farce---heart."

Set in the 1930s, LEND ME A TENOR is a screwball comedy that takes place when Tito Merelli, the fiery-tempered and world famous Italian superstar, arrives in Cleveland, Ohio to make his debut with the local opera and promptly goes missing. As Saunders, the show's presenter, conspires to cover for Tito's absence, placate his hot-blooded wife, and distract his most passionate fans, chaos on a truly operatic level ensues.

Ken Ludwig's comedy LEND ME A TENOR stars Anthony LaPaglia, Tony Shalhoub, Justin Bartha, Brooke Adams, Mary Catherine Garrison, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jay Klaitz, and Jan Maxwell, and is directed by Stanley Tucci. LEND ME A TENOR is now playing at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street).

For more information, visit www.lendmeatenorbroadway.com.