WAR PAINT's Patti LuPone Explains Why She's 'Crazy for Rachel Bloom'

In a new interview with ET, legendary stage star Patti LuPone discusses her admiration for CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND's Rachel Bloom and her new Broadway musical WAR PAINT, beginning previews on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 and officially opening on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street).

Asked what her motivation was for taking on the role of cosmetics entrepreneur Helena Rubinstein in the new Broadway musical, the actress jokes, "Well, it was offered to me and I rarely turn down an offer. I just thought it sounded like a great idea -- an original, American musical. I got on board."

She goes on to explain why there will be no backstage drama when it comes to her newest production. "There's great respect onstage. And I say that of all the actors onstage," she begins. "Those things always crop up when someone's unprepared. I said to the producers, 'We have to walk in that stage door with love abounding. There cannot be any rancor because there's rancor onstage.' And there isn't -- that's such a blessing. And it's something to be careful of. You have to make sure it stays that way."

Last month, LuPone made a hilarious guest appearance as a rabbi on The CW's CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND in an episode titled "Will Scarsdale Like Josh's Shayna Punim?" (check out the appearance below!) She gushes of the show's creator and star, "I'm crazy for Rachel Bloom. I'm crazy for her. I think that is one smart show. Of all the musical comedies on television or on the big screen, Rachel knows how to do it. And see, that's the thing: I don't think they know how to film musicals anymore. When you look at the old ones, you can see the dancers' legs. That's what it's all about. When you have a dance number, you want to see their legs, not their chest and their neck. But [Crazy Ex-Girlfriend] knows how to do it."

Read the interview in full here.

The acclaimed new musical War Paint, starring two-time Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, played a sold-out run in Chicago this summer where it became the most successful show in Goodman Theatre's history. War Paint charts the legendary lives of two trailblazing women - cosmetics entrepreneurs Helena Rubinstein (LuPone) and Elizabeth Arden (Ebersole).

WAR PAINT will also feature Tony Award nominees John Dossett and Douglas Sills, who are reprising their roles from the Chicago world premiere production. Dossett will portray Tommy Lewis, Miss Arden's husband and chief marketing officer, and Sills will portray the ambitious Harry Fleming, Madame Rubinstein's clubby confidante and faithful ally.

Directed by Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal, Grey Gardens), War Paint reunites Scott Frankel and Michael Korie-the acclaimed composer and lyricist team of Grey Gardens and Far From Heaven-with Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright (Grey Gardens, I Am My Own Wife). Choreography is by Tony Award-winner Christopher Gattelli.

The musical is inspired by the book, War Paint, by Lindy Woodhead and the documentary film, The Powder & the Glory, by Ann Carol Grossman and ARNIE Reisman.

WAR PAINT tells the remarkable story of cosmetics titans Helena Rubinstein (LuPone) and Elizabeth Arden (Ebersole), who defined beauty standards for the first half of the 20th Century. Brilliant innovators with humble roots, both women were masters of self-invention who sacrificed everything to become the country's first major female entrepreneurs. They were also fierce competitors, whose 50-year tug-of-war would give birth to an industry that would forever change the face of America. From Fifth Avenue society to the halls of Congress, their intense rivalry was ruthless, RELENTLESS and legendary-pushing both women to build international empires in a world dominated by men.

Photo: Scott Everett White/The CW -- ©2016 The CW Network, LLC All Rights Reserve