Interview: Jackie Burns of IF/THEN at Winspear Opera House

Over the past few years, the theatre community has been quietly buzzing about the stage work of Jackie Burns, the young actress whose credits include Elphaba in Broadway's WICKED, a soloist in the tribe of the 2009 HAIR revival, the original off-Broadway production of ROCK OF AGES, and most recently, as standby to IDINA MENZEL (WICKED, RENT) in the 2013 Broadway musical IF/THEN. This week, during her lunch break from rehearsals in New York City, Jackie sat down to chat with me about revisiting the show, and the pressure of stepping in for the FROZEN star.

Name: Jackie Burns

Hometown: "I'm actually from Connecticut; from Ivoryton. Most people from Connecticut don't even know where that is. It's kind of by the Goodspeed Opera House...on the shore line."

Current Role: Elizabeth in the national tour of IF/THEN (starting on January 27th, 2016)

Kyle Christopher West: Growing up, what first inspired you to perform?

Jackie: Michael Jackson! [Laughs.] I used to sing and dance along to Michael Jackson when I was two; "Thriller" was my jam! I started dancing with I was three, and I danced until I was seventeen. Then, I went to college for straight acting [as opposed to musical theatre]. I always just wanted to be a performer!

Kyle: Before performing professionally, did you play any memorable roles?

Jackie: My very, very, very first role was at the Ivoryton Playhouse that Katharine Hepburn actually started (she's from where I'm from). I did the children's theatre production of SLEEPING BEAUTY where I played Maleficent. Thirteen-year-old me was very upset, because I wanted to be Sleeping Beauty; I didn't want to be the witch [laughs]. Little did I know that those witches are way more fun!

Kyle: Has any of your previous work brought you to the Dallas/Fort Worth area?

Jackie: I joined the WICKED tour in Dallas to rehearse for four weeks, but I [started performances] in Houston. My husband was actually a guest dance professor at SMU for a couple of years, so I've been to Dallas many times. I love Dallas!

Kyle: Although you're just joining the tour next week, you were the stand by for this same role on Broadway, correct?

Jackie: Yes! As the stand by, I never did anything other than play that role. If I wasn't on stage that evening, I just sat in my dressing room.

Kyle: I imagine performing for an audience who's expecting to see Idina Menzel onstage creates a certain amount of pressure.

Jackie: Oh my god, yes!

Kyle: What can you tell me about that experience?

Jackie: Broadway was a very skin-thickening experience for me; I'm a very sensitive girl [laughs]! Having Idina, who is the biggest star on Broadway, making her return after ten years, in a role that was written for her...I understood the trepidation of the audience members who came to see her perform [and then found out it would be me]! There was definitely a lot of work to win them over. I appreciated the people who stayed, and could always feel the moment they were won over. It was infinitely harder than a normal show experience, which is hard in and of itself. I definitely had to learn to not take it to heart; it made me stronger!

Kyle: Can you tell me about the audition process, and how you came to be involved in In/Then?

Jackie: I had just finished doing WICKED for three years. I had played Elphaba for a year on tour and then a year and a half on Broadway. David Stone, who is the producer for WICKED and IF/THEN, called my agents and asked if I would be interested in being Idina's standby. Then I went in and auditioned, because I'd never worked with director Michael Greif before.

Kyle: In your transition from standby to full-time leading lady in If/Then, has your approach to the character or the show changed?

Jackie: Absolutely. I had never been a standby before, and a lot of the work that you do is on your own. You don't get a lot of time with the director or the musical director. I called myself a creepy voyeur, writing down Idina's every move, and trying to eavesdrop on the director's notes. It was a lot of work just performing along to the show in my dressing room every night; I called it "karaoke." It was strange going on for my first time because I'd never heard just the orchestra: I'd always heard the orchestra plus Idina. It's been really great this time around to have one-on-one with the director and musical director. For me, it's really fun right now because I'm going in with new [actors in the roles of] Josh and Kate, so we're finding things organically. Having a two-week rehearsal period right now is really wonderful!

Kyle: Is there a moment in the show that stands out (at this point) as a favorite part of the show?

Jackie: Oh god! Yes, I mean "Always Starting Over" is amazing, and I think any singer loves singing it. I love "Learn to Live Without." I know it sounds generic, but it changes. It depends on the audience, and where I am in my life that day. I think that's what so unique about this show: there are so many different avenues that we go down. There's something that speaks to each person, and each avenue speaks to each person differently. I've never experienced that on any other show before!

Kyle: I'm going to put you on the spot for a minute, but I always love asking this: in all of your experience, can you remember any onstage mishaps or mistakes?

Jackie: I can think of SO many, but I'll give you two. My Broadway debut was HAIR, and we would go in the audience. There were these stairs that I would run up on stage to end the number. One night, I tried to skip a step, and I fell backwards and into the audience. It was hilarious [and] it was mortifying. Then, in WICKED, in "Defying Gravity," I got in the gravitator and my cape got caught. I thought to myself, "I'll just put my broom down on the floor and fix my cape." But it started moving, and I couldn't bend down to pick [the broom] up, so I had to do "Defying Gravity" without it. I walked offstage crying because I'd ruined the illusion - and, of course, no one noticed. Glinda didn't notice. My stage manger didn't notice. At the stage door, none of the fans (who always notice) said a word. In my mind, I had ruined the show! I thought I was going to get fired [laughs].

Kyle: I know you're just starting this adventure, but when this tour eventually wraps up, what work might you hope for or have planned in the future?

Jackie: The next thing I'd like to do is create my own role from the ground up. That's my number one goal right now. I've had a great career, and I'm very thankful for everything that's come into my life with WICKED and IF/THEN, but I think the next step is that I want to do something that I'm on from the ground floor and get to create every aspect. That's really exciting for me! For now, [though, I'm] with IF/THEN for seven months!

For tickets and more information on IF/THEN, please visit www.IfThenTheMusical.com or www.ATTPAC.org!

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