Interview: Katerina McCrimmon of FUNNY GIRL at BROADWAY AT THE HOBBY CENTER

FUNNY GIRL comes to the Hobby Center from August 20th through the 25th as part of BROADWAY AT THE HOBBY CENTER. Katerina McCrimmon will be playing the iconic role of Fanny Brice in the latest version of this show, which ran in New York and features all of your favorite songs and a revised book. BROADWAY WORLD writer Brett Cullum got a chance to talk to Katerina about her love of theater and touring.    

Brett Cullum: You are from one of my favorite cities in the world, Miami. And you got a degree from Florida State University! 

Katerina McCrimmon: That's right. Yeah, yeah.

Brett Cullum: So, did you grow up in Miami?

Katerina McCrimmon: Born and raised. I'm a proud Miami girl. I would never live there again. But I'm really, really proud to be from there, and I brag about it all the time.

Brett Cullum: I noticed you've got a lot of New York credits. So, how did you get to New York? And how did you get into acting?

Katerina McCrimmon: So I started theater when I was eight years old. I saw a musical on a field trip when I was in the 3rd grade. Basically, it was all these little girls in a production of 

MADELINE’S CHRISTMAS and most of them were around my age. And I remember thinking, “Wait! I want to do that!”

After that, I auditioned for the next show of that season for Actors Playhouse in Miami, and I got it. I booked my first audition, and I had a great time. It was a children's show based on a book called UNDERSTOOD BETSY, and I played Betsy's best friend, Molly.

And then, ever since then, I haven't stopped. You know. I've been doing theater since I was 8. I'm in my mid-twenties now, and you know it's it's been a wild ride. Then, I started to go to performing arts schools at Miami Middle School High School. Then, I went to Florida State for their musical theater program. I was actually in the class of 2020, and I didn't have a graduation ceremony. I didn't have a showcase. I didn't have anything like that. But I got lucky because I made my Broadway debut while still in school.

In 2019, I was in the production of the Broadway Revival of THE ROSE TATTOO by Tennessee Williams. And I did that. I came back and I finished out my senior year of school. But it was all virtual. After that, I stayed in Tallahassee for just a little bit.

I moved to New York in August of 2021, and that was when the pandemic was still lingering. We were all trying to figure out how to get through it together. I did my first show back at Hartford Stage, and it was another play, AH WILDERNESS! That was the first play that Hartford stage did since the pandemic had begun. Ever since then, I've just been working and auditioning, and then I got this. I got FUNNY GIRL.

Brett Cullum: It's funny because you are talking about a lot of heavy plays for somebody who majored in musical theater. I mean, Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill? 

Katerina McCrimmon: Yeah, I got lucky. A lot of people tell me, “Your voice is amazing.” But really, my favorite thing to hear is, “You're such a strong actor!” I think many actors want to be recognized for their acting before anything else because the whole point of theater is the story. I still audition for plays, and I still want to do plays just as much as I want to do musicals.

Brett Cullum: What are some of your favorite shows that you've done so far?

Katerina McCrimmon: Oh, gosh, some of my favorite shows. FUNNY GIRL has been a blast! I've never had so much fun on stage and laughed so hard whether I'm supposed to or not. 

I've also had a lot of fun in not-the-leading roles! In college, I did a production of the ADDAMS FAMILY, where I played one of the ancestors in the back. I was just like a ghost, and I got to dance. I got to dance my booty off, and that was really fun because I'm not much of a dancer. I wouldn't consider myself a dancer first, but I can move, and we had a lot of fun learning the choreography in that show, and it's fun to create your own character. You know. I feel like when you're in the ensemble, you have a lot more freedom to create your own backstory and just run with it, whereas if you're a principal, then you have to really stay by the book and make sure that you're telling the story as accurately as possible.

Brett Cullum: Now, that's what makes me nervous about this role for you. It is Fanny Brice; it has a legacy, and everybody has this idea of who Fanny Brice is. So, it seems daunting to step into her shoes. How did you get there? How did you decide? This is how I'm gonna do her my way.

Katerina McCrimmon: You know, I think what really worked for me is that I didn't have much knowledge of FUNNY GIRL. I saw the movie once when I was a teenager, and funny enough, my boyfriend and I were on vacation with his family when his mom told me that I would play Fanny Brice! 

One day, she looked at me and said, “Have you seen FUNNY GIRL?” I said no. And she goes, “Well, you need to watch it because you're gonna play Fanny Brice one day.” That was crazy. So that day, we watched the movie, and that was the only time I had seen it until I got the audition, and I didn't watch it.

When I got the audition, I was like, I'm not gonna see the movie because I don't want it to influence my choices. And so I had the best freedom: I got to approach it as something new. I think I didn't have any preconceived notion of what Fanny Brice should be because I just approached the text like any actor would. I saw the scenes, and I understood. Oh, she's very tongue-in-cheek. Oh, she flies off the seat of her pants. Those are all things that any actor could gather from the text. 

And then, well, the music! That's a different story. The music from this show has been in my life, and you know, when I was twelve, I would sing “Don’t Rain on My Parade” in my bedroom. I sang “People” in high school at the Kennedy Center, which was a full circle moment because then we played the Kennedy Center, and then, you know, I sang “The Music That Makes Me Dance” in my senior recital in school, so the music has always been with me. 

Brett Cullum: I think what's funny about FUNNY GIRL. A lot of people experience it that way. I know all the songs backward and forward. When I was twelve years old, I probably sang, “Don’t Rain on My Parade!” Okay, we all get that. 

What's different about this version of FUNNY GIRL is that the script had a redo with Harvey Fierstein. So, this is a little bit more updated. Is that right?

Katerina McCrimmon: It moves really well. And a lot of people who have seen the show say that it's been so much improved since the show in the sixties. It's less clunky! Harvey Fierstein is such a brilliant writer, and he was able to take the scenes and lift them. 

We've been lucky because we've had a lot of audience members who were lucky enough to see the production with Barbara Streisand. I've had so many people tell me that at the stage door, it's something else to be able to hear their experience. And now their experience again, 60-odd years later.

Brett Cullum: Oh, my gosh, that just gives me chills. I am just thinking about it. That's crazy. Well, I will ask you this, and it will be hard. But what's your favorite number in the show?

Katerina McCrimmon: You know, it changes. But I think “I'm the Greatest Star” is probably my favorite, especially because it's kind of where I'm at in my life right now, you know, I'm still relatively young, and I feel like, you know, at that point in Fanny's journey she's just starting out her career! She’s saying, “Hear me! I promise you that I've got something to show! I got something to share!” That's like the first time you really see her gift. And I feel like I'm finally getting to share that with people.

Brett Cullum: What do you like about touring? How long have you been doing this with this show?

Katerina McCrimmon: I'll hit a year in Houston! You know, the thing I love about touring is the people you meet on the road. The people that you travel with become like your family. The thing I don't like about touring is the constant traveling. It's hard on your body. And you know, living out of a suitcase is not something you get used to.

It's definitely you take the good with the bad, and there are things that I would never change about touring. Getting to see the country, getting to see cities that I never thought I would ever see, and I'm so glad that I did.

Brett Cullum: Is there anything that you want to do? Do you have some dream role? 

Katerina McCrimmon: Yeah, I mean, I get this question like three times a day, and I never know how to answer it. I'm open to anything. I'm open to TV and film. I'm open to Broadway. I haven't been on Broadway since 2019, and I'm itching to get back! Also, I'm working on some music stuff right now. I have my own album that I'm working on! My hands are in a lot of different things. So, I'm excited to see whatever flourishes first!

Brett Cullum: How do I find you on the socials? Tick? Tock, Instagram.

Katerina McCrimmon: Yeah, I'm on Instagram; my handle is “breathekaterina.” I've got lots of projects happening, so you don't want to miss out for sure.

Brett Cullum: Well, you've already got me intrigued. But we are so excited to see you in FUNNY GIRL. This has been a show that I've been looking forward to for over a year since they announced it. So I'm very excited.

Thank you so much. Break legs in Houston.

Katerina McCrimmon: Thank you.

 

Photo provided by Matthew Murphy of MurphyMade. 

FUNNY GIRL runs in Houston from August 20th through the 25th at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. It is presented by the Broadway Series at the Hobby Center.

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