#1
Posted: 1/10/26 at 7:28am
On how she had to star in the White Lotus to lead on Broadway
Updated On: 1/10/26 at 07:28 AM
Carrie Coon tells it like it is
#2
Posted: 1/11/26 at 12:20pm
I found it interesting and hypocritical that they made such a big deal about how unfair it is to have to be a celebrity to be in a Broadway show, but then gave no credit to the (non-A-list) rest of the cast of Bug. Also no acknowledgement that Carrie being the partner of the playwright played a role in her getting the part.
#3
Posted: 1/11/26 at 1:24pm
Her name is 100% selling tickets for this. To be honest, I had never heard of her until about a month ago when a family friend asked me to help her get tickets. She knows nothing about the play and is not a theatre lover in general; she wanted to see the play specifically for Ms. Coon. When I went to check on ticket availability, it was already very well sold.
#4
Posted: 1/11/26 at 1:28pm
They also failed to mention that this is not a commercial production, it is a subsidized production being produced by a regional theater with a subscriber/membership base that happens to have a Broadway house. There is a massive difference in budget/salaries, etc.
#5
Posted: 1/11/26 at 2:13pm
FANtomFollies said: "I found it interesting and hypocritical that they made such a big deal about how unfair it is to have to be a celebrity to be in a Broadway show, but then gave no credit to the (non-A-list) rest of the cast of Bug. Also no acknowledgement that Carrie being the partner of the playwright played a role in her getting the part."
Her comments are geared more towards the reality that the production was able to be mounted on Broadway simply because she was on THE WHITE LOTUS. She’s not ragging on that reality but just stating facts. Bebe Neuwirth said the same thing with the 1994 Broadway revival of DAMN YANKEES. Even though she was a Tony Award winner for the 1986-87 Broadway revival of SWEET CHARITY, it was her success on the long-running NBC TV series CHEERS that helped that DAMN YANKEES revival get produced.
#6
Posted: 1/11/26 at 8:54pm
FANtomFollies said: "I found it interesting and hypocritical that they made such a big deal about how unfair it is to have to be a celebrity to be in a Broadway show, but then gave no credit to the (non-A-list) rest of the cast of Bug. Also no acknowledgement that Carrie being the partner of the playwright played a role in her getting the part."
Okay, this is the problem of criticizing what someone says in the context of a chopped up TikTok clip. CBS put the full 25 minute extended interview on YouTube, and it turns out it's a joint interview with Carrie Coon and Tracy Letts, primarily about their dynamics as a couple.
She does talk about Namir Smallwood. She does talk about how she got cast, which was basically Tracy saying I think you're old enough to play the part now. They also talked about how both Letts and Coon have both turned down work so the other can take a job.
Realistically, Tracy Letts would play a big role in any part Coon took on Broadway, regardless of who the playwright is, for childcare reasons.
#7
Posted: 1/12/26 at 12:29pm
White Lotus is a huge show, but I think we're overselling how much of a career boost it was for Carrie Coon (I think most people would say the big stars of this season were Parker Posey or Walton Goggins), and how much her career really needed a boost. We're a decade removed from The Leftovers, which is regarded by many as one of the greatest television shows ever made, and featured Carrie Coon as the second lead role. Not to mention Fargo, Gone Girl, The Gilded Age, and 2 Ghostbusters movies that collectively made almost half a billion dollars. All of that has to count for something.
#8
Posted: 1/12/26 at 1:36pm
Sure it all counts for something. But none of those projects you listed are a cultural zeitgeist phenom like The White Lotus. Parker Posey had the meme-able one liners, but Coon was a central figure in the story with some of the most memorable scenes. And I guarantee you that most casual viewers had never seen her before (or had seen her in projects like Gone Girl but didn't clock it was her due to it being a smaller role). The Leftovers may be critically acclaimed, and it certainly opened doors for her professionally. But it only had around 1 million viewers per episode versus around 16 million per episode for The White Lotus season 3.
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