New Feature: BWW Interactive Interview w/ Lisa Kron - Ask Questions Here! — Page 2

Rob wrote:
"WELL of course deals with your mother "finding her way into the play" - what did your mother think of the show?"

She’s both happy with the play and continually terrorized by it. She loves Jayne Houdyshell so much and feels very respected by Jayne’s portrayal of her. The first time she saw the play she said, "Jayne, you’re so delightful you even make me wish I was Ann Kron." And I think she feels very good about the ideas in the play and how they are conveyed. But the continual process of reviews and press and new productions with new versions of what her living room looks like – that’s very stressful for her. She’s extraordinarily generous, though and she really suffers very gracefully through her discomfort because, just like the character of Ann Kron, she is a deeply curious and engaged person and her desire to see what this play would become has always been larger than her anxiety around it.

Updated On: 3/21/06 at 12:44 PM

I noticed you have a stand-by, Cindy Katz. How closely have you been working with her? If you ever need to miss a performance, will that audience get an extremely similar experience?

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One more from me... You play "yourself" in the show. What is it like being directed to play "you"?

Mine is a comment also. I have heard wonderful things about the play. A close friend saw it the other night and called me as soon as he left the theatre raving about it. So it is high on the list when I visit from Denver in June!

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Ms. Kron, I was just wondering, do you read reviews of your plays and performances? If so, how do you handle the feedback, whether positive or negative?

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Rob wrote:
"Since your childhood plays such a large role in "Well," how did you take poetic license with your youth?"

When I’m writing I always start with what really happened.
Which means I have to dig past the comforting distortions of memory and try to remember what really happened. And usually there’s something much more interesting, complicated, vulnerable and real there then the narrative I created in retrospect. As I heard someone say once, "The first time you tell a story, it’s fact. The second time, it’s fiction." But once I’ve mined what I can find from that process I do manipulate the material so it will do what the play needs it to do which feels fine since the purpose of the plays is not to tell biographical stories.

Tonight is Opening Night and it’s the entire company’s Broadway Debut! What is the feeling like backstage?

Rob wrote:
"Tonight is Opening Night and it’s the entire company’s Broadway Debut! What is the feeling like backstage?"

We are having a really, really good time. Everyone working on WELL: the crew, the artistic staff, the cast, including the covers who are an integral and delightful part of the life of this show -- is lovely and warm and very fun. I have often said that the problem with a solo show is that the cast parties suck. So it is truly delightful to be sharing this experience with this fantastic group of people.