Interviews and Essays

Where: his publicist’s office. 4:30 pm.        This is one of those times when the interview took a very long time to set up, but it was well worth the wait. Gregory Hines and I first met seven months ago, so we had a very easy-going conversation since we had spoken...

Where: his dressing room (Martin Beck Theatre). 1 pm.        Right before a Wednesday matinee of Guys And Dolls, I interviewed Nathan Lane. As I was setting up, I told him that I had wanted to ask him for an interview for years. However, each previous time was inappropriate because there...

Where: a couple of orchestra house seats (Lyceum Theatre). 6:30 pm.        There are several "first time” occurrences for me in doing this interview with Ethan Hawke. It is the first time that I have interviewed someone who is younger than me and so close to my own age. It is...

Where: a café on St. Mark's Place. 5:30 pm.        When I asked William H. Macy for an interview, I was rather surprised at his reaction to my request. He said that he was flattered that I had asked him and even thanked me. All the while, I kept thinking, "Gee,...

Where: his dressing room (Martin Beck Theatre). 6:15 pm.        To say that it is a miracle this interview has occurred is not an understatement. Here's what happened: A couple of weeks into the previews for Guys And Dolls, I asked Peter Gallagher for an interview and he agreed. We decided...

Where: onstage (Classic Stage Company). 6 pm.        Peter Riegert has a delightful attitude about his work and life. But depending upon your attitude, there are two ways to see him. If you're like most decent people, then you will find him to be a refreshing change from many of the...

Where: his dressing room (Barrymore Theatre). 3 pm.        When I went to see Alec Baldwin backstage after a preview performance of the Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, a large mob of around two hundred people formed outside the backstage door waiting to see him. Usually when even a...

Where: his dressing room (Music Box Theatre). 5:30 pm.        Some of the reactions that I get from actors when I ask them for an interview never cease to amaze me. On this occasion, I knocked on the door of Anthony Heald's dressing room, and the voice inside told me to...

Where: his dressing room (Brooks Atkinson Theatre). 4:15 pm        Much to my surprise, I felt so immediately at ease doing this interview that I didn't bother to segue from question to question in the numerical order that I had them in, and spent more time than usual joking around and...

Where: a cafe on Prince Street. 11 am.        When Jonathan Pryce called me to confirm our interview, he told me to meet him at one of those upscale Soho coffee shops with a name that sounds more like an accounting firm than a place where you can get a bagel...

Where: his dressing room (Belasco Theatre). 5 pm.        Last Saturday evening, I was walking along 44th Street when I passed by a group of people standing in the middle of the street. The center of attention was a very attractive man dressed all in black. I did a double take...

Where: his dressing room (Music Box Theatre). 4:15 pm.        When I first met Jason Robards and asked to speak with him, he told me to follow him up to his dressing room so we could talk. Before I even put one foot on the first step, he dashed up the...

Where: a café in the Theater District. 6 pm.        This was one of the fastest interviews I had ever gotten, and since there was no previous small talk between us, I didn’t really know what kind of personality Mark Blum would have. My apprehensions were put to rest as we...

Where: over the phone. 12 pm.        When I asked Robert Vaughn for an interview he told me to give him my phone number, and he would call me. I wasn’t sure if he really would, but a month later, he did call, and of course, I was not in. I...