Katie Holmes hat ihren Weg nach Hause gefunden, oder so nah wie die Schauspielerin kommen kann, während sie noch am Great White Way arbeitet. Die Einwohnerin von Toledo, Ohio, befindet sich derzeit am Broadway inDead Accounts, der neuen Komödie der Schauspielerin Theresa Rebeck._Bei der Show geht es um eine Familie in Cincinnati, die sich mit einem kranken Elternteil und einem Sohn beschäftigen muss, der seinen Weg verloren hat. Holmes spielt Lorna, die designierte elterliche Hausmeisterin, die nun wieder in ihrem Kindheitshaus lebt. Im Mittleren Westen ist Lorna ehrlich, hartnäckig, pflegeleicht, familienorientiert – und trinkt ihren Wein aus der Box. Das Spiel beginnt mit der überraschenden Ankunft von Lornas großem Bruder Jack (gespielt von dem in St. Louis geborenen Norbert Leo Butz). Er arbeitet in einer Finanzstelle in New York, hat aber ein großes Geheimnis – das im Titel erwähnt wird – nach Hause gebracht, das die ganze Familie erschüttert. Holmes wollte nach ihrem Debüt in der Neuauflage von_All My Sons im Jahr 2008 wieder auf den Broadway zurückkommen, und sie ist mit Butz als Szenenpartnerin in guten Händen. Der Broadway-Tierarzt feiert sein Debüt1996 in_Rent und hat seitdem zwei Tony Awards für Rollen in den Musicals_Dirty Rotten Scoundrels_und_Catch Me if You Can gewonnen. Wir setzten uns mit dem Paar bei der legendären Broadway-HauntSardi's zusammen,um über ihre Wurzeln im Mittleren Westen zu sprechen und darüber, was sie am Leben in New York lieben.
Katie, this is your second time on Broadway. What about that experience were you looking forward to reliving?
Katie Holmes:
I particularly like the theater schedule. You just go and you do it, there's not a lot of waiting around. But you have to think on your feet while you're up there. Sometimes words just don't come out—you mean for them to come out [but] they just don't. Then your costar has to fill in and you feel like a jerk. You spend your next line going, “Oh, God, why did I do that?”
What do you do when that happens?
Norbert Leo Butz:
We've both been there. The other day it was my turn in the first scene, and she covered me.
True! Norbert, how have you found Katie to work with?
NB:
I can tend to…well, shall we say, “overdo” my work. Some people call it mugging; some call it overacting. I'm very excitable. Katie is a real listener on stage, and that's the beauty with working with someone who's worked in front of the camera. She feels less pressure—and this is just my opinion—to [show off] and wanted to find a more truthful way of being in the play. She made me [say to myself], “I actually have to look at this person and communicate with her.” So she's been a grounding force for me in the play, and that's very true of our characters. Lorna brings Jack back down to the planet. I think that's why we have good chemistry on stage.
Do you feel that some of your Midwestern qualities have come back to you while doing this play?
KH:
Lorna has a line at the end about sharing, not cheating, doing your homework and working a 16-hour day. To me that says everything about the Midwest. You respect it [because] it doesn't go away. It's always there. The reason why you feel safe in the world is because you know that where you're from is still the same. I think that's why I feel a kinship with other Midwesterners. That's what attracted me to this play. I felt like Theresa [Rebeck] really got it right.
Is there anything you guys do with your kids in New York City that reminds you of your childhood in the Midwest?
KH:
New York has so many great places. It's particularly crazy right now, with all the people in for the holidays. I'm excited about it. It's like you're part of [something], like walking around
….
What do you guys love to do in New York when you're not working?
KH:
I just saw the
, which was one of my favorite things. It's gorgeous, all porcelain ornaments. I also love
,
,
, and I like walking outside of
and watching the dancers through the window. I love downtown, too.