By Andrew Gans
05 Oct 2007

Leslie Kritzer

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

LESLIE KRITZER
It's been some year for Leslie Kritzer, the young singing actress who is currently starring in the pre-Broadway tryout of A Catered Affair at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. The new musical, which features a score by John Bucchino and a book by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein, casts Kritzer as Janey, the bride-to-be in a company that also boasts Faith Prince (as her mom), Tom Wopat (as her dad), Matt Cavenaugh (as her fiancι) and Fierstein (as her uncle). Prior to her current Affair, Kritzer was seen on the intimate stage of Joe's Pub, re-creating Patti LuPone's legendary concerts at the now-defunct Manhattan nightspot Les Mouches. For her critically acclaimed and much-extended engagement in Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches, Kritzer earned a special MAC Award. She also managed to score some great reviews with her relatively small role as Serena in the new musical Legally Blonde. In fact, in his New York Times review, Ben Brantley singled out Kritzer, saying she possesses "an original satiric vibrancy"; Variety agreed, adding that the show's Greek chorus is "captained with comic verve by the hilarious Leslie Kritzer." Kritzer was subsequently honored for her Blonde performance with the 62nd annual Clarence Derwent Award. That prize, which was also awarded to In the Heights' Lin-Manuel Miranda, is given to "the most promising female and male performers on the New York metropolitan scene." Last week I had the chance to chat with the up 'n' coming Kritzer, who boasts a rangy, thrilling belt, terrific coming timing and a galvanizing stage presence.

	Kritzer offered some of the most exciting vocals of the year in Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches.
	photo by Stacey Grabowski

Question: The last time we spoke, you and [director] Ben Rimalower were getting ready to present the LuPone concerts at Joe's Pub. What was that experience like for you?
Leslie Kritzer: Amazing! It's amazing what some friends can do when they put their heads together and try something different when they have some down time. It was just an incredible experience and really, really fun. [It was] incredibly rewarding and surprisingly successful. I didn't know it was going to be that successful . . . it was a wonderful surprise.

Question: I saw the concert twice, and the audience seemed to really respond to you.
Kritzer: I didn't know what to expect, so therefore I didn't expect anything, and it kind of worked out in my favor. [Laughs.] When you don't plan, you just do it and see what happens. I'm so thrilled that I had the chance to do it.

Question: Did you find that the more you performed the concert, the more you could let loose with it?
Kritzer: Absolutely, [the more I performed], the more license I had to interpret. It was awesome to be able to spread my wings. The more you do something, it becomes so much more familiar and easy. It was a treat that we got to do it a bunch of different times.

Question: You won the MAC Award for that, and then you received the Clarence Derwent Award. What was your response when you heard that you were receiving an award for "the most promising female on the New York metropolitan scene"?
Kritzer: I was surprised! I thought Equity was calling me because I didn't pay my health insurance or I owed them money. [Laughs.] I was doing Legally Blonde and I [received a call from a woman at Equity]. She was like, "Hi, I'm from Equity," and I'm like, "Oh God, what did I do now?" [Laughs.] My mind just goes to that place: "Of course, I'm in trouble." And she's like, "No, actually you won the Clarence Derwent Award," and I was like, "Oh my God!" I just was shocked. I'm very rarely a person of few words. I really didn't know what to say. I was like, "Are you sure you've got the right person?" I just was really grateful and incredibly honored. I got paid, especially for Legally Blonde, to act crazy and to be silly. It was just really nice that the people that did recognize me wanted me to have something like that, which was really special.

	Leslie Kritzer in Legally Blonde.
	photo by Joan Marcus

Question: Tell me about your experience in Legally Blonde and working with Jerry Mitchell.
Kritzer: In high school I had to choose between being a cheerleader and being in the theatre department, and I chose to be in the theatre department. I always wanted to live out my cheerleading fantasy, and in Legally Blonde I got to do that. I got to have long hair like I did in high school, and I got to wear a short little outfit, and I got to be kind of a bitch and order people around and kind of feel like the hot girl. [Laughs.] That was really fun, and Jerry Mitchell supported me from the minute we walked into that rehearsal room. He let me try anything and always trusted me with trying new things and different things. That was awesome — to have somebody that lets you do your thing, especially if they know that you know what's funny. I grew up with girls like Serena, the character I played. I'm very, very well aware of girls like that, and it kind of was a celebration of them and kind of my send-off to them.

Some of my closest friends are in Legally Blonde. They call me all the time; they want to come out here and visit. It was kind of like going back to college and high school. It was just a blast. It was so much fun. We had a great time in San Francisco [where Legally Blonde played prior to Broadway]. It's rare to have a big show like that and for everyone to get along. That's rare from what I understand. I haven't done a lot of Broadway shows, so I'm just grateful that I got a chance to work with those people and to make really great friends.

Question: Was there any problem leaving the show early to do A Catered Affair?
Kritzer: No, not at all. I wasn't on a real year contract, so my time was up. So it was time to go, time to move on!

Question: How did A Catered Affair come about?
Kritzer: I got an audition. I was told that I would be auditioning for John Doyle, who I absolutely think is a genius, and for Harvey Fierstein, who I worked with in Hairspray. I read the script and immediately got the character right away. It was like, "Okay, I think I know this girl." I have to say it was a pretty magical audition. I kind of walked in and kind of felt it from Day One. I walked in and just felt like I was her.

Question: What did they have you do at the audition?
Kritzer: I read both of the scenes a few times, and I sang something of my own choosing, and that was it. I didn't sing from the show. I sang a song from Yentl, "Where Is It Written?" I just felt a presence in the room. I kind of walked out thinking, "I could do this role." . . . They called my agent like an hour later to see if I could get out of Legally Blonde. So that's how it started, but it was an amazing audition. I was incredibly intimidated, but at the same time, very assured. . . . I'm a comedic actress, but it's not the only thing I want to do, so I kind of walked out going, "I think I did a really good job, but it's so emotional in there…" It was a very emotional audition, so when I got the call, I was like, "Oh my God!"

Question: Were you familiar with the film at all before this?
Kritzer: I watched the film prior to my audition, so I did my research. I loved the film, and I loved Bette Davis. She's just incredible. I watched it once and kind of got a feel, then went on my own.

Question: Everyone I've talked to who has worked with John Doyle raves about him. What makes him so special?
Kritzer: Well, we kind of started a theatre company as a joke, called The Non-Fundamentalist Theatre Company, and he voted me president since I'm an active member. Basically, he doesn't use a lot — he's been taking away stuff: props, clothes, sets. [It's a] very minimalist kind of theatre, as little as possible to work with. "No walls, no doors, no nothing" is the motto I came up with. You don't need all of that to tell a story. You don't need the big sets, you don't need the 25-piece orchestra, you don't need the bells and whistles to tell a simple story like A Catered Affair. It's all about the story, and it's about the people. That's, I think, what the point is — and the way, creatively, he uses the set that we have and the lighting and us, [the actors]. It's incredibly — I know, it sounds so cheesy — organic. It's incredibly organic and so simple and closer to the truth. . . . He's very, very all about being as real as possible. The process was incredibly inspiring and also difficult because it's not an easy show to do. This is a family that doesn't really communicate, and this is a different generation of people. . . . It's just not an easy topic. The characters all have struggles within them, so it's been interesting.

Question: How would you describe the character of Janey?
Kritzer: A tough, but sensitive, firecracker of a girl who is her mother's daughter and who wants to get out. She wants to get out of this house. It's time for her. Her brother just died in the war not too long ago, and she's determined. She's had to be in the shadow of her older sibling, so she's lived with that. That's just part of her life. . . . She didn't go to college. She stayed home and helped support the family when things got rough. The older brother got everything. It's her time to get out, and she asks her boyfriend to marry her. She's a ballsy chick, but at the same time, loves her parents. There's no communication. There's a lot of unspoken tension. Her sibling just died, and she's waltzing in the room and telling her parents she's getting married and leaving. It's not easy. And mother/daughter relationships — I think people are going to identify with the show a lot because it touches on things that are so present. It doesn't matter if it's 1953 or 1954 or 2007 — mothers and daughters have their relationship problems. They're planning a wedding, and [there is] all the craziness that goes into that with the family and his family and making everybody happy and doing things for other people to make them happy instead of yourself. And strange relationships between parents and children — real, real stuff that I really don't see dealt with a lot in theatre that I've seen recently, in this kind of way, in the way that John is doing it. I just really respect him and relate a lot to the story and think it's beautiful. And, I get to wear a beautiful white dress!

	Leslie Kritzer in A Cattered Affair.
	photo by Craig Schwartz

Question: How has audience reaction been so far?
Kritzer: Most people that I've talked to really love it, but I'm on the inside, so I'm just — more with this show than any other show I've done — trying really not to care, trying just to tell the story and to do my job. As a comedian, I'm always concerned about the laughs, and John knows that. Faith [Prince] and I are very similar. We're both comedians. That's what we do the best. From Day One we made our joke that, "Oh, they don't take our Comedic American Express Card in this show." That charge card doesn't work here. It's not a bah-dum-bump [kind of show]. Harvey can get away with it more than we can because of the nature of his character, but when we are funny in the show, it's coming from more of a real place, and therefore it is funny. There are definitely many funny moments. We always walk that fine line, and John keeps us in check to make sure that we're always being real and telling the story first and foremost and not trying to make bits or make things funny [in order to] please anybody in the audience because it's not about that. . . . There's going to be people that are going to love it, there's going to be people that are not going to love it. That's how it is with every show. All that matters at the end of the day, for me, is that I'm doing the best I can. I love the show, and I think a lot of people can identify with it. It's a very small, beautiful story. Ninety minutes. You can't beat that! [Laughs.]

Question: What's John Bucchino's score like?
Kritzer: Very lyrical and touching. It's not a big number kind of show. It's really to-the-heart, touching and just beautiful.

Question: Were you familiar with his music before this?
Kritzer: I was. I had heard some things he had done before and loved his music. Across the board, it's just been a great experience.

Question: What is it like working with such a starry cast?
Kritzer: I grew up idolizing Faith. I went to the same school as she did because she went there.

Question: Which school?
Kritzer: Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. I saw her opening night of Guys and Dolls. . . . Now I'm playing her daughter. It's kind of surreal. And, she's an amazing teacher for me on many different levels. The other day I kind of had a hard day, and I went in her dressing room [and said], "I need a hug." We were talking, and it is a very mother and daughter [relationship] offstage as it is on — in a different way, in a more positive way offstage! It's really brought us very close together, and Faith Prince is really one of the most incredible women I've ever met. She's taught me a lot about a lot of things that have nothing to do with the business, which is probably the best part — about being happy in dealing with this business and having a life and a family and how that's so important and how that's really what makes you happy in the end. Those things are really invaluable lessons I'm learning. She's just an incredible woman. I pinch myself, I can't believe it. Continued...

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