Hushabye, Baby!

One doesn’t normally think of Swoosie Kurtz for her work in the classics. Though she made her Broadway debut in Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! and followed it up with the role of Mariane in Tartuffe, Kurtz has, over the past quarter-century, made her mark in such decidedly modern fare as Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July and John Guare’s House of Blue Leaves — both of which earned her Tony Awards as Best Featured Actress in a Play — as well as in Paula Vogel’s The Mineola Twins and Bryony Lavery’s Frozen. That may be why some people were surprised to find her cast as Hesione Hushabye in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s upcoming revival of George Bernard Shaw’s Heartbreak House, which starts previews on September 15.

“One reason I wanted to do this play is that I haven’t done the classics since I was at LAMDA (The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art),” says Kurtz. “Back then, I did Chekhov, Ibsen, all of the greats. We didn’t do a lot of Shaw, probably because he was Irish. In fact, I think the only Shaw play I ever did was Misalliance. I’d love to do that again — and even if I’m too old, I’d be a better Hypathia today than I was then. I’d never seen a production of Heartbreak House or read it before, and it was quite a revelation. It’s just glorious. The play resonates so much today; these people are oblivious to the world outside, where a war is going on. Of course, they didn’t have Anderson Cooper or CNN.”

The challenge of tackling Shaw was just one factor in her decision to do the play, which was last revived on Broadway in 1983 with Rex Harrison, Rosemary Harris, and Amy Irving heading the cast. Says Kurtz, “It’s a little different for me than most plays I’ve done recently, like Frozen, where I have had a lot of non-stop monologues. In this one, I get to waft in and out of scenes.” Moreover, she is thrilled to be playing the free-spirited Hesione, who has a rather unconventional view of love and a very uncoventional marriage: “Hesione is such a fascinating creature and a beautiful personification of a mature, ripened woman. She knows so much, but in a wise and sexy way. It’s great that I don’t have to apologize about being over 26. Interestingly, you don’t know much about her background, and they never talk about her mother, although I have a feeling she died young. But the bottom line is, whether I’m playing someone in Sussex in 1916 or someone in Queens in 1963, there’s something to be investigated and discovered and revealed. I think there’s a lot to be mined from the marital arrangement that Hesione has chosen.”

Equally enticing for Kurtz is the chance to work with her co-stars, including Philip Bosco as Hesione’s crusty father, Captain Shotover; Kurtz’s dear friend and former Frozen co-star Laila Robins as her sister, Lady Utterword; and Lily Rabe as Hesione’s new friend, Ellie Dunn. “I found out that Laila was doing this long after I was cast,” says Kurz, “and I thought, ‘Oh boy, are we going to have fun.’ Our last scene together in Frozen was one of the favorite things we’ve ever done. We had such a roller-coaster experience on that show, many great laughs and many great cries. I think the fact that we have a history together will help our portrayals, which isn’t always the case. I hadn’t met Lily until rehearsals, but I worked with her mother [Jill Clayburgh] years ago in repertory. It’s so funny whenever things come full circle.”

Kurtz also relishes the opportunity to work with British director Robin Lefèvre, whose previous New York outings include the Broadway production of Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me and the Off-Broadway production of Brian Friel’s The Artistocrats.. “I am so impressed with him, because he’s so smart but with no pretense,” she says. “The first thing I ask when I’m offered a part is ‘Who’s the director,’ which is something they never understand in Los Angeles. I love to be directed, and I can glean something from almost anyone. To me, getting notes, honing the part, and refining the role is the real fun of the play. Luckily, I’ve worked with some of the best: Doug Hughes, Jack O’Brien, and Joe Mantello. I’ve even kept notes that Jerry Zaks gave me during The House of Blue Leaves, and I still apply them to other roles. Working with a great director is like getting a master class in acting.”

While Kurtz is pleased with her recent work in Hollywood, including guest starring roles on Lost and Huff — she earned her 10th Emmy Award nomination for the latter — she’s thrilled to be back in the Big Apple and back on the stage. “New York is in my blood,” she says. “Everytime I come back, it’s just a tonic. It’s where I love to be, but you gotta do the commerce in order to do the art.” So, does she have any plans for after Heartbreak House ends its run? “I”d love to do a musical — well, another musical, if you count Imaginary Friends. I have a little list of them in my head. I’m also working on a one-woman show that I’d like to do someday.”

Given that she’s following in the footsteps of the great Rosemary Harris in playing Hesione, Kurtz’s dream role shouldn’t be that surprising: “You know, I did the daughter in Hay Fever when I first started out, but I think it’s time for me to play Judith Bliss,” she says. “That would be such a great part for me.”