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Hes liberal, he says, and a former Santa Monica beach bum.
Where do you start with a character like Colin?
Thats what hes been lying about.It was peeling back layers of an onion.
People thought I was as crazy as my character.
But he objectifies people, and especially women.
I found it interesting to play that dynamic with Uzo.
It was a safe space to play an unsafe guy.
Hes a lovable narcissist.
I thought back to when I started therapy when I was in my late 20s in New York.
We get there with Colin by the end of it.
No spoilers, but its a very different ending than you would expect.
We happen to be six feet apart.
I had COVID a year ago.
I was about to go into previews for the play I was directing and they shut us down.
So this show presented a real challenge to me.
My brain was getting a fucking post-COVID workout because I had so many lines to learn.
Twenty-eight pages of dialogue in one day, so … it was intense.
You had to check that you ate a good amount of almonds and protein bars.
Dont get too caffeinated.
Colin is a major denier, too, about his past.
I wouldnt describe Henry as pathological, though.
Henrys just a fucked-up guy.
Colin makes him look like a walk on the beach.
I came to New York in 1983 as a young gay man.
I came out and was my authentic self.
There are some things that are so comfortable about my life that Id never been aware of.
I thought there was a commonality between all LGBTQ people.
You have to acknowledge that your experience is not the same as anyone elses.
And a lot of that was happening withThe Inheritanceas well.
Matthew Lopez, a writer of color, wrote a story with Black characters and white characters.
One of the criticisms of the play was its focus on a set of primarily white main characters.
How did you respond to that?We had an extraordinary journey with the play.
I understood that and accepted it.
Matthew was more articulate about where we started and where we ended and what he was trying to do.
You were set to direct Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker inPlaza Suitejust before Broadway shut down.
Exactly when that is Im not sure, but none of us are.
We have little Zoom parties every now and then just to touch base.
I see them occasionally and go, Lets just execute the first scene back.
I remember when they were in their final dress rehearsal in hair and makeup.
We all knew it was coming.
I remember looking at them onstage and thinking it was like that quartet on theTitanic.We were hitting an iceberg.
Its a voyage of discovery.
What is the gay identity?
So many people are asking that question right now.
