Shrewed Vision
Putting aside the thornier feminist issues that "Kiss Me, Kate," may bring to mind, (assuming a light-hearted romp like "Kate" should be discussed in those terms at all), actress Marin Mazzie, who plays the tempestuous shrew, unexpectedly insists "The big challenge is keeping healthy and relaxed.
"I do a lot of screaming. And when you get angry your throat clenches. I have to keep my throat open and my voice-in singing as in speaking-supported from the diaphragm. I have to get enough rest and pace myself. I work out every day, swim three days a week, do aerobics three days a week, and now weight-lifting three days a week. I've done more physical training for this show-on the set and in the gym-than any other I've been in."
The dedicated actress who opened in the smash Broadway hit, Nov. 18, at the Martin Beck Theatre, earned the 1998 Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critic's Circle award nominations for her portrayal of Mother in "Ragtime." Earlier, Mazzie received a Tony nomination for her interpretation of Clara in Stephen Sondheim's "Passion."
Each role, clearly enough, carries its own baggage. Consider the inevitable comparisons Mazzie faces in light of the luminaries who have played Kate in the past-Patricia Morison onstage and Kathryn Grayson in the movie. Mazzie responds that she never saw Morison on stage and therefore can't be accused of imitating her. And, as for the film version-well, she has her reservations, although she admits viewing it when she was first cast in the role.
"The chemistry between the two leads just isn't there and if you don't have that, none of it is going to work. Movies like "His Girl Friday' [starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell] and "Twentieth Century' [starring Carole Lombard and John Barrymore] were greater influences for me," recalls the 30-something Rockford, Ill. native with whom we're speaking over the phone.
Bringing the conversation back to the play's feminist issues, Mazzie suggests that the play is often misperceived as a story about a feisty woman turned submissive through the manipulations of a man. That view, she argues, misses the more profound point.
"Lili and Fred [Brian Stokes Mitchell] are crazy about each other, and that's what the play is all about. Everything that goes on between them is a game, it's all sexual foreplay. By the end of the play they have grown. They will continue to fight, but they have reached a new understanding."
As everyone knows, "Kiss Me, Kate," Cole Porter's 1948 musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew" is the classic play-within-a-play as Fred Graham and his ex-wife, Lili, battle it out behind-the-scenes and as the onstage feuders-lovers, Petruchio and Kate. Off-and-onstage they are awash in egotism and foul temper, respectively. The acting throughout, but especially in their onstage personas, is broad, very broad.
"You always have to play these characters from a place of truth," notes Mazzie. "Whatever happens has to come out of the interaction between the characters. But no, I do not think Lili's onstage acting is bad. As an actress, I have to believe it's quite good [despite its blatant over-the-top sensibility]."
True to Herself-In Her Fashion
The daughter of an ABC affiliate manager in Rockford, Ill., Mazzie had her sights set on an acting career early on. Her godfather and his wife were actors, she points out. And in high school, a Catholic institution, she honed her skills in a host of productions. Interestingly, several of the school's alumni are-or have been-Broadway players: Jodie Benson (star of "Crazy For You"), director Joe Mantello, and actor Paul Castree who is now featured in "Saturday Night Fever."
Mazzie majored in theatre and minored in music at Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo; appeared in summer stock, where she earned her Equity card; and two weeks after arriving in New York City, she landed a role at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, New York. She has been working steadily ever since.
"If I were not acting I might be working with mentally or physically handicapped kids-teaching them art, dance, music, and theatre," she observes. "I was a counselor in a camp like that when I was in high school and found the experience very rewarding."
A turning point, artistically speaking, occurred when Mazzie was starring in a Los Angeles production of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along." "We were trying to find the right key for me, when Stephen began to sing the song, "Not a Day Goes By.' He can't sing," Mazzie asserts, "But the song worked because his emotions were so real, they emerged from him. That's when I realized good singing comes from the character, not the notes. I understood that I should never superimpose anything onto the character, although clearly, singing is a heightened reality."
A more significant turning point, perhaps, was Mazzie's realization that you cannot attempt to assume the personality and style of another actor. Impersonating the hot star of the moment-or even a valid role model-doesn't work anyway, she adds. The epiphany came through psychotherapy, she admits frankly.
"I was working in theatre steadily, but not getting the kind of roles I wanted. I was not originating any parts. I went into a big depression and went into psychotherapy. There, I came to accept the fact that what I have is unique and that I shouldn't be wasting time comparing myself to anyone else or trying to be someone else. As an actress and person I had to find out who I was."
Not unexpectedly, Mazzie likes "discussing things," and the collaborative process in theatre. Her ideal director is one "who has a vision and is able to guide the actor, but at the same time, he allows the actor to contribute to the process." She stresses, "I enjoy analyzing a character's history: Where did Fred and Lili meet? What brought them to this point? Brian [Stokes Mitchell who plays Fred] and I spent a lot of time talking about their relationship. That kind of openness with each other is true to who they are individually and, especially, together. That's why they get under each other's skin."
Mazzie emphasizes that what-and how much-she will share with her fellow-actors depends, at least in part, on the kind of character she's playing. Not all are equally open. "When I played "Mother' in "Ragtime' I did not share her deepest darkest secrets with anyone. She would not talk about certain things and therefore neither would I."
Curiously, "Mother' was a personally transforming role, Mazzie says. "She was a good, courageous woman whose brave actions had a ripple effect. Playing her for three years was a life lesson. I tried to be a better person and for the first time I saw that my actions-even the smallest-have an effect on others. As a result of playing her I had a different sense of myself in the world-in relationship to my husband [actor Jason Danieley, star of "Candide"], my family and friends, and those people I had had falling outs with. Life is too short to hold grudges."
Mazzie's thoughts are most focused on "Kiss Me, Kate," and she's having a ball doing it-all the more so since she's not identified, at least in New York, with wild comic parts. Still, she admits she'd love to do "a great Shakespearean role without music. I'd love to do some film work. But my next big production, I hope, is having a baby!" q