From the second she comes knocking in The Cottage, Dana Steingold’s Deirdre is a complete showstopper. Beau’s petite aspect chick has secrets and techniques and character for days. She flits across the immaculately furnished cottage like a fairy, sprinkling her spunk and a little bit of wildness throughout. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Dana about her standout position in Jason Alexander’s Broadway directorial debut.
“I feel what’s attention-grabbing about her entrance is that it’s a very totally different vitality than anybody else has introduced,” Dana stated. “It’s this birds chirping, the ability of affection, and only a complete optimism. She enters the world with nice optimism. She modified her life at the moment, she left her husband, and he or she’s about to begin what she thinks is a very new life along with her real love Beau. She definitely didn’t know the circumstances by which she was strolling into.”
Everybody contained in the cottage finds themselves interconnected in methods they by no means thought attainable. Sylvia, who’s married to Clarke, believes she’s the one different lady in Beau’s life. Beau is married to Marjorie, who’s been having a secret affair with Clarke, who additionally occurs to be Beau’s brother. Because it seems, Beau’s additionally been seeing Deirdre, who’s his little ball of sexual prowess. Dana addressed the liberty Deirdre embraces that Sylvia and Marjorie can’t appear to fairly attain.
“I feel what’s attention-grabbing about Deirdre is she has a sexual company about her that the opposite girls maybe don’t, and I’m not essentially saying that it’s expertise, however I feel she doesn’t match into the norms of society in the best way that the opposite girls do,” Dana stated. “I feel Beau is interested in her as a result of she’s very free in a approach that the opposite girls aren’t as a result of they’re so strict in what society imposes upon them and the manners of that point.”
The actress continued, “She’s type of arriving along with her personal company as a result of her youth is on her aspect in a approach that maybe isn’t for the opposite two who’ve already dedicated their lives to their husbands. Though she is leaving her husband, she additionally has taken many lovers as a result of she has a freedom about her. When she sees one thing she likes, she simply goes for it. That’s how she lives her life, which can be very a lot how she strikes via the play. I feel Beau affords her a stability that maybe Richard hadn’t. Inside that stability although, it’s additionally paired with a sexual lust that I feel isn’t existent in her present marriage.”
Dana stars alongside a terrific ensemble, together with Laura Bell Bundy, Eric McCormack, Alex Moffat, Lilli Cooper, and Nehal Joshi. “We’re having the most effective time, and I feel there’s nothing scarier and nothing extra thrilling to me than doing a present the place it’s only a small ensemble and all people depends on one another,” Dana gushed. “It’s such as you take this threat of this silent settlement that you just’re going to exit and defend one another if one thing goes improper.”
The characters in The Cottage all have various variations of British accents. The actress revealed what’s actually behind Deirdre’s accent. “We had been all given totally different voice references. Her put-upon accent relies on Rose Leslie, who’s a British actress. It’s very correct nearly in a Princess Diana type of approach as a result of she’s placing this model of herself for the world to suit into this family of what she sees as fancy girls round her who she type of needs to be like,” Dana advised HollywoodLife. “After which as you see right here in Act II, and as she type of falls aside and the extra she drinks, she slips into who she actually is.”
Dana beforehand starred in Broadway’s Beetlejuice musical, and he or she admitted performs and musicals take utterly “totally different” energies. “Particularly, this present I feel takes a bit extra psychological focus than typically a musical,” Dana stated. “With a musical, even once you’re the star of the present, there’s often built-in time the place another person is on stage and you aren’t. You’re not less than off for 5 minutes whereas they sing a music, you could have a second to type of gather your self, have some water, and take a break for a second. However in The Cottage, as a result of all people’s principally on stage your entire time as soon as they enter and due to the tempo of the present, should you drop out for one second it’s like you’ll be able to’t get again in.”
The actress was initially intrigued by The Cottage as a result of the comedy explores “very actual themes about marriage and constancy and the way you outline a cheerful marriage and the way that may look totally different for everybody.” She added, “I’ve additionally simply all the time type of cherished the style of that Noël Coward world, and this type of mixed every little thing however with a feminist twist. I assumed, if I can get within the room for this, I’ve to do it.” The Cottage is at the moment operating on the Helen Hayes Theater via October 29.
