Debra Messing, everyone’s favorite Will and Grace star, begins rehearsals in November for her co-starring Broadway role in John Patrick Shanley’s Outside Mullingar.
She spoke to CBSNews.com about her role in the show : “I play a quirky woman who lives on a farm next to an eccentric man,” she said, “They’ve grown up together and it’s funny and it’s moving. It’s a great play. It’s the same playwright who wrote ‘Doubt’ — the play and the movie.”
Messing spoke about the daunting prospect of performing live on Broadway, as opposed to filming in the relative comfort of a studio. She said:
I’m terribly anxious but in the best possible way. This is dream come true for me. Theater is my first love and my dream was always to be in a Broadway play. And everything just sort of came together in the right way. I’m so thrilled. I’m humbled to be working with Brian O’Byrne, who is one of our great actors. To be doing another play by John Patrick Shanley. My very first job out of graduate school was ‘Four Dogs and a Bone’ where I understudied Mary Louise Parker and that was John Patrick Shanley, so it feels like I’m coming full circle.
Even though Debra Messing seems to have a case of the old stage fright, her upcoming role on Broadway isn’t the first time she has performed live. She pursued theater during her college days at Brandeis University, and then as a graduate at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York.
Unfortunately due to fierce allergy attacks which she suffered from, live performances were very challenging for Debra, she continued:
I did off-Broadway several times when I first got out of graduate school. I remember doing ‘Collected Stories.’ So we were onstage the entire show and I started having an allergy attack. My right eye just started weeping and we held the curtain for 10 minutes.
In fact allergy attacks have plagued Debra Messing ‘s acting career for some years. She said: “I’ve had some problem with working and having allergy attacks, and literally having to shut down production for a couple of hours. It happened on ‘The Wedding Date’ when we were shooting in London.”
Thankful, Debra Messing now has all the medication she needs to prevent the allergy attacks and at least to control them temporarily. There is no doubt that her performance in the upcoming Broadway show is sure to please many and we wish the much loved star every success.
