![]() ![]() I think any play that well written will always seem fresh. I’m wondering, what is it about this 70-year-old play that makes it still seem so fresh and relevant in the 2000s? You were an inspired choice for the role. In playing women my own age I always feel it’s a stretch to fit the role as I bring all that ingénue baggage with me. After all, she’s described as acting childish, acting like a ninny, etc. I’ve always looked young and to be able to use what I suppose is my “girlishness” in a role at my age seemed so right. What is it about the role of Birdie that makes it a good fit for you as an actor?Īs I said I felt Birdie had been cast previously in a way that I felt wasn’t always ideal physically-though I’m sure Maureen Stapleton was divine-but it made so much sense to me that she have the look of an aging ingénue, and of course to be petite, considering her nickname. I mostly wanted to do him, and Lillian, proud. It’s all about the text with him, as it is with me. He really trusts that you’ll get there, and I don’t know where his confidence comes from but it’s contagious. For me he was the perfect director, as personal as I needed him to be yet with great respect, giving you distance if needed. I haven’t yet seen Dámaso’s other work, though I’ll see the upcoming play at Furious. What has it been like working on this stage classic with Dámaso Rodriguez, who’s helmed so many edgy new works at the Furious Theater? Your job as an actor is to get there in the time allotted, whether it’s twenty-four hours or twenty-four days. I think the process for film and TV is just an abbreviated version of it. It’s how I was trained, and it always feel like I’ve gone home when I do theater. The rehearsal process for stage is what comes the most naturally to me. So tell me, how did rehearsing The Little Foxes compare with what you’re accustomed to in film and TV? Obviously your preparation for that audition paid off! And it was refreshing to see a Birdie who wasn’t the dowdy middle-aged type. I relate so strongly to that and wanted to delve into that particular emotion. My most immediate connection with her was her nostalgia for a time gone by. I figured it was a good exercise and I would just keep working on it on the off chance they might have me in to read. I probably worked on it for two months, on and off, until I finally got an audition. I became more and more interested in Birdie as I worked on the role. I’m a pretty good casting director and know when I fit a role or not. She’s always been cast as very dowdy and middle-aged looking, which is not how she’s described, and I thought my physical type made sense for the role. I heard they were doing Little Foxes, a play I’ve always liked, and I reread it, thinking I could now be right for the role of Birdie. What prompted your decision to take on the role of Birdie in The Little Foxes? Julia, you’ve been keeping busy doing lots of TV and film work in the years since Newhart and Designing Women. As The Little Foxes comes to the end of its much-praised run, Julia graciously took time to answer questions about her lengthy and successful career. Since Newhart, the seven-time Emmy nominated actress has remained busy with frequent recurring and guest starring TV roles, and now a return to the stage. Best remembered for her seven seasons as Stephanie Vanderkellen on the now classic TV sitcom Newhart, Julia actually began her TV career on the soaps, most notably several years as Penny Davis on The Doctors. For the past two months, Julia Duffy has been garnering raves at the Pasadena Playhouse for her superb performance as Birdie in Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes. ![]()
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