Janet McTeer, Liev Schreiber & the Cast of LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES Celebrate a Steamy Opening Night

hello I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World Tony Award winners Janet mctier and LEF shriber are back on Broadway in the Dunmar warehouse's stunning production of Christopher Hampton's Leon D directed by Josie roor and we're here on opening night [Music] your music is stunning in this production what was it like putting it together that you work with josy I mean how did you how did you create what you created um so we started out with the idea that we would have live singing in the show and then um really workshopped it for quite a while and uh and in this production there's six people who sing on stage which is an incredible privilege uh to have that live as part of a play score um so we just worked out transitions and then worked with Lauren the amazing choreographer who uh we just worked out how we would get from one thing to the next thing and and maintain the uh the dramatic narrative I suppose musically and movement wise so that it never start that the play never stops it's a continual so did you listen to Michael's Music first and I just love the way all the musical staging cuz the show plays like a musical the the the transition certainly play like Musical and then that allows for some freedom and some lift even inside the scenes so yes Michael's music I listened to it and counted it out and you know the idea was to get as many things to happen and then have it all suck out of the space in time for the scene to begin I'm sure there are always challenges with working on something but this just seems seamless were there challenges for you with this um only in the sense that things would continue to change so it was like so one day we thought we had it and then we had another idea so it kept changing and it's I mean it's really fun to be on that sort of that ride um but at a certain point you have to decide when is the day that we're going to decide that this is what it is and when was that day two days ago maybe well you always free a show right before I love that and just working with this remarkable cast what that has meant to you the the cast has been so generous with me and gracious with me and again it's been a master class they are exceptional impeccable actors and what they do I say Janet MTI do you know who Sylvia GM is the ballet dancer what Sylvia GM does in a of music is what Janet mcer does in one sentence you know it's just this beautiful thing that she can do then you have another hit in town of course with waitress I mean how much fun is it for you revisiting that and seeing how that show affects audiences it's awesome I go once or twice a week and just hang out in the back and watch it and uh it's been just it's just wonderful audiences are loving it our cast is changing they're just as wonderful so it's been a very exciting time what's it like sharing the stage Le of shriber yeah it's so incredible I mean every single day he's so professional and on the ball and every day he tries new things which keeps it very fun and active and visceral which is like all you can hope for and it's such an amazing play to fall back on those words you know some of the greatest words in any play in my opinion so your scenes are with him what's the biggest Pinch Me moment like when you started rehearsing with him what were they yeah I mean the first day you walk in the room and you're like oh there's Lea TR this is amazing you know yeah it was pretty incredible and living in this world of Christopher Hampton gorgeous writing oh yeah I mean incredible and I think it's maybe the best adaptation from a book to a play ever it's just so poignant and every night you kind of hear new lines you've seen it a million times but every single night you know I'll hear janitor leev say something and it'll just be like wow that's that's really incredible so I enjoyed the most about working on this show I mean incredible director I love Josie Ro she and I I was lucky enough to work with her in Chicago back in 2009 on 12th night and she is every bit as amazing now as she was then and it I've been trying to get back to her ever since and this she's just an Incredible Gift incredible playing this role how do you say it how do I say what your name oh madame deong I love that so when you took your bow tonight back on Broadway do you remember what you were thinking yes I was thinking that I don't want to start crying I was thinking that I cannot believe how lucky I am to be able to do the thing I want to do with my life and I get an opportunity to work with not just people like Josie who are wonderful but the cast is great the crew is great everybody who whober Alley's just been really really good to me from Matilda to lelais on and I don't know what next what a great role I would think to play right I love her I love her yeah it's one great thing about getting all the old lady rolls they're the best they wonderful they have the best lines and yeah it's they have all the wisdom that's right yeah wisdom and humor and yeah what's it been like living in the world that Josie has created what a stunning production so beautiful it's so her her I mean first of all her understanding of what makes great theater but she's also really really smart about history and and philosophy and social social stuff uh it's been wonderful and and a master class in acting what's it like being in this cast and working with Janet mctier and LEF shriber watch to watch those two theater animals work rehearsals especially were just wonderful really really interesting so when you took your bow tonight do you remember what you were thinking I was thinking oh my God we're open yes this is your Broadway debut tonight right how do you feel so good it's so nice yeah it's been great and it's like such a nice company and such a nice role to get do it with so I'm I couldn't be happier biggest Pinch Me moment for you during this process has been what for you uh I mean the fact that I get to make out with Janet mcer uh I think I'll remember that one and just living in this world what it means to Christopher Hampton gorgeous book yeah yeah um I mean it's it's been kind of amazing to have him around too and and and he's really kind of brought us into it and josy's great love for this world and for this play has really sort of brought us into it and then you know you get to just riff with Janet and leev they're so in it and they're so committed and they kind of give it all and so you're just trying to live up to that and you know wear those nice shoes working with this cast a lot of Broadway debuts besides you tonight right it's very exciting actually it's nice to kind of do it together you know you get other people to look at and be like oh my God we're doing this this is happening we're actually on Broadway I had one of those moments um on stage the other day I was I was just on stage and I just said to myself oh my God this is Broadway I'm here right now and it's great it's what was today like for you because Broadway debuts a really special they only happened once true what did you do today leading up to the theater or till the curtain went up well I I actually spend all of morning forgetting about this because I was with my boyfriend from Denmark and he was here to visit me and then around probably around 2 3:00 I started to sort of Zone in and did my thank you uh cards for the rest of the great company and uh went out of the door and it started pouring down rain of course so I arrived at the theater too late and wet as a brown Mouse but um yeah after that it got better totally living in this world of leaone in the world of Christopher Hampton what that has meant to you you know Christopher has written this amazing piece of of theater and it's just been such a joy to to dive into this world not only the world but Al also the language with you know Josie and the rest of of this amazing company um and I think for all of us it's it's been a delight to discover how modern it actually is and how it's univers and um Everlasting issues that that that they deal with and it's it's just been such a it's also like a it's like proper theater with proper costumes so it's I I don't think I could have dreamed it any better it's been wonderful and sharing the stage with this incredible cast I mean Janet mctier leam shriber yeah I know I mean the first couple of days of rehearsal I was definitely star stru and to watch Janet and Le have rehearse together is one of the most inspiring and gratifying things I've ever done because they're so um incredibly in tune with each other and they're so uh adventurous in exploring the material from every possible angle it's been incredibly inspiring you look study how do you feel tonight I feel so overwhelmed right now it was an exhilarating evening I can't believe I'm here right now I can't believe what I am wearing I am posing in posing right now and the funniest thing is I didn't have anything to wear for opening night and word got around the cast and the night before we opened or like two nights before Josie our director incredible director she comes up to me before we go on stage and she's like she seemed really angry and I was like oh no she's like I'm calling you for rehearsal tomorrow and I'm like oh no it's the end and she's like uh I cannot believe you who don't have an outfit for opening night I'm taking you tomorrow and we're going shopping so I thought oh my God we're going to go to Macy's and get a dress and sure enough by the end of the show she comes up to my dressing room she's like Zack Posen has personally agreed to dress you and I could not believe it her and D made it happen but it was because the whole cast like let Josie in on it and then they took me to the showroom the next day within like 24 hours and they gave me my Cinderella moment and I I that's why right now it's the cherry on top of the evening for me I'm was going to ask you what your day was like that's a an incredible day it was absolutely it's a dream come true literally I'm standing I feel like I'm wearing the most beautiful Christmas ornament I've never worn something this beautiful or heavy try lifting this right now it is not an easy yeah it's a it's a workout but I will take it just living in this world that Josie's created for you with this cast what it means to you it's so much because I feel like with the concept that Jos presented with this Gallery theme with the artwork and with the feminism going on there's so much uh of women discovering their power through sexuality and I love that it's it's deceptive it's juicy it's sensual and with all these things going on I think it's really empowering so I'm so happy to be a part of it so finally when you took your bow tonight on Broadway do you remember what you you were thinking um I was thinking don't trip or like fall in my face honestly cuz when you're clumsy and you're wearing like these long dresses you're like just make sure you bow elegantly and smile and wave but it was it was incredible it was so I feel so lucky welcome home to Broadway how does it feel really great it's so exciting it's so brilliant and the houses have been great so far even in previews and um this is an amazing cast it's just brilliant bro there's nowhere light Broadway What's it been like living in the rehearsal room we talked very early on in the process everybody who I spoken to leev said the rehearsal room was like his favorite part of this whole thing oh it was amazing was very inventive very creative we laughed like drains um it was just it was very uh intense cuz we didn't have very long it was the best it was brilliant and working with Josie what a beautiful world she's created for you I know it's it's uh so sensual and exciting and sexy and oh it's just it's a lovely world and the music and the seamless of it it's very aesthetically pleasing and you know we all get to look fabulous in great costumes the clothes are stunning are great aren't they yeah remember the first time you saw yourself all done up like in you know here in New York with the wig and the outfit and everything else how you felt revisiting her yes you you just kind of remind yourself oh okay that's what it's like to be that person yeah sharing the stage with this incredible cast particularly leab Shriver oh that mean the entire cast are great Le is fantastic we have such fun playing and he's as inventive and kind of day by day as I am which makes it really good fun to play opposite and of course he's brilliant and I can look him in the eye which is kind of nice and uh and he's as he can do the wit and he can do the danger and he can do the sexy so it's kind of like the whole palette really it's wonderful it's a really good spoken to a lot of the the casts making their Broadway debuts and The Ensemble and they say you just are so generous with all of them with everything they do on stage oh but you do though well they're lovely how can you not love young Talent that's upcoming and it's their first time being on Broadway and you know how can you not want to embrace that and bring that forward and make them love it and make them want to do it more well this is your Broadway debut too it is how do you feel thrilled I'm on such a high they did a great show tonight I'm so proud of them all it's been lovely it's such a stunning production I was there a few nights ago and I have lived in this world for every production that's come to New York I love the music you added the musicality it plays it's so stunning to watch and beautiful what's it been like for you living in this world oh I mean actually the first thing has been wonderful living in New York for a couple of months I adored it living in the world of this play I've always been obsessed with it I think it's a truly great play Christopher F did an amazing play right and I just feel very privileged to have been working on it now to have this cast a Dreamcast utterly I mean you know two of the greats of their generation to amazing actors it's been a joy to work with them with Leah for the first time who is just the most amazing leading man Janet again who you know I just worship it's been wonderful what have you enjoyed the most about this entire process of bringing your production to New York I think getting back into the rehearsal room with the play I think my engagement with these actors this new company um you know it's lovely to enjoy debuts as well as it is to enjoy people who are you know like take great joy in Elena and in rafay and those people who are coming to Broadway for the first time and how special that is for them and what that means that's just really exciting so when the cast took their bow tonight on Broadway opening night what were you thinking I was thinking how proud I was of them all really for what they've achieved and for their courage and their humanity and what they bring to the play which is truly wonderful what did you enjoy the most about working with Josie your wonderful director on this and having this done at the Dunmar well I've admired her work for a long time and actually I've known her because when she ran the bush theater I was on the board there so I've known her for a very long time and uh I was just very excited to work with her and also it's the first time there's been a major production by a woman which is uh which is very very uh makes the play it marks the play in interesting ways I think and just having this incredible cast oh God yes it was very exciting very exciting yeah so you also have Sunset Boulevard coming back I know what would I mean that just started off as a small little thing over there with like a few performances and now you're coming to Broadway tell me well I I was very we all took it very casually and we sort of thought this and then somewhere in the middle of the first preview in at the at the coliseum in London the opera house uh there was a standing evation after Glenn sang with one look and uh we thought oh and the the fact that there was it was sort of semi-staged meant that the narrative came through with great sort of clarity and strength Glenn was if possible even better than she was 20 years ago so so it really wasn't wonderful experience for us all tell me what it's been like working with Josie what a beautiful world she's created for all of you in so many ways aesthetically it's a beautiful place but also she does an amazing job of making us all feel so safe she plucked me out of the ground as far as I can tell I I was scouted for this job and she really took a chance and fought for me and I feel so lucky to be here you spoke during rehearsals they were magical being in that room weren't they it was like a master class yeah they still are they always are and Janet in particular is so giving she makes an effort to always make sure that we feel safe around her and that she knows that we know that she thinks that we're you know like she she encourages us to play with her you know I would never say on her level but not on her level I hope to someday be on her level but she does a good job of asking us to feed her and also leev my scenes with leev I have such a fun time I go out on stage every night with him and we play a little T AET and it's sexy and fun and they're great people and it's never the same is it never always a game on stage must be so great about a gorgeous theater to be playing too it's so intimate the booth I love an intimate place I mean I'm I come from like playing small concerts and like Cabaret and stuff like that and I love being able to sort of see the people I'm playing to not that I look at them but you can you can feel how close they are and you can feel your voice Ricochet back from them and there's like a real sensuality to the space so close so I'm so excited for this run okay so when you took your bow tonight do you remember what you were thinking yeah uh I was thinking everyone can see me crying now welcome back to Broadway how does it feel it's exciting um I don't know it's been a while it's much more difficult to remember lines 5 years later than I thought it would be but I have such a remarkable Company Janet mcer is extraordinary uh and that's why I'm here so I'm very very pleased what has been like living in this beautiful world that your director Josie roor has put together for you it's been really exciting uh Josie has uh um she's right there Josie is someone who is extraordinarily intelligent and talented and um sensitive and her I think her humanity and her sensuality is all over this play and working with his remarkable cast a lot of debuts in this show yes that was very fun I don't know why that makes me laugh but it just does I remember you know I remember mine and I remember how exciting it was and it sort of it's fun to watch them all what have you enjoyed the most about being back doing this show here in New York rehearsing it's my favorite thing to do is rehearse plays performing is tough you know I like opening I like the first week so that your friends and family can see it but then you got to do it over I um I love rehearsing plays and I love working with this group of actors um Janet and Joe it's been wonderful so finally when you took your bow tonight back on Broadway do you remember what you were thinking oh yeah I do oh oh cuz we had choreographed The Curtain Call literally uh about 20 minutes before the pre Premiere I not the opening and I I was reminding myself that I had to do an 18th century bow instead of a regular bow but you had a good time right I had a great time [Music]