5-Time Tony Nominee Jan Maxwell Reveals 'I'm Retiring From Theater'

Actress Jan Maxwell is currently starring as 16th-century Venetian painter Galactia in PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project), SCENES FROM AN EXECUTION, running from July 7 - August 9, 2015 in a limited 5-week Off-Broadway engagement at The Atlantic Stage 2

In a new interview with Timeout.com, the five-time Tony nominee reveals that following the play's off-Broadway run, she will retire from theater and focus her career on TV and film.

"It is probably my favorite role," Maxwell says of Galactia. "She's so mean, so ruthless. I love that she's such a hard-core genius, such a talented artist. Galactia is a strong, unsympathetic woman, and you don't see that very often in theater, although you're starting to see it more. Women are getting stronger; I'm very heartened by that. Nothing scares people more than an educated woman. And I'm retiring from theater, so I thought, What play would you really, really like to do? This is what I came up with, so we're doing it."

The actress goes on to explain, "The kinds of roles I was being offered were just...I'd been there and done that, and I just didn't want to do that anymore. If I could do television and film just to keep the health insurance going, that would be great. But I don't know if that will happen."

Speaking on the variety of roles she has been able to take on throughout her successful career, she comments, "I've been extremely lucky to have had a multifaceted life in the theater. Truly, I'm such a little brat. When I'm doing a musical, I'm going, Oh, my God, why can't I chew on something here? Then when I'm doing something really hard like this, I'm going, Can't we just sing and dance? [Laughs] But I'm 58 years old, and it's a lot of work and a lot of responsibility. It's eight shows a week, and I've been disappointed in the kind of theater that you can make a living doing."

Read the interview in full here

Jan Maxwell has received Tony nominations for her roles in Follies, The Royal Family, Coram Boy, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Lend Me a Tenor. The actress made her Broadway debut in 1989's City of Angels in 1989. She has also appeared on TV in Gossip Girl and The Divide.

Photo Credit: Stan Barouh