Interview: Jane Lynch on Being Inspired by Katie Finneran, Bringing Her GLEE Castmates Back to Broadway and More!

Emmy Award-winning actress Jane Lynch, who stars in the hit FOX television show "Glee" as ruthless cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, made her Broadway debut last month as tyrannical orphanage matron Miss Hannigan in Annie. Lynch will play Miss Hannigan for eight weeks only, through Sunday, July 14.

The actress recently chatted with BroadwayWorld about making the move to New York for the show, sharing the stage with so many talented little girls, filling the big shoes of Katie Finneran, and so much more!

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It's now your third week in the show- how has it been going since your opening night?

I haven't been on stage in like 20 years, but as soon as I got out there I just felt so good and like I've never left. I'm elated, I'm exhilarated and I look forward to going to the theatre every night. I don't call it work, I always say: "I get to go to the theatre tonight." I'm thrilled.

When it was announced that you would be joining the cast, the general reaction from the theatre community was so positive. Is this a part that has been on your radar before this all came to be?

I've never had list of things that I've wanted to do, but this has always been in the back of my mind of terrific roles to play. I set the bar so low for myself. I don't have goals like that. Like: "One day I shall play Hamlet." So when this came along I was like "You're kidding! Wow, that's awesome."

I know the role very well, though I'd never seen the play. I grew up in Illinois, where we don't get to Broadway very much, and it was before productions were popping up all over the place. I knew the soundtrack very well, and Dorothy Loudon's performance on that.

You did a lot of your prep for this in LA... Did you get to see Katie Finneran in the show before you were put in?

I did! And in fact it was the first time that I saw a production of it. I made the trip in January to see it. It was exilharating to watch her- it was so much fun. She was so good in it and she was so free. She really inspired me.

You both brought such a different energy to the part...

I always start from the inside-out. If I was starting from the outside-in, that's when you get stuck. Copying and racing to a result. You have to have the experience before you get to the result. It was kind of intimidating and daunting in ways to think that Carol Burnett played this; Kathy Bates played this; Dorothy Loudon played this. When it really comes down to it though, it's a person that you have to find from the inside-out.

You get to work with an uber-talented group of little girls, including of course Lilla Crawford. What's it been like working with such young talent?

It's funny, acting is the great equalizer- age, class, race... you're on equal footing. They're treated like adults but they are children. But they show up, they're disciplined, they're always where they're supposed to be, they act in ways that they're supposed to act, they're professional.

Emily [Rosenfeld], who plays Molly- in the last scene I get to follow her backstage so I'm always behind her. And she skips to her entrance and does a little dance. So when I'm walking behind her I skip too!

A lot of Broadway performers talk about how their cast becomes a family. Have you gotten a chance to bond with your castmates yet?

Yes I have! I fact I'm at a café right now having coffee with a gift certificate given to me by the women's ensemble- they're so sweet. And I went out and had dim sum last week. You see the same people every day and it's such a labor of love. Everyone is nicer than the next. They've all welcomed me like you wouldn't believe.

What has been your biggest challenge in taking on this role?

I was scared mostly of the dancing. It's not a lot of dancing, it's mostly movement and there's 16 bars of tap at the very end. I'm still not great at it- I'm still working at it. That intimidated me the most, but that was just the isolated thing that kept me awake at night.

I think the most challenging thing for me was working on it in LA by myself, just the great unknown really. The "Is how I'm rehearsing here in the mirror gonna work when I'm looking Clarke Thorell in the eyes?" I had all of those concerns but I just had to trust.

A lot of your GLEE Castmates were there to cheer you on for your opening night, and a growing chunk of them are Bway veterans. Are there any roles or shows that you'd like to see them come to Broadway in?

Well I LOVE that Darren Criss did HOW TO SUCCEED [IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING]. I think that it was a really great thing for him artistically. But I think any of them would be great! Kevin [McHale], Jenna [Ushkowitz], though she's already been on Broadway, but she needs to do something bigger!

Both of them would do really well- they're such disciplined actors. It's such a great energy on our GLEE set. They're all such professionals. I think that Broadway separates the boys from the men and the girls from the women and they would rise to the occasion.

Have you gotten the chance to see any other new Broadway shows this season?

I saw MATILDA and it was wonderful. I saw MACBETH with Alan Cumming- it was just remarkable. I'LL EAT YOU LAST, which it's a shame that it didn't get any nominations, it was so good with Bette Midler. I enjoy it all very much.

Your run is set to end in July, but would you consider coming back to Broadway in the future?

Oh, ABSOLUTELY. I absolutely would. I met Joe Mantello yesterday, we had dinner with a few friends, I kept saying "Well I can do this, or I can do this, or I can do this..." But definitely if they have me I will be back. I love it.

This is the life baby! I love living in New York. I love hotel living. I love being with just my dog- my life has been winnowed down to just the essentials. That's all there is to my life right now and I just love it. The simplicity of it al makes me so happy.

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Jane Lynch's theatrical credits include The Second City, Steppenwolf Theatre and many church basements throughout the Chicagoland area. Recent film credits include A.C.O.D, Three Stooges, Wreck-It Ralph, Julie & Julia, Shrek Forever After, The Post Grad Survival Guide, Paul and Brownie Masters. Past film work includes Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration, A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, as well as Role Models, The Rocker, Spring Breakdown, the animated film Space Chimps, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Walk Hard, Talladega Nights, The 40 Year old Virgin, Margaret Cho's Celeste and Bam Bam, Alan Cumming's Suffering Man's Charity, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Sleepover and Surviving Eden. She currently stars in the Ryan Murphy television series "Glee" on FOX for which she is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner for portraying the iconic television character, Sue Sylvester. Some of her other recent credits include the STARZ series "Party Down," "Lovespring," a Lifetime original series, "Desperate Housewives" and "Weeds" as well as the last season of "The L Word" opposite Cybill Shepherd. She has recurring roles on "Two and a Half Men," "Criminal Minds" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine". Jane's play Oh Sister, My Sister! had runs at the Tamarind Theatre and Bang Theater, garnering the LA Weekly Comedy Ensemble of the Year Award. Jane also authored the autobiography Happy Accidents, which topped several national best sellers list, including the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

For more about the show, go to: www.AnnieTheMusical.com.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus/Walter McBride