Interview: Catching up with Kristen Beth Williams

The wildly popular comedy, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder will be at The Memphis Orpheum February 9 - 14th. This daring, dark comedy hails from Roy Horniman's 1907 novel, Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal, told through the eyes of a man who bumps off the aristocrats standing in the way of his title. In 1949, the book was loosely adapted into the movie, "Kind Hearts and Coronets' which starred Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson, and Alec Guinness. In 2014, Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak set the story to music. It has been nabbing awards and slaying audiences ever since.

Last week I caught up with touring cast member, Kristen Beth Williams who plays the enigmatic, yet pragmatic vixen. She was in Des Moines, Iowa and managed to find an hour in her chock-a-block full schedule for me. Here's what we talked about on the phone:

CS: How did you end up auditioning for the role of Sibella?

KBW: My agent, Dustin Flores, fought to get me that audition.

CS: Why did he have to fight?

KBW: When it comes to a role like this, there is usually a list of performers the casting directors want to see. I wasn't on that list, but he managed to get me in.

CS: Tell me about the audition.

KBW: They squeezed me in on short notice. I was flying to Texas for my Dad's birthday that day. I moved my flight back a few hours, went in and sang, and then walked away thinking "Okay that's the best I can do. We'll see." Then, still in my audition clothes, I hopped into a cab and headed to the airport.

CS: Why do you think you got the role?

KBW: (Laughs) I'm not a money-grubbing, adulterous woman in real life. I would hope that nobody would look at me that way. But I have had more than one person say to me that it was the right role for me. It feels like the right match. I've known who she was from day one of rehearsal.

CS: What was that first rehearsal like?

KBW: It was great! We had an instant camaraderie and magic at the first table read. Darko Tresnjak, our director, really put together an astonishing cast of actor/singer/comedians. It's an amazing group of people to be on the road with. I love playing with the two leading men (John Rapson and Kevin Massey) and with actress Adrienne Eller.

CS: Did you know any of your fellow cast members before you were in the show?

KBW: I only knew one of our male swings, Chuck Ragsdale.

CS: How long was the rehearsal process?

KBW: We started rehearsals in the middle of August for performances at the end of September.

CS: That's a lot to put together in a very short time.

KBW: Yes. But the company was very supportive during the rehearsal process. Most of the ensemble was very, very supportive and watching and being present in the room. The energy was great!

CS: The cast dynamic sounds like it was wonderful. How about the dynamic with your audiences?

KBW: Audience reactions city to city vary. Our show combines elements of classic Lerner and Lowe, My Fair Lady, and it has hints of Sondheim. It's very wordy and witty. Sometimes we're well into the show, and a lot of people aren't seeming to respond, and someone backstage will say "I don't think they like us." And I'll say, "I think they're listening. This show if full of internal laughs.

There is a last twist at the end of the show. I love it when it happens and I often hear the audience gasp, or even say, "Oh no!" This is a show with intrigue, sex and outlandish characters. We give you both highbrow comedy and low brow.

CS: What do you say when people ask you what the show is about?

KBW: The story is set in a day and time when people didn't marry for love. They married for wealth and power. So Sibella, my character, is stuck in that world. She marries for wealth and power. And Monty, who finds out he is heir to a fortune and power, sets out to murder those who stand before him to win Sibella back.This presents a very sexy, interesting love triangle along with all this crazy comic murder.

CS: I take it you play a lot of love scenes. How hard is it to fall in love with your leading man on stage?

KBW: My leading man, Kevin Massey, makes it easy to fall in love with him every night.

CS: Are you a natural comedienne?

KBW: I'm not one of those people who is naturally funny in life. I'm not one of those people who you have conversations with day to day and you say, "Oh, she's quick." But I understand comedic timing on stage. I understand it as the art form.

CS: Speaking of the art form, do you ascribe to to any particular school of acting?

KBW: My approach is an amalgamation of different schools of acting. I had a teacher who was very, very Method based. My college method was very Stanislavsky. What is my intention? What am I trying to do? Technique gets me through the show. If I'm under the weather. If I'm having personal issues. I go back to the technique.

CS: Speaking of techniques, how do you stay in form while you're touring?

KBW: (Laughs.) Where do I start? A lot of humidifiers. A lot of drinking of water. There's a balance between getting enough rest and still feeling I'm living my life and exploring and appreciating every city. The staying healthy part for everyone is figuring out what your body needs. If I need more sleep, I let myself have it. We performers all have our tricks--our teas and tinctures and wellness formulas that we try to do. I haven't toured since 2009. Our bodies change every couple of years. I'm always at the gym early in the day. I try not to eat out at restaurants too much. When I do, I keep it as simple as possible. Because this show is a singer/actor show and not a dance show, I'm really enjoying giving my dancer body time to rest. I don't hurt all the time in the same way I did for five years being in dance shows and it's a nice blessing giving my body time to heal because I'm not beating it up afterwards. It's also very interesting how the climate affects all our voices.It can be a challenge dealing with the climate change and the air in different theaters

CS: How do you deal with these different venues?

KBW: I usually get to the center an hour before curtain. I do my vocal warm up there. I eat one big meal earlier in the afternoon because we're corseted in the show. I would rather be hungry than uncomfortable.

CS: How do you sing in a corset?

KBW: Singing requires a lot of breath support. You can only breath above a corset or below it. Remembering to drop my breath down below the corset is sometimes difficult for me.

CS: Beyond the mechanics of the corset, what impact does costuming have on your performance?

KBW: The first time I put on one of Sibella's dresses, I felt amazing--like a life sized Barbie Doll. In real life I'm in jeans and a T-shirt or in my workout clothes most days. So to come into work every day and put on these fabulous costumes is a transformation.

CS: Did you help develop Sibella's look?

KBW: No, and I'm not actually sure if I need to give credit to Lisa O'Hare who originated the role, or costume designer, Linda Cho with input from our director, Darko Tresnjak, along the way. The costumes do so much to set the feel of the show. You know who Sibella is from the minute the curtain rises on her, and you see the blonde hair and the pink dress. My apartment in the show is pink, too! There are nuances to the smallest visual details.

CS: What about your dialect?

KBW: The story is set in England. I started learning my accent watching Julie Andrews on film.

CS: Your character certainly isn't one we'd associate with Julie Andrews. How do you get into Sibella's mindset?

KBW: I think Sibella absolutely believes 100 percent that what's she's doing is right for her. That's the key. I think it's necessary to believe in the character's actions 100 percent, otherwise you'll steer yourself down the wrong path. All actors sometimes get hired for roles that they have to work to truly believe in. We have to find something in that character that we believe. An actor shouldn't have to try to be funny, jsexy or mean. You just have to "be" and let all of those things happen.

CS: Sibella is a schemer. How does the audience respond to that?

KBW: I have had shows when at curtain call, I can feel that they love to hate me. There's a fine line between needing the audience to like me and expecting them to like me by the end of the show.

CS: Speaking of the actor/audience dynamic . . . does the iPhone culture affect you as an actor?

KBW: (Sighs) Yeah . . . We can see all those things from the stage-- the texting. People don't realize how much the glow from the phone illuminates their faces.

CS: How do you feel after a show?

KBW: (Laughs) I'm usually starving at the end of the show and it depends. Sometimes I'm exhausted and sometimes I'm not. I always need time to wind down when you get home from a show. My husband is at home in our apartment in New York. He is an actor as well. It's not easy. Speaking of iphones and new technology, Facetime is a wonderful thing! We Facetime every day. Sometimes hotel internet thwarts us. We have a 3-4 week rule about how long we go without seeing each other in person.

CS: Do you like coming to Memphis?

KBW: Yes! I haven't been to Memphis since 2007, but I am very much looking forward to eating some barbecue and seeing the ducks at the Peabody!

CS: You've chosen a challenging career. Any thoughts on that?

KBW: On stage is where I am the most focused and maybe the most present, although I try to be present at most times in my life. The stage is my happy place!

**

A Gentleman's Guide to Love an Murder plays at

The Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main Street, Memphis TN 38103

February 9 - 14, 2016

TICKETS: $25 - $125

BOX OFFICE: 901.525.3000

GROUP SALES: 901.529.4226