Interview: Broadway Welcomes Washington's Own Nancy Robinette

The bustle and chaos of the Friday evening pre-show crowds on West 47th Street on Broadway are a fitting contrast to the calm that emanates from venerable DC-based actor, Nancy Robinette, who kindly agreed to chat with me about making the move to Broadway as Mrs. Alexander, in the Tony Awards® Best Play of 2015, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. We met up in front of the Barrymore Theatre, Nancy's current professional home, but DC is very fortunate to call Nancy one of our own; she was raised in Arlington, graduated from Yorktown High School, and has graced the stages of Washington's most well-respected theaters over the years, including The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Ford's Theatre and Studio Theatre. She's a Helen Hayes Award-winner for her work in Washington, and now the work has taken her a few hours north to make her Broadway debut; although to hear her tell, no matter the city or the theater, good work is good work, and Nancy is definitely familiar with lots of good work, having performed in every major DC theatre, Off Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop and Roundabout Theatre Company, among others, Papermill Playhouse (New Jersey), at The Williamstown Festival (Massachusetts), and in cities around the country, including San Diego at The Old Globe.

I always enjoy hearing about a performer's earliest memory of discovering an audience, and for Nancy, it was in preschool, being asked to do an impromptu rendition of the song my mother used to sing to me as a lullaby, White Coral Bells, in front of an audience she didn't realize had gathered. Aside from being rather thrust into the preschool spotlight at such a young age, like many of us raised in the DC-area, Nancy grew up seeing shows at Arena Stage, the National Theatre and at Catholic University, where her sister Mary Lou, was a drama major. In fact, it was Mary Lou who encouraged Nancy to pursue acting, suggesting she take a summer apprenticeship with St. Michael's Playhouse in Vermont. A renowned Washington actor, Richard Bauer, who performed for many years at Arena Stage, had a particularly important influence on Nancy, and she has gone on to play numerous roles on that same stage, in such classics as Ah, Wilderness, You, Nero, A View From the Bridge, Death of a Salesman and more.

While the breadth and diversity of roles Nancy has played is evident from a quick reading of her impressive credits, at heart Nancy says she finds her strength is in comedy (two of my personal favorite madcap comedies are on her resume, The Heir Apparent in 2011 for The Shakespeare Theatre Company, and Boeing Boeing at The Old Globe in 2010). "Comedy is a serious business," she smiles. When I asked what favorite roles come to mind, Phyllis, in Nicky Silver's comedy, Fat Men in Skirts, at Woolly Mammoth is first on her list, followed by Birdie in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes at The Shakespeare Theatre Company. And dramatic roles she has yet to play that would interest her? Queen Margaret, Nancy quickly answers, and to be in the cast of Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful at some point.

In her current role as [lead character] Christopher's neighbor, Mrs. Alexander, in Curious Incident (which she has taken over from another beloved Washington actor, Helen Carey), Nancy was stepping into a show that was already up and running, a new challenge for her, and one she says has really helped her grow in her collaborative skills as a company member. The play is intricately staged, and Nancy tells me there was even a "boot camp to prepare the actors for the demands of the show," adding that the high level of consistency with which they were prepared may have its roots in the fact that this production originated from The National Theatre in London, and therefore comes with a British perspective on running a show. Mrs. Alexander is a pivotal catalyst in the story; she has a respect and compassion for the often-challenging Christopher, who is highly intelligent, but deals with an Autism spectrum condition, and she's one person who isn't deterred by Christopher's social defensiveness. Why do you think she's able to reach out, where others are not, I wondered? "She identifies with his isolation; she has seen him in the neighborhood and has been curious herself about him." In the story, Nancy's character tells Christopher a difficult truth, a critical scene that puts important events into motion (metaphorically represented in the show by the model train with which Christopher distracts himself from his extreme anxiety), and I asked if Nancy has a favorite scene other than her own: "Yes, the one in which [Christopher's] father comforts his son after a major epileptic-like fit; there is such a tenderness there." I know exactly what she means; it is through characters such as Christopher's father, and Mrs. Alexander, that the audience learns how to understand Christopher's journey.

And what about working on Broadway? Is it different? Are the audiences different? I get an unequivocal "No," from Nancy. It's about the work, she says, the story being told, and where the theatre is located isn't the determining factor. "I like different theatres for different reasons...Woolly is the best place to work on a new play, hands down. Shakespeare Theatre for the size and scope of great classical theatre; Studio for contemporary dramas and comedies that are already proven; Ford's and Arena for just good supported work; Scena for great scripts from Europe." Drawing from that range of experience, what advice would she give to young performers just starting their careers? "Keep up your skills analyzing scripts and also the physical work of staying in shape!"

Actors are also audience members, of course, and I asked Nancy what makes for a really satisfying theater experience for her? "To feel transported; to involve myself completely in that world; to see actors, or their characters, affecting each other." A perfect segue into my final question about what she hopes audiences will take away from their experience seeing Curious Incident: "Appreciation, tolerance and understanding of people who think differently." I, for one, am thankful to have an actor of Nancy Robinette's talent helping to get us there.

For more information about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and to get tickets to see Nancy in the show, visit the show website at curiousonbroadway.com.