Interview: Anika Larsen Talks Being a New Mom on Broadway

Anika Larsen, who originated the role of Cynthia Weil in the smash hit Broadway musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, has returned to the Broadway following her maternity leave. Recently, I went back stage at BEAUTIFUL and chatted with the celebrated actress in her dressing room. We talked about what it's like being a Broadway actress and a new mom, the upcoming holidays, and more.

So far, what is the best thing about being a mom?

Anika Larsen: The best thing is when he smiles. The first time he smiled was amazing. But, it's the fact that when he looks at me he smiles, and that I bring him joy. It's clear to me that he brings me joy, but now it's a mutual thing. It literally makes my heart hurt how much I love him and when he's looking at me and smiling.

He's a really good boy, and he sleeps when I sleep. We wake up in the morning together. He sleeps until 10 or 11 with me because he goes to bed late, when I go to bed. So, waking up in the morning, his little eyes open, he stretches his arms above his head, and he smiles at me. We just talk about starting our day, and it's all pretty wonderful.

What has been the most challenging part so far?

Anika Larsen: My day job, back when I needed a day job, most frequently has been nannying or babysitting. I've cared for a lot of children. Plus, I have lots of brothers and sisters, and they have children. I've taken care of lots of babies, so there hasn't been a lot that has really surprised me in terms of what is difficult.

I think the main thing that is difficult is sort of the relentlessness of it. You don't ever give them back, right? So, you get a break now and again, and now I get a break when I'm at work. It's the relentlessness, but it's also how much you have to remember. Every time I go to work, I have to remember so many things.

Just yesterday, (Laughs) I had a terrible day of remembering. First of all, I forgot my wallet because I moved it from my purse to the diaper bag. I forgot to move it back, so I was driving without a license, which was terrifying to me. It also meant I didn't have money to buy dinner before the show. Thankfully, I had enough ones that I was able to get some soup at Green Symphony. (Laughs) Then, I forgot the cooler that I need to bring my breast milk back home. I pump, here, in the dressing room during intermission. You have to keep it cold, or it's not good. So, I had to bring home the breast milk in an ice pack. There are baggies of ice for people's injuries in our fridge in our green room. So, I took one, and I used it for my makeshift cooler. Then, I forgot the bottles to pump into themselves. Thankfully, I had anticipated that I might do that at some point. I had one big extra bottle here, so I was able to get it done. But, all of that was just ridiculous-the number of things I managed to forget.

Then, it just felt like it dominoed. I forgot to take my wedding ring off when I went on stage. And, I was so distracted by the fact that I still had my wedding ring on, and I was hoping that no one was noticing that I had my wedding ring on because I was about to very quickly link up with Barry [played by Jarrod Spector]. So, I forgot to take my shoes off in a scene because I was thinking so much about my wedding ring. (Laughs) It didn't really matter for the show, but then again, it totally threw me off my game. It's not anything that the audience would get or see, but it was a distraction. Thankfully, that was the only time that that has happened. But, I definitely think that has been the most challenging thing: remembering everything.

I have to make sure to remember to have child care for all of the days that my husband can't take him. I bring him in with me on two-show days and have friends come and babysit for him during the shows, so that I can have him with me between shows. We take naps together, usually. Today is a rare day because no one was available, so my husband has him today. Usually, I'll have him with me because a two-show day is just too long a stretch to go without seeing him. I would just miss him too much.

That's so neat. How has that been?

Anika Larsen: That's been actually quite lovely. Everyone at the theater just loves him, and they call him "The Beautiful Baby." He literally wouldn't exist if it weren't for BEAUTIFUL. My dresser here set me up on a blind date with his dad, Freddie [Maxwell]. Things happened very quickly for us. Now, we're married with a baby. So, he literally wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Cynthia Weil. So, I'm so glad that she existed.

Awesome. What has been like returning to the show after being on maternity leave?

Anika Larsen: What has that been like? The first few weeks were definitely a little nerve racking in terms of just remembering how it all works. Actually, I'm settling in now and most of the time things are running pretty smoothly. I'm balancing motherhood and work pretty well most days, mainly because I have such a great team.

My husband has been so wonderful and terrific with the baby. I have a dream team of babysitters, and I have sisters who live in the Greater New York area. They are available at any point if I need back up help. Knowing that I will never be completely in the lurch-I'll never have to miss a show because I couldn't find somebody to take him because I can always drop him off at one of my sisters' houses-that is a huge relief. I know a lot of people don't have that, so to have that kind of support network is huge.

That's amazing. I've heard about this sisterhood of showbiz moms. In fact, Natalie Arneson talked about it in her cabaret show MAMA DRAMA. Have you found the time to connect with them?

Anika Larsen: You know, I haven't actually. I feel like I've been too busy to talk to them. I wonder if they also are in the same boat. I'm also not on Facebook, and I think that's one of the big ways that they communicate.

I do know Jennifer Gambatese and Julie Reiber, who are two friends of mine who've had babies recently. Jenn and I were trying for a while to have a moment to catch up with each other and to see each other, and it just didn't happen. Then, she had her second baby. So, I haven't actually really been able to draw on them and their knowledge, and I do feel like I should. But, when? When is the time? (Laughs)

It just doesn't feel like there's time to getting anything done. I still need to start his 529. I haven't done that yet, and he's five months old already. (Pauses) That's his college fund. You looked at me blankly. I don't know if you know what that is. (Laughs) You have to start that right away! You have to start saving! I still haven't filled out the forms.

Right. That's actually referenced in a lyric in MURDER BALLAD.

Anika Larsen: Oh. (Laughs)

Thanksgiving is behind us now, but we're coming up on Christmas and New Year's. What are your plans for all of these family centered holidays in combination with work and motherhood?

Anika Larsen: We have big, exciting plans! Thankfully. As I said, I have sisters who live nearby. My sister, who lives in Westchester, hosted Thanksgiving. We all gathered there. We didn't have a Thanksgiving show, so I got the whole day. That was nice. We fed the baby his first real solid food-sweet potatoes. So, he got a feast and so did the grown-ups. That was fun. And, my sisters all have kids, so it's real nice when we get together. Then, Christmas Eve we have off. We have a show Christmas day at 8.

Now that he's born, I'm really big into starting new traditions this year. So, I've decided that I'm going to host Christmas Eve every year for my family. We've made big plans already. In the morning, we're going to make Christmas candy. My grandmother used to make Christmas candy. It's a hard candy. You get it boiling, boiling, boiling, and then you add the coloring and the flavoring. Then, you pour it out on sheets. You have to wait until it's just hard enough that you can cut it into strips with scissors. But, you have to be careful. It can either be too wet or too hard. If it's too hard, then you can't cut through it. But, if it's too wet, then it might be too hot. And, you can't cut through it then. So, you burn your fingers inevitably. But, it's a real fun group activity. We're going to bring that back. I don't think we've done that in fifteen years.

Then, we're going to eat dinner early. Our big feast will happen at about 3. After, because my husband-who plays trumpet-can play any instrument proficiently, we're going to sing Christmas carols together. Then, everyone is going to go to their own homes and have their own Christmas mornings.

I'm also very excited about our New Year's Eve new traditions, which is going to be a New Year's sleepover at my house.

How fun.

Anika Larsen: My sister-in-law always spends Christmas with her family, but she has three kids that we all want to see. My brother Peik died last year. It was sudden, tragic, and awful. So, it's very important or us to be able to spend the holidays with them. She's going to bring the boys down, and we're all going to have a sleepover.

We're going to order our favorite barbeque, and then we're going to do bubble baths because the kids all like bubble baths. We have a hot tub in my house, and they kind of loose their minds over bubble baths. When you combine the bubbles in a bubble bath with the actual jets in a hot tub you can have like five-foot tall bubble mountains! It's for reals! It's very exciting!

Then, we're going to watch THE SOUND OF MUSIC around 9 because my sister and I are obsessed with THE SOUND OF MUSIC. If any of the kids are still awake at midnight, great. If not, then we're going to wake them up. We're all going to do midnight, and then on New Year's Day we're going to have a big pancake station. We're going to have all different kinds of things you can put in pancakes, and everyone gets their pancakes made to order. I feel like that's going to be wicked fun.

I agree.

Anika Larsen: But, here's the best part. We're all going to have matching pajamas! Matching striped pajamas! (Laughs)

Right! Like the art for your SING YOU TO SLEEP album.

Anika Larsen: (Still laughing) They're actually the same company. It's the same, except that they're red and green. They're holiday pajamas. There clearly will be a giant photo shoot. I don't know what I'll do with the pictures, but it's going to be adorable.

Maybe they can be used on album two?

Anika Larsen: I think album one was enough. I'm happy with it.

It's a wonderful album.

Anika Larsen: Thank you. (Pauses) You know what's funny about that album. While I was recording it, I got pregnant. Of course, you're obsessed with the development of the baby inside you belly. The minute that I knew that he could possibly have ears that worked, I was singing to him and Freddie was playing the trumpet for him. So, all of the songs that are on the album he heard a lot of while he was inside my womb. Then, of course, once he came out I continued to sing to him.

It's the best feeling in the world when he is looking up at me, I start to sing to him, and he beams. He just grins ear-to-ear, kicks his legs, and he just loves my voice. That makes me so happy because I don't know that that's necessarily a given. And, I hope it stays that way.

I'm sure there will be a period when he is in adolescence that he pretends to hate it, but I hope he returns to loving hearing me sing to him.

But, the best thing is that whenever we're in the car, if he gets fussy, and I play it-especially if I play "You Can Close Your Eyes," which I sing with Jessie Mueller-he instantly stops crying. It's such an unbelievable thing. So, I suggest that all mothers out there, if they have troubles with their kids in the car, just record an album of lullabies, and it will work to soothe them. (Laughs)

Right. (Laughs) And, with your career path, music will always be a big deal. Hopefully he's enjoying the music from BEAUTIFUL and will enjoy music from the gigs you book in the future as well.

Anika Larsen: Yeah. Well, you know, he's already made his Broadway debut because I did the show until I was six months pregnant. As we got closer and closer to six months, wardrobe was helping me to keep him tucked in so the audience couldn't see that I was pregnant. They made me this sort of elastic corset and they were letting my costumes out. But, every time I went on stage, I'd suck in my stomach as hard as I could. So, I laugh thinking that someday he'll be in a department store, a Carole King song will come on, he'll feel overwhelmingly claustrophobic, and he'll have no idea why. He'll feel like there's just not enough room right now.

He'll be walking though Century 21 when "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" comes on...

Anika Larsen: Exactly! (Laughs) And he'll think, "NOOOOOO!!!! I've got to get outta here, and I don't know why!!!!" (Laughs)

Thinking about what we've talked about so far, I just find this all to be so exciting.

Anika Larsen: It really is. The day I first came back to do the show I was walking through Times Square, and I had just gotten my healthy green juice. I got a text from my husband, and it was a picture of him and the baby. It said, "We miss you mama." And, I just got overwhelmed, right there in the middle of Times Square, with the idea that I've have everything I ever wanted.

I wanted to work in theater. I wanted a wonderful husband and a family. And, I have all of that. I don't need any more than this. I don't require any more. And how many people who have ever lived have been lucky enough to be able to say that they got what they wanted? I tell you, I'm grateful for that every day. Every single day I'm filled with moments of gratitude doing the show, being with my son, being with my husband, being with my family. I'm just so lucky. My cup runneth over.

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL is currently running on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street, New York), in addition to having a US National Tour and a London run. For more information and tickets, please visit http://beautifulonbroadway.com. Likewise, Yellow Sound Label released Anika Larsen's SING YOU TO SLEEP both digitally and physically on December 9, 2014. It can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon, and elsewhere music is sold.