Interview: Margaret Colin Gets Ready to Close Up Mrs. Mullin's Carousel

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this month, the acclaimed revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic musical Carousel, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien and choreographed by 2018 Tony Award winner Justin Peck, will play its final Broadway performance at the Imperial Theatre on Sunday, September 16, 2018. Preview performances began on Wednesday, February 28 and Carousel officially opened on Thursday, April 12, 2018.

As the show enters its final month of performances, BroadwayWorld catches up with the incomparable Margaret Colin, who will keep Mrs. Mullin's carousel running until the end!

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Has your Mrs. Mullin changed at all since the beginning of the show's run?

Mullin and Billy were a more of a couple at the start of previews and in the second act, when Billy's dies. And now, I get a big laugh after Jigger calls me "an old pleasure boat." I quite like that.

What's it like playing a mostly non-singing character in a musical?

Mostly non singing? Did you catch me humming a tune...? Andy [Einhorn] won't like that! It's like being an honest women in Unfaithful.

Has your experience being in a musical been different from acting in a play?

The never-ending thrill of the orchestra, the voices, the breathtaking dance... you don't get that doing a Shanley play.

Do you have a favorite moment in the show? Either to watch or to be a part of?

Of course I prefer when I am onstage, contributing to the team, but watching the male ensemble, led by Amar Ramasar, in "Blow High" is a constant joy.

Outside of Carousel, What is your favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein song?

"Impossible" from Cinderella.

How would you describe each of your costars with one word?

Jessie [Mueller]: tantalizing
Joshua [Henry]: YUM
Renee [Fleming]: ENCHANTING
Lindsay [Mendez]: TONYBAIT
Alex [Gemignani]: perfection

Looking ahead, what are you most looking forward to in these final weeks of Carousel?

Cocktails with the Amar RamaSTAR. Sitting in the pit with orchestra. More stories from all my teammates. Keep working on my old pleasure boat. Laughing!!

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Colin's other Broadway credits include : Jackie: An American Life (Theatre World Award), A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Old Acquaintance, Arcadia, The Columnist. Off-Broadway and regional credits include Aristocrats, Psychopathia Sexualis, Defiance (Drama Desk Award nomination), Hamlet (Delacorte Theater), Salome, Betrayal (The Actors Studio), City of Conversation (Arena Stage; Helen Hayes Award nomination), Katharine Graham in The Pentagon Papers (China tour), and Princess in Sweet Bird of Youth (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Film: Independence Day, Three Men and a Baby, True Believer, Time to Say Goodbye, Like Father Like Son, Unfaithful, First Daughter, Blue Car, The Missing Person, Equity, Something Wild. Television: "Veep," (Screen Actors Guild Award), "Shades of Blue," "Gossip Girl," Margo on "As the World Turns," "Now and Again."

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos