Grace Hodgett Young Is Ready for Her Close-Up

It may just be the perfect year for Grace Hodgett Young. Since last September, she has made in West End debut in Sunset Boulevard, was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance, and went on to lead the first London revival of Hadestown.

Now Sunset Boulevard is back on Broadway and Grace will make her Broadway debut opposite her London co-stars (Nicole Scherzinger, Tom Francis, and David Thaxton) at the St. James Theatre. She plays Betty Schaefer in Jamie Lloyd’s daring new spin on this beloved musical thriller and her take on the character is not quite the damsel you'll remember from productions past. 

Grace checked in with BroadwayWorld to tell us all about bringing the revival back to New York City, returning to work with her co-stars, and so much more!

You've had some time away from the show now. Have you missed being Betty? 

Yes, I really have missed it. I think especially coming from Hadestown, where I was one of the leads of the show. There's no off with those characters. There's almost more time to digest everything with Betty because she's on for a little bit and then she goes off for a little bit. The character is so important to the story, but as an actor I'm on and off quite a lot. I really have missed doing it. I love where vocally it sits for me. I love being on stage with Tom [Francis]. He's amazing.

I've also really have missed the whole vibe of the show. I only met the cast yesterday, but they're just amazing. It feels like such a safe space.

What do you enjoy about her the most as a character?

For me, especially because of the work we've done on her in this version of the show, it's how strong she is. No shade to the original production, but I think she was very much so written to fall in love with Joe. I feel like in our version, she has her own life and she is using Joe to her advantage to get her work seen. And she happens to fall in love with him after that. But she is driven. She knows what she wants. She's there to get her money. She's there to get her work seen by important people.

She's so strong and I think that's what I love the most about her. In a lot of shows written in that time, the female characters are there to be the love interest But she has a backbone and she stands up for herself. She fights against him and I think she tries not to fall in love with him, which I enjoy as well.

Do you find yourself looking at her any differently, coming at it again, or has anything in playing Eurydice maybe affected the way that you're looking at the character?

I think so! This was my first job, so I was fresh out of training and I was a very muted and watered down version of myself when we did it on West End. I was just trying to do everything right. And I think that in leading Hadestown, I realized that there isn't really a right way to do things. You just have to do the best that you can do. So I feel like I've come with a new confidence this time and I feel a lot more settled. I know I can do it.

Of course, you've already proven that you can! 

Yeah, but there was a massive imposter syndrome going on. Because I was fresh out of drama school, I was like, 'Am I really good enough to play this?' I have confidence in myself now that I think will nourish the role and will help me get through the show. 

I love how Jamie Lloyd's work really turns theatre on its head and makes you look at something you thought you knew in a different way. What has it been like for you watching audiences take that in?

I came into this process in the beginning thinking it's probably going to be a little bit like Marmite, because people know and love the show and you know what musical theatre fans are like... they either want things to stay as they've always been or they're willing to see something very new. Jamie's whole ethos is change. He loves to take a traditional show and turn it on its head and it's a beautiful thing that he does.

It's been absolutely incredible, because every single person I spoke to at the stage door, whether they'd seen the original, or the film, they loved this version. I think it represents so many people in today's society and everyone feels seen in this version. When everything's so stripped back in this version, it's hard not to see the people behind the big songs and the big gestures because it's just us on the stage with no set and no costume and it's raw. 

And yet, I think that there'll be some people that come out and say, 'Oh, that's not the Sunset Boulevard that I know!' What do you say to those kinds of people? 

I'd say that's the whole point! This isn't supposed to be the Sunset Boulevard that everybody has known for years. That's exactly the whole point of this show. I think that's what makes it so incredible because it's a show that most people would have heard of even if they haven't listened to it, and they come expecting to see the big staircase and the turbans and it's not there because it doesn't need to be. All of that can be represented in each individual actor on stage. I think it's really powerful.

I'm sure there's some comfort in having Nicole, Tom, and David here like along for the ride with you. What's it been like being back in a room with them? 

It's been so nice. They are all like my comfort blanket- especially Tom because I'm not on stage without him ever! Anytime I'm on stage, he's there. It's so amazing to see everyone finding fresh things. There's always that worry if you're coming back to something that it's gonna get dry or you're not gonna be able to find the freshness, but everyone is coming with this new energy. We all want to up our game.

It has to be fresh on another level too just in having all these other new actors  join the party...

100%. I thought it would be quite weird, coming into it and knowing that us four were staying the same, but then there would be different people around the stage at all times. But it's so cool to see. 

Do you have a favorite moment in the show? 

I love, in Act Two, just before "Too Much In Love To Care", where we have Nicole at center stage, and Tom comes on and he's being really negative about the work that they're writing. And she's like, 'Grow up, we're doing a job,' There's so much underlying tension between them. And I love that we acknowledge the fact that the audience know that they wanna snog each other's face off, but they have to be professional. Especially with the new lyrics that have been added.

I think in the original it's very clear from the beginning that they're going to fall in love, that they get on very well. It's predictable. In this version they actually don't really like each other. They both get on each other's nerves all the time,  but for whatever reason, that makes them more attractive to each other. 

How does it feel to be in New York?

This is only my fourth time on a plane and it was my longest flight I've ever done! It's my first time being in New York and it represents so much for me moving here. I've lived in London now for the past four years, and I feel like that prepared me for living here.

What are you most looking forward to in the weeks ahead?

The big thing for me is bonding with the cast. Everyone's so lovely and I already feel like we're gelling, but I just can't wait to get to know people on a deeper level. And because then it helps you feel safer on stage when you know people really well.

And I'm excited to relax into the material a bit more, which I've kind of found doesn't really happen until you've got that audience in front of you. I think that's when I'll feel settled, which, you know, I can't wait to feel because right now I think I'm still in a bit of a dream state. So I'm ready for it to become reality.