Lauren Patten Talks JAGGED LITTLE PILL, FUN HOME, Pride, and More on Backstage LIVE With Richard Ridge

Nothing can stop BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge from bringing you interviews with your favorite Broadway stars! On July 1, he chatted with Jagged Little Pill star Lauren Patten!

Patten talked about how the company of Jagged Little Pill is staying in touch, despite the extended shutdown.

"We have our group text threads that are always going, so we're always in touch," she said. "We are so close and this is something that we've poured our hearts and souls into for years. So just because the show isn't happening right now doesn't mean we're not going to be together."

She went on to say that members of the cast have been seeing each other at protests, noting, "We're very aligned with our views."

Patten talked about her huge number in the show, You Oughta Know, which has notably gotten standing ovations every night since the show began out of town at A.R.T.

"The energy that we're all putting out on stage, which is truly everything we have left for that moment, it does sort of shake up the energy in the theatre in a way that it releases something for the audience," she says. "It's not really about applause or praise. It really is a communal connection with The Audience (i)'ve never experienced before."

Later in the interview, Patten went on to talk about her Broadway debut as Medium Alison in Fun Home.

"It was amazing, and it was also very nerve-wrecking because I had so many people who came," she said. "I didn't even put out a social media post like 'hey come see me on this day,' but, I'm not kidding you, every single teacher of mine from Stella Adler was there."

She said that her experience working on Fun Home was her first time getting close with lesbian women, and started to realize she identified with them.

"It was the first time that I started to sort of have words for things I already felt," she said. "It was shortly after Fun Home that I was able to articulate that."

Check out the full interview here!

Lauren Patten (she/her) originated the role of Jo in the new Alanis Morissette musical Jagged Little Pill both on Broadway (Drama Desk and OCC Awards) and in the American Repertory Theater's world premiere. Other theatre credits include: the Broadway production of Fun Home, The Wolves (Obie and Drama Desk winner), and Steven Levenson's Days of Rage (Second Stage). Film and television credits include: "Blue Bloods," "The Good Fight," "Succession," The Big Sick. www.laurenpatten.com

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