Interview: Linda Purl's TUNES & TALES at The Green Room 42 Will Help You Survive the Moment

On Monday, November 10 at 7 pm, Linda Purl, actress and singer known for her roles on the stage and screen including an arc as Steve Carell's love interest in the Office, brings the all-new Tunes & Tales: Adventures in Survival, to Midtown Manhattan’s Green Room 42. The TV, Broadway and cabaret star’s unforgettable show is made just for this moment. Tunes and Tales celebrates great jazz and pop standards with Purl’s storyteller’s passion and humor, asking the question, “How can our adventures help us survive?” Acclaimed Music Director Tedd Firth leads an all-star jazz trio in this fresh, surprising evening.

Below, read a conversation with Purl about the new show.

What are you most looking forward to about Tunes and Tales?

Anytime I get to be with Music Director Tedd Firth, drummer Ray Marchica and bassist David Finck is ambrosia for me. They are each so very gifted, inspired and inspiring, such generous gentlemen... they elevate the energy in the room. In these times I for one very much feel the need for just the kind of infusion of joy they bring.

Where did the idea for this show and the connection between adventures and surviving difficult moments come from?

Late last year, not long after the election, I had the chance to be with a very brilliant woman... a former PM of Canada.  Facing a time of change in the national scene... I’ll risk saying here, turmoil... and as she had served as a world leader, I asked her for advice on how best to “survive” our changing times. She said, “Stay informed, be resilient and hold to your village.” Over these past months I have found that to be good advice. Life comes with such a variety of challenges, each round in the rodeo brings lessons, some painful some hilarious… and where would any of us be without the solace of music? All to say, tunes in all cultures seem to be an integral part of getting us through to the next chapter or even sometimes, next moment.  

Do you have a particular favorite adventure you’ve been on in your life?

Anytime a performer has the privilege of stepping onto a stage, it is an adventure! But... yes... I’d say one of my most favorites and impactful was when I go to spend a month trekking in the Himalayas.  A crescendo was when we got to do a mountain pass of 17,093 feet midst a sudden blizzard that pushed at least me, past what I had knew to be my physical endurance.  Throughout the trek, the vistas were other worldly and to experience living that close to the earth for those weeks was life changing. Humbling.

How did you craft the set list for this show? Is there a song you’re especially excited to sing?

Favorite tune? Really cannot say… that’s like trying to choose a favorite child.  The crafting of a show is one of my most favorite things to do and that is because of the people in the room. The incredibly brilliant Deborah Grace Winer and genius Tedd Firth. I’ve lost track now of how many shows we’ve built together, so at this point we have patina and shorthand.  Generally, I come into a room with a theme and a starter list of tunes. Also some downloads of feels for arrangements I’d like to play around with. Really, it is just a lump of clay. Miss Deb (she calls me Miss Linda) and Tedd come in with a roster of great candidates, and we dig in, going through them. Oh, the thrill of hearing what Tedd chooses to do to a song! Inevitably tunes get tossed... but others go onto the ‘definite' list, some to the ‘maybe' list, and then there are the tunes we think of in the moment as we start to articulate what we want to say or indeed need just to create an interesting arc.  Miss Deb and I curl up on a sofa with our notebooks about mid-way through the process and go down rabbit holes of conversations that then further shape the list, order and patter.  It takes time, several sessions…stepping away for a bit and then coming back. Honestly those sessions are big life bon bons for me. Intimate, adventurous and outrageously fun. 

Aside from getting ready for this show, what else have you been doing or working on lately?

I’m grateful and astonished to say that it has been a busy time. Of late, I got to do a beautiful one woman play called, Crazy Mama.  It’s an autobiographical memory play written by Sharon Williams and directed by a dear old pal Anson Willians. We’ll be bringing it to 59 E 59 in a year. Deb, Tedd and I have a new album in the works set for release next spring. My partner Patrick Duffy and I had started a sourdough bread company in our garage, literally, in Colorado, three years ago that Kroger very kindly licensed last spring.  They are rolling us out with five varieties of take and bake sourdough breads to most of their stores over the next year. All our profits go to support food scarcity efforts.  It has been a huge learning curve, and we are profoundly grateful to be able to play a tiny part toward filling otherwise empty stomachs. We have two years to prove our worth to Kroger so believe me, we have our fingers and toes crossed that we succeed. Lastly, Patrick and I are mid-way through a documentary about Ireland that will air over there come December.  

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Yes! Please come to our show November 10 at Green Room.  We are hoping for a packed room, so hope your readers can make it!

For tickets to Tunes & Tales, visit the Green Room 42's website here.

For more on the star, visit Linda Purl's Instagram here. In addition to the upcoming Green Room 42 show in NYC, she is currently starring in Love Quest in Florida with her partner Patrick Duffy now through October 26, 2025.