BWW Q&A: Michael Cyril Creighton Talks THE ADDING MACHINE at The New Group

Best known to television audiences as the lovably neurotic Howard Morris on Hulu's Only Murders in the Building, Michael Cyril Creighton has built a career on quietly stealing scenes — in Spotlight, American Fiction, and on stages across New York. But his latest role may be his most audacious yet.

In The New Group's revival of Elmer L. Rice's 1923 expressionist satire The Adding Machine, Creighton plays not one character, but virtually everyone: a shape-shifting narrator guiding audiences through one man's existential unraveling. Opposite an extraordinary trio — Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jennifer Tilly, and Sarita Choudhury — and directed by Scott Elliott, the production opens The New Group's inaugural season at their new home, The Theater at St. Clement's.

We sat down with Creighton to talk about the chaos of playing a dozen characters at once, the brutal rhythms of an actor's life, and why a century-old play feels more urgent than ever.

What attracted you to the role in "The Adding Machine"?

I remember seeing and reading the play in college and then seeing the brilliant musical version many years ago. I immediately fell for the bold and brutal storytelling. To have the opportunity to play not one, but several characters in a production of this play seemed like an insane challenge and I was excited to work my brain in a new way. I also have wanted to work with The New Group for a long time, was interested in Thomas Bradshaw's revisions and, well, the cast. What a great group of co-workers I get to work with.

How do you approach playing multiple roles in a single production?

Very carefully. Ha. There is one scene where I play 12 people talking to each other and there was no time for me to be timid about it, because only had 3 weeks of rehearsal. So, I tried to make big, bold choices. I hoped for the best and calibrated later. However, I believe the idea is that all these characters in essence the same person. This Narrator’s purgatory is having to guide Mr. Zero and the audience through this story night after night after night after night…

How does the theme of being replaceable, as explored in "The Adding Machine", resonate with you as an actor?

I love being an actor. I love show business. I also I think showbiz can be very brutal and heartbreaking. Anyone who tells you differently is lying. As an actor there is an endless cycle of being needed, then being discarded, then being needed again, then being forgotten, then being remembered, then doing a voice over, then looking for a day job, then having a starring role, the not booking a commercial you are perfect for and so on and so on. It’s an endless cycle. But we have to pick ourselves up and keep going and find the joy. It's much like Mr. Zero’s story, except he can't find the joy. He's terrified of it. I know we are all very worried about A.I. replacing us all, but the fact of the matter is there is no replacement for looking into human eyes and hearing someone say lines that are built on a lifetime of real, tangible experiences.

What has been your most memorable moment during the rehearsal proicess of "The Adding Machine"?

The first table read was really exciting because I got to meet the iconic trio of women I get to act with and hear all our brilliant designer's concepts.

This play was written over 100 years ago, but feels strikingly current. What aspects of the story resonate most with you today?

Oh, gosh. The list is long. The exploration of loneliness. The idea that everyone is replaceable, that hard work doesn't always automatically make you rise to the top. The concept of ambition and the lack there of, and how that dictates our life from beginning to end, over and over. And of course, the fear of being replaced by machines.

What has it been like collaborating with a cast that includes Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jennifer Tilly, and Sarita Choudhury?

I really love these women. They are funny and kind and so extremely talented. And all so different. I never get sick of watching them act, which I do every night since I hardly leave the stage. We have some really good hangs. Jennifer Tilly is so fun and one of the best people to have dinner with, she really knows how to order for the table. I’ve know Daphne Rubin-Vega for decades-first from the stage door at Rent, and then later I worked on the crew for Drama Dept.’s production of “Free To Be You And Me” in the early 2000’s. So it’s wild to be acting with her, she's fearless. And Sarita is so smooth and graceful on stage and off. It's an honor to get to know the three of them and work along side them. This play is very funny at times, but extremely dark. So the fact that we have a great group on stage (and off) makes it's a great job.

The play centers on replaceability and automation. How do you think audiences today respond to that idea in the age of AI and technology?

I think it depend on the person. And it's all so new and unknown, it's hard to generalize, but we all use it in some way. We check ourselves out at the drug store, the grocery store, the airport. We might be our own worst enemies.

Do you find it more freeing or more challenging to play multiple roles in one piece?

I find it freeing. If an audience isn't hooked into a character I'm doing...well, it will be gone in a few minutes and I'll be on to the next one. I certainly never get bored!

Why must audiences come and see the show?