Mary Bond Davis

I had a wonderful time doing this interview with Mary Bond Davis. We spent nearly two hours together just chatting like old friends.

There's really nothing I feel that needs to be said here that isn't already in this interview! Enjoy it!

That’s an interesting question. I started professionally singing and singing in night clubs and doing bar mitzvahs and proms and dances and stuff, you name it. When I was in high school I was too young to sing clubs but my mother would bring me. And you know, you think its really cool when your 16 and smoking and drinking in clubs. I haven’t done my club act since 1994, so that’s coming up on ten years now. And I really want to do that, I have a whole lot of new material. Songs written by friends of mine, and maybe even ask Marc Shaiman for one or two songs I can use, see what he has in his trunk.

I just got through doing a movie with the Olsen twins in Toronto called New York Minute. And the director of What A Girl Wants, which is in all the video stores now, is the director for the Olsen twins movie, her name is Dennie Gordon. And Dennie saw me in Hairspray and wrote this role, for me- well she didn’t write it but she had this role written for me. Which was just great so I just got finished with that. It comes out May of next year. The Olsens were nice girls. Very poised. Very talented. They were very sweet. Their professionalism was astounding.

A week ago today I just got through performing at the Museum for the City of New York doing a concert that was directed and put together by Andre De Shields which was called Cotton Club Queer. Andre was in it, B.J. Crosby, Maurice Hines, Mercedes Ellington, it was a lot of folks, Kenny Roberson who I love. Kenny choreographed Avenue Q.

And then in November, wow there’s a lot of stuff going on I haven’t thought about this! Joel Vig has asked me to participate in a benefit for Julie Harris because the wonderful Julie Harris had a stroke about four years ago and they’re trying to bring her back into the business. And Joel is a member of this National Arts Club and we’re gonna do a benefit for her and I’m gonna perform one of the scenes from The Member of The Wedding. I don’t know if you’re familiar with The Member of the Wedding but it was a play done by Julie Harris and Ethel Waters and this little boy, I don’t remember the little boys name. And the thing that I’m really excited about that is that I get to choose the actress I work with.

[Oh cool!]

My characters name is Bereniece, she plays a forty five year old woman and she’s a cook and it takes place in the South and she takes care of this little girl, whose the child of a widower. The widower is at the store, running the store all day and she’s at the house taking care of this little girl. Well that was the role that Julie Harris played when she was 25 years old.

[Wow.]

So um the person that I asked to play Frankie, which is the child’s name, she’s supposed to be twelve years old. Is Hallie Kate Eisenberg. Hallie Kate is the little Pepsi girl. She does all sorts of stuff. I love her dearly, I just lover her so. Hallie Kate and I were in The Women together with Rue McClanahan, Jennifer Tilly, and all those crazy women, Mary Louise Wilson. It was a great cast. Little Hallie Kate played Cynthia Nixon’s daughter. So I am really excited about doing this scene, and doing this scene with a child who is age appropriate. You know? I think it will be great. I sent her the script with a bunch of Hairspray stuff and they came to see the show a couple of weeks ago actually, before I went to Toronto. So that’s what’s happening. Halley Kate’s older sister, she’s got an older brother and an older sister and the sister is the oldest. She’s got her own drama school and she is gonna turn us on to a little boy to play the little boy who’s the cousin who is also a neighbor and the little boy should be about seven years old. and so we’re gonna put this scene together. And I’m not sure but I think its gonna be directed by Austin Pendleton. I don’t know if you know him, he was at the Broadway Cares Flea Market today signing. I couldn’t bring myself to say hey are you doing the thing? I like him alot. So yeah I got a lot of irons in the fire. And that’s just the professional stuff, not even mentioning the personal.

[Influences?]

Um, my sister. I have a sister whose eight years older than me and she’s classically trained. I was always intrigued with her voice lessons and her singing at school and everything. You know and then there was always music around the house. I’m a tired catholic girl. There was lot of jazz, a lot of blues, but mostly jazz. Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald were big influences, Dinah Washington, you know, a lot of rock and roll, I mean, you know, like people always asked me, "Does she sing in church", and I was like, "No, I’m a Catholic girl, we never sang in church." When I tell them I’m Catholic, they’re like, "Ooh.." They just knew I was some Baptist hollerin’ in church and I’m boring I take confession when I can remember, can’t remember the last time I did… I think the last time I was in a church is when I went to Paris, with my soon-to-be ex husband, and we went to Notre Dame. And then we went to another chapel, that was supposed to be older than Notre Dame, with even more beautiful stained glass. That’s the last time I was in a church.

[So what do you think of your character in Hairspray?]

You know what, I love Motormouth, the thing that I love most about Motormouth, and the thing that I embrace every day, the thing that I appreciate about being in Hairspray compared to all the other shows that I’ve been in – I’m not playing a prostitute, I’m not playing a slave, I didn’t have to learn how to pick cotton correctly on a stage, to be believable. I’m not a drug addict, you know, the character is not being beaten up by any man, she doesn’t have to answer to any man. Motormouth is strong, Motormouth has her own business, she’s an entrepreneur, she has 2 beautiful children that love themselves, you know, and those are a whole lot of things to embrace and be quite proud of. And I can’t complain about that at all.

And that might have been one of the reasons why I didn’t get any nominations, because I wasn’t a slave, and I wasn’t a ho, I wasn’t downtrodden in any way, and I really appreciate that, she’s really positive. She’s a wonderful role model, you know, and I love her, and I love playing it. And I’m proud to say, not only is the creative staff happy with the work that I do, but the producers like me. And that’s really saying a lot. I’m very proud of that.

[Originally, the producers didn’t like the song "I Know Where I’ve Been", and they had another song in mind…]

Yeah, there was a song called "Step On Up", and when I did the reading in December of 2001, the song "Step On Up" was in the show. And I just heard tale about "I Know Where I’ve Been", I had never heard the actual song. When we started rehearsing April 15th 2002, for the Broadway run and Seattle and everything, "Step On Up" was still in the show, and I never heard "I Know Where I’ve Been" until about 2 to 3 weeks into rehearsal. And I wasn’t even at rehearsal because my character doesn’t even show up until the end of the first act, so one day I called Marc. I still wasn’t at rehearsal, they didn’t need me; I called up Marc and I said, "Marc, I gotta hear this other song. I have to hear this other song because the song that’s in its place is not speaking to me, nor is it serving the show, and it’s just not working in the spot where it is." And also, I thought the song was just inadequate, compared to all the other songs in the show. So when I said that to Marc, Marc said, "I’ve been meaning to call you…" [laughs] He said, "You’ve been on my mind and I’ve been meaning to call you, I want you to hear this other song. As soon as you hear it, you’re going to want to sing it". And I said, "Well, I wanna hear it." He said, "You know, I’ve had the shit sung out of it." And I said, "Yeah, but you haven’t heard me sing it." And I’m not saying that to be stuck up in any way, I’m not trying to be a big head, you just haven’t heard me sing it. And maybe the song shouldn’t have the shit sung out of it. Maybe the song jus needs to be sung, and the story told, and that’s it. So Marc and I got together and he played the song for me, and the first thing out of my mouth was, "It’s an anthem." He played the song, and then he went into "Hairspray", the song that follows in the show. And I said, "Sideswipe… it’s gonna sideswipe everybody…", to have that song come in at that spot and then bring the Hairspray curtain in to go into "Hairspray", people aren’t going to know what hit them.

When I first started learning the song, I recorded Marc singing it. The way I sing the song on a nightly basis, is basically the way Marc sang it on the tape. There’s a couple of things I’ve changed, just a couple of things. My feeling is, the song is so powerful and so strong, that the song should stand on its own, and that it doesn’t need any embellishing, it doesn’t need any vocal pyrotechnics, it doesn’t need all this riffing and crap. Because the song is so strong by itself. And so, that’s the reason why I sing it as written, basically. I sing it in a simple way, I sing it very powerfully, but I sing it as written. So yeah, there was a lot of controversy, the producers didn’t want some big black chick coming on and wailin’, and then leaving the stage. And it’s like, you know what, I don’t have to do it like that. And it doesn’t have to be done like that, and it doesn’t have to be a typical 11 o’clock song, it can be, let’s tell the story. Make the song a part of the story. I had heard that when the previous Motormouth’s had done the song, they sang it like it was part of their club act, and I sing the song like it’s part of the show. I’m here to serve the piece- serve the piece, don’t serve yourself. I can serve myself when I do a club act, but you should serve the piece. So that’s how that all came about… but at the first performance in Seattle, they were waiting to see how the audience would respond to that song, and the producers were going to decide that night whether that song was going to stay in the show or not. And the rest is history; it’s still in the show, thank goodness. And it’s healing a lot of people, it heals me on a nightly basis. And to think,. Scott and Marc said they wrote it sipping martinis in Laguna Beach beside a pool. But Marc also said that Queen Latifah is going to record it… and Ruth Brown, the original Motormouth, has expressed interest in recording it also. I’d rather hear her sing it, frankly.

Yeah, I’m really impressed. My mother got really pissed off, but I was like, hey this is what happens when you’re in a Broadway show, you’ve got a hit song and everybody wants to record it. So be it, I’m flattered, and Marc should be, I think it’s cool.

[In the aftermath of September 11th, how important is the show’s message of tolerance?]

Oh gosh. September 11th was my second day of rehearsal for The Women. When my mother came to see the show [Hairspray] in Seattle, she was speechless for the first 24 hours. She met Scott and Marc – Scott and Marc were so happy to see black people in the audience in Seattle, they didn’t know how to act- and after the show, Scott and Marc came over to my mother, which I thought was so sweet because my mother is in a wheelchair now, and she had never seen me in a shown since Jelly’s Last Jam in 1992… and my mother’s first comment was that Harvey’s breasts were too perky. Said they were breasts like a 17 year olds. And my mother’s second comment was, "New York needs this show." And it’s true, New York needed the show. And in light of 9/11, this show has been really healing for a lot of people, and for the country. And when I sing "I Know Where I’ve Been", I know that it’s more than a song about race relations, and people getting over, it’s really an anthem for all of us. But it took time to learn that. I didn’t know people were going to be so affected by that song, and I didn’t know that the public would love Hairspray as much as we all did, because we knew we were doing something very special. But just because you know you’re doing something special, doesn’t mean that it’s gonna translate.

[On a lighter note, tell us about the crazy cast parties…]

I’ve always left the parties before too many crazy things are going on. The girl that’s my understudy, Danielle, I heard is very wild. Scott and Marc’s after-Tony party was pretty crazy.

[I just heard about Matt jumping in a fish tank.]

Well, Matt jumped into a fish tank, and then a few other people followed. So we have some wild people. I don’t see too much of it. I’m like an old fart, I’m 45 years old, my wild days are kind of, well not behind me, but I don’t seek them out as much as I used to. So I don’t know, we’ve got some wild parties, but I don’t see half of it. I’m boring.

[You’re not boring.] (laughs)

The trouble I get into, I don’t talk about too much. My life, compared to what the kids in the show are doing, I’m quite boring.

[Tell us one thought or story about the following people:
We’ll start with Harvey…]

I love Harvey. I think Harvey wishes he were a black woman. I say he’s the largest black woman in the show. I wish Harvey were straight, cuz I’d do him in a minute. I like big burly mother fuckers like him. I think he’s adorable, I think he’s really sexy. I think he’s really sexy with a beard and moustache, too. I like big old farts like him. I used to have a big ol’ crush on Dick Latessa, cuz he’s just an old fart. Dick and I used to be really naughty together we would like belch really loud. They’d have to separate us at rehearsal cuz we were really bad. I just liked him cuz he’s as big a class clown as I am. He’s naughty. I always love it when I meet someone as old as me or older whose just as bad as me if not worse, and he’s worse than me. But as for Harvey, we’re very much alike because we’re both Geminis. I’m June 3rd, I think Harvey’s June 6th. He’s crazy… I love Harvey, though. He’s so talented and he’s very giving, and he puts up with my shit and I put up with his, we love each other. Have you interviewed Harvey?

[I haven’t.]

I love Harvey.

[He doesn’t really talk to me very much, he told me to go home one night. I wouldn’t expect him to say yes.]

Harvey doesn’t give a shit about how incredibly abusive and condescending he can be. He tells everybody to go home, don’t feel bad. You should ask him. He might say no cuz he’s a weenie but you don’t ask, you don’t get.

[What about Marissa…]

I appreciate Marissa. I was in Toronto while she was there. And Matt says to me oh you gotta go hang out with Marissa. And then he’s like, uhh, you don’t wanna see her. I didn’t have any bad feelings about Marissa. I loved her in the show. I thought she was a great Tracy. She worked really hard. I read some crap on the internet about how the role isn’t that strenuous but one of things about show business when you have a job like hers is making it look easy. We make it look easy. My Motormouth thing is not easy. I had Marc Shaiman just say to me on Tuesday that he was hanging out with I guess Scott but with John Waters, and they had gone to some club in Baltimore cuz you know the tour opened this week in Baltimore and Marc likes to sit down at the piano in clubs and start playing and he said "Mary I got through two verses of "Big Blonde and Beautiful" and I was exhausted. I was winded." I said yeah "this song is no joke." Its no joke singing that eight times a week. But like I said being in show business its one of things you have to do, is make it look easy. But Marissa is great and I really enjoyed what she brought to the show. I think she’s really talented. But I think that Kathy Brier is just as good. And she’s a sweetie. She sings her ass off. And she cries every night. When I’m on the stage doing "I Know Where Ive Been" her eyes well up and I’m wiping her eyes as I’m singing. She’s really wonderful, she’s a great performer. She’s good on that soap too and I don’t watch One Life to Live. I usually watch All My Children. I’m an All My Children freak. I love All My Children.

[What about your kids in the show. Originally Corey Reynolds and Danelle Wilson, now Chester Gregory II and Aja Maria.]

Corey is so talented.

[Why did he leave?]

He did not leave. He was not asked back.

[Really?]

Corey has an explosive temper and he doesn’t know how to choose his battles. And ugh yeah he was not asked back. He was nominated for the Drama Desk. He was nominated for Outer Critics. He was nominated for the Tony. And after the Tonys his agent was waiting to get a call from one of the producers or rather Laura Green our general manager. His agent never got the call and so finally his agent called Laura Green and said Hey we’re waiting, we’re ready to start renegotiating. Well we’ve decided not to renew Corey’s contract. But its a blessing in disguise because its time for Corey to move on. When we opened initially Spielberg expressed interest in Corey. All the networks really liked Corey. In fact Corey was almost in that new Whoopi Goldberg show. The networks really wanted him they were pushing him. Whoopi did not want him, Whoopi wanted someone older. So that’s why they’ve got the black guy that’s in there now, Wren. Wren is a friend of my family actually, a friend of my aunt’s. I never met Wren until I did Jellys Last Jam in Los Angelos. He’s a nice guy. Danelle is soo talented, she’s such a pro and she’s such a good kid and I miss her. I miss her terribly. I missed her a lot this week. She’s a good actress, she’s a good singer, she can dance her ass off. She’s got a lot of heart. And they are my children. I already told both of them if they ever need me, I’m there for them cuz I will always be their mother.

My new children... Chester Gregory is incredible. Chester Gregory is a force to be reckoned with. He’s so talented and I love Chester. He’s got amazing pipes. He’s an amazing dancer. He’s a wonderful actor. He’s a very strong actor that’s one of the things that I really appreciate about him. My new daughter is a novice. Never really been in show business. She’s good when she has a line to say or when she has something to sing but when she’s not in the moment...she’s not paying attention. Its not that its her fault or anything, its just that she’s not seasoned.

[Well I’m going to ask Matt, cuz... I feel like it. heh.]

I love Matt. Matt’s heart is no longer in the show.

[I noticed.]

I was on the stage Wednesday night. And at the bows when we’re standing on our little triangles going down to bow. Matt fell off one of the back steps... behind... way far away back up stage and I turned up and looked at him when he came down where he was supposed to be and I pretended I had a fork and I stuck him and I said "you’re done." He said "what?" I said "I just stuck you with a fork, you’re done." He said "you can tell on the stage?" I said "yes." And then when we got in the elevator to go up to our dressing rooms at the end of the show he said "Well thats a fucked up thing to say out on the stage. You know?" I said "Honey, I’m not trying to fuck with you, mind fuck you or anything. But I can tell your done." He says "You’re saying that cuz you know me right? And you’ve been around me you know how I am." I said "yeah I’ve been around you. I know you." He’s a great guy and I love Matt. I know that he had differences with Kathy. He’s not always in the moment. A lot of kids... Matt he’s so young, he’s only like 23

[24, he’s gonna be 25 this month.]

Well you know, sometimes people don’t know when to leave. I’ve quit many shows because I knew it was time to move on. And that’s the problem with a lot of people in the show, not just the principles. A lot of people in the ensemble. They’re slaves to the check. That they don’t realize that they’re not only hurting themselves but they’re hurting the show. But I love Matty. And he’s a California boy, and I’m a California girl. I think he’s adorable. I really do. I like everybody in the show. Matty Fresh.

(laughs.)

He’s a baby. Oh I messed with him, I called him Bunny the other day cuz that’s what Marissa used to call him. Buunnny. Come here Bunny. You can ask me Matty questions. I think he’s sweet.

[Name one thing you’d change about yourself.]

About myself? Id hurry up and get a divorce. And Id have lots of money. I’m very happy with myself. If I had to do it all over again I probably wouldn’t have gotten married. Anyone who gets married should have a prenup. It was something that I was requesting but my husband didn’t want one and I regret that cuz now he’s dragging out the divorce. But there’s a reason I’m on the journey that I’m on. I’ve learned a lot over the years its been quite interesting.

[Rant.]

In 1992, Jelly’s Last Jam was considered a new musical. And Crazy For You was supposed to be a revival, but they realized that if it had been a revival it would’ve had its ass kicked by Guys & Dolls so they decided to make it a new musical and that’s why it won over Jelly’s Last Jam. Because its all politics.

[How can they do that?]

The same way they decided to make Contact a musical

[Yeah and Moving Out should’ve been a special event.]

Yes

[and Cavanaugh shouldn’t have been nominated for supporting actor.]

Yes but the reason that they made it a musical was so that Twyla Thwarp could be nominated for Choreography. And that Billy Joel could be nominated for composer or orchestration. Its all politics, but we know that. Many times individuals are recognized with awards or nominations to encourage them to come back and do more theatre in New York.

[I like to ask open questions that get the kinds of answers people don’t want to hear. I posted about Matt’s interview on Broadway.com’s message board and people got uppity about it because it isn’t the typical Broadway interview. I’m used to interviewing rock star personalities. Those people are used to talking shit and they’re fans are more accustomed to hearing it. Broadway people are sometimes...]

They’re pussies. That’s one of the things that pissed me off when I moved here. I moved here in 92 but when I came here in 1988 to do my first Broadway show. I would say something and people would get upset. Oooh don’t say that. Like why are so many people living in fear of just living life? A lot of NYers, a lot of actors are afraid of offending people. Fuck ‘em. Cuz they probably wont hire you anyway.

[I don’t remember who said it but someone said in my defense that there’s more to life than Show People magazine.]

Hello! Everyone wants to be safe.

[I love this I love that I love the show I love the producers.]

I can honestly say that. But not its not true for everything.

[Right, its not true to life to love everybody. I love this person, I love that person. That’s not true to life, you cant love everybody. If you do it’d make for a boring life.]

To be able to say that about a show is a rare thing. To be able to say I love to come to work is a joy and an honor. I’m glad to be able to say it. The hardest part about my job is getting to the theatre. Once I’m there, I love what I do, I love touching people on a nightly basis. And I don’t pay attention to the jaded people. and there are jaded people around me every night. but I don’t pay they any mind. I bless them and release them and I stay in my dressing room. I spend a lot of time in my dressing room. I’ve had a lot people say oh don’t say that in front of Mary, don’t do that in front of Mary cuz shell tell everyone. They’re flattering themselves. They don’t seem to realize I couldn’t give a flying fuck. The things that you do in your life are not nearly as interesting as the things that go on in my life on a daily basis. They don’t seem to realize that there’s more to my life than Hairspray. I don’t even tell them the half of it anymore. This show has kept me grounded and financially stable. And kept me blessed. And I’m blessed. I really am. I’ve had my shows where it sucked. I still go home and turn on the cast album every now and then. I love Marc Shaiman. I love Scott Whittman. I love Jack O’Brien. I told him I wanna have his children. I met Swoosie Kurtz at the flea market today. We both had this Jack O’Brien love fest. I told her I wanna have his kids and she said she wants to marry him. Jack has a lot of fans. He’s a brilliant man. Jack called Hairspray alchemy. and that’s what it is the stars aligned. and then there’s hairspray. and it doesn’t always work like that.

[Billy (Joel)’s playin’ on the radio.]

Oh we met him. He was nice... Adam Epstein told me I’m healing people on a nightly basis. And that’s something that you cant put a price on but he doesn’t realize that I’m healing myself too. Hairspray is my therapy and salvation. Its a joy. I don’t want to ever leave it. I wanted to sign for two years but legally I cant do that. I could’ve signed something separately aside from actors equity saying this is what we want to do but they didn’t want to do that so when my time comes in July we’ll see if they want me to stay or not. Its my gym too. (laughs) Its my workout every night. I was weighing almost 270 when I was doing Jelly’s Last Jam in Los Angelos. and the same producer Margo Lion, I went down to 210, Margo freaked out. She said I want a fat blues singer. Margo, I’m gonna come off big no matter what costume you put me in. The choreographer and the costume designer- Hope Clarke and Tony Leslie James respectively- said Mary we want you healthy. The same thing started happening with Hairspray. they wanted a biiiiiig fat Motormouth. I was like Ruth Brown is tiny. I can be "Big Blonde and Beautiful" without being Big Fat Blonde and Beautiful. I have to be healthy. I weighed myself a couple of weeks ago. Cuz I had to do the Olsen Twins movie. It was the first time I had to have a physical for any show biz thing I had to. The doctor asked me how much I weighed approximately, I guessed about 230. I got on the scale later and I weighed 242, so that’s what I am now. 242 pounds. My doctor wants me to be 170. I would not look at all the way I look now at 170. Id still be big cuz Im a big girl, I got big bones. but um, its one of the messages that I love about Hairspray. Love yourself for who you are. I’ve worked in other shows where other actresses wanted me to be envious of them because of their size. but I was never brought up like that so they would get angry with me for not being jealous. So I was like oooooh I get it. They want me to come down to their level. I cant do it. Its just not my way. When I started going to school, I thought peoples parents were sick because they were so little. My parents were BIG. My mother was 5’10" before she started shrinking. And my fathers 6’2" Big people. So when I started meeting my friends parents I would say what’s wrong with them? Because I was always raised around giants. But i love myself. I’m a big girl and I love every inch of me.

[Yeah. When I first met Matt he was in Rocky Horror and Ill never forget the day he came to the back of the theatre and sang to me, and I was in wheelchair seating all the way in the back and the cast like never came that far back cuz they had to be back on stage by the end of the verse. But after that I never really talked to him because I was just thinking, he’s in a Broadway show, he’s GORGEOUS. He’s NEVER gonna give me the time of day. Now, I wouldn’t say he’s a good friend of mine...yet, heh... but I’m not shy around him at all.]

You know I was in Rocky Horror, in the regionals in San Diego. I played Dr Scott as a Black German woman and as Eddie I had a bulge in my pants. It was fun. And its interesting how there's this six degrees of separation between everyone. We had our regular groupies and if its wasn't for this girl who was one of our regular groupies, I wouldn't be in Hairspray. You know how with the movie, there were these groupies that would come and throw toast and act crazy and blah blah. Well we had a regular group of people who came and this girl was one of them and when I moved to New York in 92 to do Jelly's Last Jam which was right across the street believe it or not, she was a casting associate for Bernie Telsey. And she was the one who kept insisting that they bring me in to audition me for Hairspray and they didn’t want to see me.

[Why not?]

I think they had Loretta Devine in mind. They wanted Loretta Devine. There were a couple other people they wanted but they didn't want me. And then when I auditioned. I auditioned for the reading that was in December 2001. The last reading. And that's how I got the part. After the reading they made me the offer to do the show.

[They would've been stupid not to!]

And they're having a hard time finding other Motormouths now.

[To replace you?]

Well not to replace me so much, but for the tours. Yeah Matt. He’s a nice guy. What you see is what you get. He’s a sweet sweet guy. Ill never forget being in rehearsal on 42nd street. This was when he was still in the ensemble and James Carpinello was playing Link. He came up to me and he said "Mary I wanna get my hair braided, where do I go?" He just wanted some corn rows. And as he was asking me I was like yeah he’d be cute in some corn rows. And I thought how cute, how hip for him to ask me where to get corn rows. But then I thought, of course he’s cool, he’s a California boy. Even though he is from Orange County. Just kidding! I loved that. And so I told him to go up to 125th street. Go on up to Harlem baby. As soon as you get up to 125th street there will be tons of people asking to braid your hair. And he did... a couple days later he ended up taking over the role of Link Larkin. I said baby, you gotta take your braids out! No more braids. But he’s just so normal. and real. just genuine. I have a lot of respect and affection for him. He’s still done though (laughs) Ill tell you though. Every now and then Ill get ready and go downstairs and watch the show from the side. I don’t do it too often, I do it every several months but when I do go down there, I cant take my eyes off Matt. Its just because of his energy. And he’s not doing anything special. And he’s not doing any show boating or trying to show off. He’s just being himself and working his ass off. He’s thrilling to watch on the stage on a nightly basis.

[And the last question, are you going to regret this interview?]

No I sleep just fine at night. I’m amazed at the power of the internet though, it blows my mind. I’m candid to a fault but I tell the truth. I love this show. I love Marc and Scott. I wish Marc and Jack were straight. But I don’t want to fight Scott. Just kidding. I love Scott, Scott’s adorable. Its been fun.

[Thank you!]

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