Why Mae West?
James Lapine, who is a very famous theater director and writer, called me on the phone and said, “Would you like to work on a project with me?” And then he said the words “Mae West,” and I really did feel a thrill go through my body and I thought, my God! Why didn’t I ever think of that? It really is a perfect fit for you. You seem to have inhabited her. They would laugh in rehearsal, I will say. Kevin turned to me one day and said, “It’s like you’re channeling her.” One of my favorite lines in the play — not that you should quote yourself, it’s so irky — is “Obsession grants the patience to really fine-tune the details.” Dirty Blonde seems to celebrate celebrity worship … That’s what people say, but I never analyzed it to that point. I think what it celebrates is not celebrity worship, it’s really the obsession with anything. It just happens to be celebrity worship. To me obsession is a grand thing, and I don’t mean where you get into madness, but obsession in its most wonderful w
