Pop Culturalist Chats with Jennifer Laura Thompson

It’s no surprise to anyone that Dear Evan Hansen’s Original Broadway Cast Recording (OBCR) made its Billboard Chart debut at #8, the highest charting debut position for an OBCR since 1961. With an exquisite score by Golden Globe winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and a heart-wrenching performance by Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen is officially Broadway’s next big thing. Although Platt gives a performance of a lifetime, it’s important to recognize the talent of the supporting cast members including Tony Award nominee Jennifer Laura Thompson. The star has appeared in many popular hits such as Wicked and Urinetown but is making audience members sob with her vulnerable portrayal of Cynthia Murphy. Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with the theatre community’s favorite mom about motherhood (on and off stage), what her most challenging role has been and how Dear Evan Hansen has introduced her to fans all over the world.

PC: Dear Evan Hansen premiered in DC last summer, then Off-Broadway in early 2016, and now it’s on Broadway. How have you changed between these three productions, as Jennifer and as Cynthia?

Jennifer: It’s been a long developmental process that has involved a lot of cuts, a lot of changes. When we first read through, it was unnamed at the time; it was the untitled Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and Steven Levenson Production. I had a song, I had a different duet with Rachel. The scenes were, at early points, Cynthia-heavy in terms of what I actually said in the scene. Then, gradually, things started to shift and I became a more silent participator in the scene. They balanced it again and it became more Cynthia-heavy. It’s very interesting what you are allowed to say or allowed to just think; what your active role in the scene is. That was changing constantly. It was a long period of time where we were figuring out who was playing what card in what scene, and how significant it was. We had to all make adjustments accordingly. It was an interesting process, because there’s so much power in the spoken word, but there’s also a lot of power in the unspoken word. You had to navigate your way through the scenes and figure out how you contributed, how you felt; some of the losses were devastating because you put so much weight as an actor in a particular paragraph or whatever, so much backstory. Then, it’s taken away and it’s hard to fill the moment with the backstory that no longer exists in words.

There was a lot of tinkering with the beginning of the show. They really wanted to get to the principal’s office scene, they wanted to get to where the meat of the story begins. But you couldn’t do that without telling the story of who these people are and where they’re at in their life. There used to be an ensemble at one point; there was a presence of students who were the voice of the social media world essentially. When we started rehearsals for Arena Stage, we had a couple of weeks of rehearsal in New York. We showed up and it was just the eight of us. It was like, “Oh! It’s just us.” It was like, “This is really bizarre.” We made so many changes down in DC, and many, many more changes at Second Stage. By the time we got to Broadway, it was in really good shape so the changes were minor and they were very detailed.

PC: Are you constantly finding new things every night?

Jennifer: Yeah! Everybody grows within their roles, but we all have our limitations. We all have boundaries within which we have to work because you have to adhere to what the writers and directors have intended for their characters. You can’t just go off the wall and make wild, bold choices, but we certainly find more intimate choices and more depth. At this point, so many of us who’ve been with it for so long know these people so well. I can say for myself, I don’t think there’s anything that I can do wrong as Cynthia because I feel like I know her boundaries well enough that there’s nothing I feel like is not honest about her, even though it may be slightly different on a given night.

Just last week, Michael Greif came and he asked me specifically, “What do you want me to look for?” I said, “I just want you to look for the sad factor. Am I too sad too much? Am I running too much emotion on? Is it getting to the point where, ‘Oh, she’s coming on stage to cry again?'” He gave me very specific notes. It was great because, in reality, this character deals with so much grief. She’s not a stoic person, but unless she were a stoic person, it would be grieving all the time. In theatre, you don’t want to watch somebody cry all night long. I have to walk a very narrow line.

PC: Talking about grief… I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that your character’s son, Connor, commits suicide. He’s considered kind of the antagonist of the show, the “bad guy”. When we get into “Requiem,” we get a sense of how divided the Murphy family is and how their feelings conflict after Connor’s passing. Why do you think it’s important for the Murphy’s, and also the audience, to see Connor’s light and feel forgiveness?

Jennifer: That’s essentially what the basis of the show is. It’s a giant message for forgiveness. We are all flawed. Even what may seem like the perfect family—they have plenty of money, they have a lovely home, they have every need and want but something is not right. I think those lessons are extremely important, especially in today’s society where social media exacerbates the idea that everybody has a better life than you do. It’s meant to connect people, but it often makes people feel disconnected because they don’t have what others have or they’re not doing what other people are doing. I think that understanding that this seemingly perfect family is severely flawed just like everyone else is a message that is important to be told. It’s a small family, obviously- there are two parents and a daughter – and we’re all responding vastly differently to our son’s or sibling’s death.

PC: I’m glad that you brought up how social media is a common theme of the show and how it brings loneliness, or the need to belong, to the surface. As a mother onstage and off, what advice would you give to mothers who are struggling to connect with their own children, especially children who are dealing with mental illness?

Jennifer: It’s, again, forgiveness. Cynthia and I in my own life, when I’ve come across an issue with my child, I’ve done everything I can to get to the root of the cause of the problem, which is what every mother’s and father’s instinct is to do. The problem is, for whether it’s for addiction or mental illness, there’s no one book that’s written for that specific person. There’s a lot of books that are written for generic problems, when in fact, with people with mental illness, it takes so much exploration to really define what the problem is. I always had said, if Cynthia had found the book that was written about Connor, she could have helped him. But there wasn’t a book about Connor. There was just a book about addiction. Every person with that problem is hugely different—biologically, genetically, clinically, emotionally. It’s a very difficult path to go down.

That’s the one thing that I love about Cynthia. She was relentless to no end. She would try whatever to see if it fixed, to see if it worked. It’s really sad that it doesn’t work out. That’s the other frightening part is that sometimes there really is nothing to be done. I will never understood as an actress playing Cynthia why he felt that dark and that sad. I’ll just never understand it. But forgiving yourself—you try. It was in God’s hands; not in a religious sense or a spiritual sense. It was fate. Coming to terms with that is extremely difficult. That’s the part that it really hurts. I try to imagine now what I would do. I can’t imagine wanting to go on living if I were to lose a child. 

PC: I want to steer away from Dear Evan Hansen just a little bit to give you a break because I know you have a show tonight and you have to revisit all these emotionally draining feelings.

In 2011, you starred in a televised production of Company with the New York Philharmonic  an incredible cast. What was great about that was that it accessible to a broader audience. I think that’s something the industry needs to work on. What are your feelings about making theatre more accessible?

Jennifer: There’s something about the live performance you can’t replace by televising it. The fact that, for example, so many shows have done this. Every year they’re doing a televised live musical which is interesting—because it’s live. There is that element of: What’s going to happen? Is it going to go right? They do have that interactive feeling, even thought they’re watching a screen. Also, music and musical theatre is becoming more widespread and accessible with popular culture because it’s become something that a general public wants to listen to. People who haven’t even seen the show are buying the music. I love that it’s opening up to the entire country, not just the New Yorkers in the Tri-State area and the tourists. People in Idaho are sending me messages about how much they love the score; having not even seen it, how much it’s spoken to them.

Being part of that experience with Company, because it was a star-studded cast, people who normally might not want to watch theatre decided to watch. That was thrilling. It was wonderful it opened up that world in that sense, as well. I had such a blast doing it. It was ten days of madness, but it was so fun.

PC: What has been your most challenging role in the past? The most fun?

Jennifer: Wicked was the most challenging because I had a 6-month old baby at home that I was still nursing. The role was monstrous and I could barely stand up. It was worth it because it was so brilliantly written. I replaced Kristin Chenoweth, but they specifically gave me the leeway to make it my own. They didn’t expect me to imitate her or follow in her footsteps. That was thrilling, but it was the most challenging because I was literally sleep-deprived and starving all the time. The most fun one I would say would be Urinetown because it’s one of the smartest shows I’ve ever done, and at the same time being one of the funniest shows I’ve ever done. To create a character in such a wacky setting and go at it with law-an-order honesty was so fun. The whole experience going from this tiny theater Off-Broadway – really an “off” Off-Broadway house and a cast of about 16 or so sharing one dressing room and bathroom – to it ending up on Broadway, it was just like a miracle. That show was ground breaking for its humor and the satirical nature and the topical nature. Who would buy a ticket for something called Urinetown? Now, I can say that without being like, “Well, the show is called Urinetown because…” I don’t have to defend the title anymore, which is really nice.

PC: Do you have any dream roles?

Jennifer: That’s a question I get asked often. I don’t have any dream roles. My dream is to always be the creator of the role. I don’t want to play Mame or Hello, Dolly! That’s not my goal. I get the most out of creating. I’m playing my dream role right now is probably the real truth.

PC: Do you have any aspirations to either write, direct, or produce musical theatre?

Jennifer: I want to work with Stacey Mindich. She’s our lead producer. She’s an incredible woman. If I could work for a production company, I would definitely join her. I’ve never thought of directing. It’s not been anything that’s been of any interest to me. In terms of writing, I’ve never actually wanted to write, which is strange because most actors are creative on so many levels. My creative level is hands-on, not writing; but creating art and not written art. It’s more textiles than actual written work. I get more out of that. I think there’s something that mystifies me about how writers work.

For example, our book writer Steven Levenson has a play now Off-Broadway called If I Forget. It’s funny to say…sometimes I can’t remember the title of that show and it’s called If I Forget. We just saw it last week. The twists and turns, and the way he shapes the play; how things all come together, and then revisit old themes. It mystifies me how he does it. He’s so brilliant, which is one of the reasons why I couldn’t grapple the idea of writing something because I wouldn’t know how to start. The best stories are very, very complicated. I wouldn’t know how to ravel that. It unravels in the play, but I wouldn’t know how to make that work. I could write a song, but I don’t think I could write a play.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?

Jennifer: I don’t know if it’s a guilty pleasure but, Walking Dead. I don’t feel guilty at all.

PC: Do you have a guilty pleasure movie?

Jennifer: I really don’t. I will see anything with Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy. It doesn’t matter if it got reviewed well or not. I believe there’s a handful of comedians that, I don’t care what the movie is, I’ll see it. I’ll gladly rent or buy a DVD that failed in the commercial market, but if it’s got some Ferrell and McCarthy in it, I’m all over it.

PC: What is your favorite book?

Jennifer: I don’t have a favorite book. Actually, my favorite book right now is “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”. My favorite books are about decluttering the house. That’s really pathetic.

PC: No! I’m sure that’s a great read!

Jennifer: Which is ironic, because the more decluttering guides I collect, the more cluttered my bookshelf gets!

PC: It’s doing the opposite effect. What is your favorite play or musical?

Jennifer: I can only speak from the ones that I’ve been in. Right now, Dear Evan Hansen is my favorite. It’s the one I’m most blown away by. Not to diminish Urinetown, but they’re neck and neck for me. I don’t actually see a lot of theatre because I’m usually working or trying to spend time with my family. In terms of musicals I don’t have a favorite other than the ones that I’ve done.

PC: I think it’s great to love the work that you do. It would be bad if it was the other way around. What is your favorite social media platform?

Jennifer: I just discovered Instagram. I’ve been a Twitter user for the last few years and I literally just discovered the power of Instagram. I’m so late to the game. It’s really fun. The kids at work do a lot of Snapchat, but I just can’t keep up with that.

PC: I think the cast is very technologically advanced.

Jennifer: Very. Some of us got pulled into the pool because of the nature of our show. They’re promoting it on social media in ways that didn’t really happen as much in the past.

PC: Right. Do you have any hidden talents?

Jennifer: I’m really good with textiles, but that’s not really an interesting talent. I’m a painter. How about that?

PC: We’ll take it!

Dear Evan Hansen fans: you can purchase Jennifer’s textile work at the merchandise booth at the Music Box Theatre. Although snagging tickets to the show is getting more difficult (there’s limited availability from now through May), they can be purchased here or you can try your luck with the digital lottery (subject to daily availability).

For more of Jennifer’s wisdom and undeniable charm, follow her on Twitter.