Pop Culturalist Chats with Mean Girls’ Kerry Butler
Kerry Butler was born to be an actress. A native New Yorker, she’s been acting since she was a child, and all her hard work has garnered her tons of accolades, from Drama Desk nominations to a Tony Award nomination.
Kerry’s talents as a performer have landed her many memorable roles, including Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Penny Pingleton in Hairspray, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, and Clio/Kira in Xanadu. Additionally, Kerry has also leapt off the stage and onto television screens. You may have seen her on popular shows like 30 Rock, The Mindy Project and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Needless to say, she knows her craft and does it well.
We were able to chat with her about her newest role(s) in the Broadway musical, Mean Girls. Tackling a beloved story can be difficult, but Kerry plays three distinct characters (Mrs. Heron, Ms. Norbury, and, a fan favorite, Mrs. George) with ease and skill. She shared with us what it’s like adding her voice to these already well-known characters, how to keep her performances fresh, and how she embraces what comes her way.
PC: Mean Girls is obviously based on a film. A couple other shows that you’ve been a part were films before, too, like Catch Me if You Can and Hairspray. When you do shows like that, do you feel any pressure to live up to fans’ expectations?
Kerry: A little bit, but I also think that if you go into them doing an impersonation then it’s not going to be good for anybody. I don’t usually watch the film. I try and find my own version. Once I have my own take on it I’ll go back and watch the movie to figure out if I’m on track, or if there are places that I can do a few little things from [the film] that the audience will appreciate—where it’s clear that I’m sending up the movie. So it has to come from you first I think.
PC: Do you think that’s a little more challenging in preparing for roles like that or for roles that are in essence a blank slate?
Kerry: I don’t think so. My hardest time was Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors because that one has such a specific stamp on it, and the director wanted me to go against that a lot. So I feel like I got the most backlash from that one, really. I think as long as you don’t go too far from what it is and make it your own—while still honoring what was there—I think you’ll be fine.
PC: For Mean Girls, you are doing three different roles in the show. What’s that like for you?
Kerry: I think it’s really fun, first of all. I’ve always wanted to be a character actress who loses themselves in a role so the biggest compliment people give me at the stage door is, “I had no idea that the same person was playing all of those parts!” So many people don’t know until they check their playbill. I even try and switch my wig at the final curtain call so people kind of know, but a lot of people still don’t put it together. So, the only challenges are occasionally I’ll forget who I am. [The characters] all have different voices, body stances and walks; sometimes if I’m not paying attention I’ll be like, “Oh my gosh. Did I just use Mrs. Heron’s voice for Ms. Norbury?” Other than that, it’s really fun. I love that I get to show so many sides of my personality. I think it’s a good showcase for showing that I don’t play one type of role all the time.
PC: Out of the three, do you have a favorite to play?
Kerry: My favorite is Mrs. George.
PC: Are there parts of each of them that you identify with personally?
Kerry: I think I identify most with Mrs. George. [laughs] I don’t go as far as her, but I would like to be a cool mom to my kids. Actually, Mean Girls has put me on the map as the cool mom. My girls never cared about seeing my shows before and now they’re begging me to see it all the time and to bring their friends backstage. It’s definitely upped my cool mom status.
PC: Do you have a favorite part of the show?
Kerry: I think my favorite part is doing the scene with Mrs. George with the dog. Tina Fey wrote such a good book. I come in, every single line gets a big laugh, and I get exit applause. I like that Mrs. George can just be crazy whereas Mrs. Heron and Ms. Norbury are controlled, almost serious. I like that I can kind of do anything for Mrs. George, and it would totally be appropriate.
PC: In general, do you prefer doing comedic performances?
Kerry: Yeah, definitely. I love doing dramas; it legitimizes me as an actor. But, doing comedy is much more fun. The last play I did was The Call at Playwrights Horizon. [It] was very serious, and I ended up injuring my back because I was holding onto all that emotion doing it eight times a week. That’s more stressful on your body than dancing in a musical!
PC: When you’re doing eight performances a week, how do you keep things fresh?
Kerry: I think in terms of keeping it fresh acting-wise [is] focusing on what you’re doing and what the other person is giving you so it can still be different every night. Also, the audience is different every time so that adds a different energy. Eventually, after six months you sometimes can get stuck, and you can start losing laughs because you’re such a robot in how you deliver things. So sometimes my little trick is during matinees—usually for comedies matinees are not very responsive—I’ll just tell myself I’m not allowed to do any of my lines the same way. And then, I find I’ll do that and it lets me live for another six months. Usually, you’re a whore for laughs; you don’t want to give up the laughs that you know are there, but if you’re not going to get laughs on a bad matinee where the audience is really dead, then that’s a good time to try it.
Pictured (L-R): Ben Cook (Ensemble), Nikhil Saboo (Ensemble), Cheech Manohar (Kevin Gnapoor), Erika Henningsen (Cady Heron), and Kerry Butler (Ms. Norbury); Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
PC: You’ve also done quite a bit of camera work. Do you find that more difficult? Or do you approach it differently?
Kerry: Yes, you have to be so much smaller on camera and be so much more concerned about what your face is doing. [laughs] I’m so animated in real life that I almost feel phony when I’m on camera because I have to pull my own personality down. I grew up loving theater and always wanting to do theater so that’s really where I’m meant to be and where I live. But I like doing it all. I would love doing a sitcom in front of an audience. That might be something I really enjoy because you have the best of both worlds.
PC: Do you have a memorable role you’ve done?
Kerry: Penny Pingleton in Hairspray. That show put me on the map, and it was so exciting. Mean Girls feels a little like that now: it’s the “It Show” and everybody wants a piece of you. All these celebrities are coming to the show every night, and you’re on talk shows…it’s an exciting time! Unlike most shows, we don’t have to beg people to buy tickets [laughs].
PC: If there was another musical adaptation in the future what would it be?
Kerry: Someone just told me I should look into the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous.
PC: If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?
Kerry: Don’t stress out so much about the things that you don’t get. A lot of times it just opens the door to something else. Now I say, “I get what I get and I don’t get upset.” Looking back, I can see what I didn’t get let me do these great shows. One year, I had done the readings for four big musicals, like Legally Blonde. I was like, “Which one am I going to choose?!” I was the “It Girl” for a minute…and then I didn’t get any of them. But then Jane Krakowski—[she] was slated to do Xanadu—dropped out of it. Xanadu came back to me, and I ended up getting my Tony nomination for it. Had I done any of the other shows, then I wouldn’t have had that great experience. I probably would have chosen the other shows over Xanadu because they were big budget, big name musicals. So now I just trust that I get what I’m meant to get.
Pop Culturalist Speed Round
Last TV show you binge-watched
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Favorite Movie
The Little Mermaid
Favorite Book
Madeline L’Engle’s Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage
Favorite Musical
Blood Brothers
Favorite Place You’ve Been To
The Galapagos Islands
Place You Most Want to Travel To
Costa Rica
Person You’d Most Like to Meet Someday
I have met him, but I’ve never sat down and talked to him: Obama.
Discussion about this post