Cynthia Nixon on Her Directorial Debut, De Blasio and How Miranda’s Doing These Days
This Wednesday, Feb. 11, the New Group theater company will open “Rasheeda Speaking,” an exquisitely tense (and often cringingly funny) portrait of racial paranoia in a small doctor’s office, starring the incomparable Tonya Pinkins and Dianne Wiest. The play also marks the directorial debut of the “Sex and the City” veteran Cynthia Nixon, who since the release of the franchise’s second film in 2010 has appeared on Broadway in “Wit” and on TV in “The Big C,” and has crusaded hard for marriage equality and for the election, in 2014, of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Nixon chatted with T about launching her career as a director, the other projects that will keep her busy this year — and, of course, the latest news about Miranda.
Q.
Wow, your directorial debut! How did that happen?
A.
Scott Elliott, the head of the New Group, and I have known each other since 2001, when he directed me in “The Women.” Three years ago I did a reading for him of a play for a celebrity benefit gala, and I guess I was very bossy in the reading — he said to me, “Well, I guess you’re going to be directing next year’s gala, because you’re already directing this one.” But he was serious; six months later, he asked me to direct the next gala’s reading! So I did, and it went really well. He said, “You seem to have a knack for this, so I’m going to offer you a New Group directing slot.” I read a lot of plays they presented me, and “Rasheeda Speaking” is the one that spoke to me. It’s by Joel Drake Johnson, a Chicago playwright.
It’s such a tense and twisty play, commandeered almost completely by the masterful Tonya Pinkins and Dianne Wiest. What is the play about to you?
The way that Joel shows how human beings interact with each other on an almost microscopic level is fascinating. We watch the dissolution of a friendship by tiny, meticulous degrees. Scott thought this would be a good play for me to start out with because it’s just four characters and one set, not a lot of fancy staging. It’s all about bringing the text to life, which if you’re coming from acting is what you’re best at.
What was the process like for you?
Thrilling. This play is a little claustrophobic at times. It’s extremely tense, like time-lapse photography. It’s also a painful play. Getting an audience in there was great to get some more oxygen in the room for the actors to play off. Yes, there’s laughs, but it was still a painful play to rehearse at times.
Because of the racial dynamics?
It’s a play about being the one black person in a white setting, which is actually how the rehearsal process was for Tonya. I think sometimes she felt that — “I am carrying the entire African-American community” — and when, say, my direction or interpretation didn’t jibe with her experience, she didn’t have anyone to turn to to be her ally. My assistant director is a South African of color, but that’s not the same experience as the black American one.
Without spoiling too much, a lot of the play seemed to me to be about a black woman taking the legitimate paranoia she feels every day in a white setting and turning it around for her own survival.
I think that’s very much what happens. When the play begins, we have these two women of different colors who’ve been able to forge a little bond, an island, surrounded by an antagonistic ocean. But their little island is no longer able to exist. And to some extent, Tonya’s character starts doing to Dianne’s character what’s been somewhat unconsciously done to her. She’s saying, “This is what I have to deal with constantly and it doesn’t feel very good, does it? Let’s see how long you last.”
Has directing left you time for anything else?
Many things! I took a quick break to go to Sundance, where I was in two films: “Stockholm, Pennsylvania” and “James White.” I imagine they’ll be out later this year. In May I have another film coming out, “5 Flights Up.” Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman play an aging New York couple, and I’m their niece, who’s a realtor, who convinces them they need an elevator building. It’s a comedy about New York real estate and getting older. It’s also about old versus new New York, and I represent the hustle and the bustle and the marketplace. And then in April I’m shooting a film called “A Quiet Passion,” in which I play Emily Dickinson.
You’re busy. Have you had time for any political stuff, like when you got behind gay marriage and de Blasio’s mayoral campaign?
Nothing right now. I do things as they come up.
How do you think de Blasio’s doing?
I think he’s doing an amazing job. The pre-K for all is great. My wife is working with the city now on the roll-out of his community schools project, which is giving struggling schools wraparound services, like bringing in more guidance counselors and having things like an optometrist on-site for low-income kids who are having trouble seeing the blackboard but whose parents maybe can’t afford a second pair of glasses if one pair breaks.
Finally, a very important question. How is Miranda?
I think she’s doing pretty well. When we saw her before, she was driven into the ground with her job, and I think she’s made some changes in her life and she’s living in a more balanced way. She’s given up trying to do it all, and she’s better at taking vacations. I get a postcard from her every now and then.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
1 Comment
After seeing it, I did some googling and found a Chicago Tribune review from 2014 in which the reviewer thought that racism wasn't really the issue, and in fact was dated, but that it was about workplace dynamics and people who are difficult to work with. Then there's the single line summary in a popular weekly magazine that describes it as being about a power struggle. How we (and the reviewers) view this play can be a personal rorschach test.
If you only see one play this year, make this the one. There are important truths told here by excellent actors and a fine playwright. It's not without wit. It will begin to grip you and not let go until the last bow. Go with a friend and plan a long dialogue afterwards over your beverage of choice.
Congratulations are in order to Ms. Nixon. Everyone should read this interview, but perhaps it is best saved until after seeing the play.