Notes

Next to Normal's Lauren Bell Talks Fan Gifts and Audience Connection
by Matt Wolf

Lauren Bell's Broadway debut in Moulin Rouge included being an understudy for the role of glamorous Satine. She also was seen wowing audiences Off-Broadway, earning nominations for an Obie Award and a Drama Desk for her multi-faceted role as Lucille, a young woman moving on from a troubled childhood in Dance for Me. Today we caught up with her and discussed her second Broadway role in the stunning Deaf West Next to Normal revival.

Q: Welcome back! You just finished previews. How were they?

A: Oh, so amazing. The reception is awesome-- fan response is so good, every day I check my phone and I read an outpour of messages from people who feel like this production have spoken to them. I haven't received such responses since "Dance for Me", and to be able to connect with audiences and make people feel like they're not alone in their experiences is so special. That's not something you can really get anywhere else.

Q: Do you feel like audience connection is an important part of the theater experience?

A: I definitely think so. It's always good to be able to relate-- after all, these are the people who buy tickets and keep your show open. I like to keep my communications open-ended. As a kid growing up far from New York, being able to reach out to Broadway actors I admired on social media made me really happy, and I want to be able to give other kids that ability. I receive so many awesome gifts from fans too, which is super cool.

Q: Speaking of growing up far from New York, how did that shape your love for theater growing up?

A: I mean, it just made me love it even more because trips to go see shows were so rare and felt so special. I saw my first show in New York at 14, but it was high school theater that had sparked my interest. If I'm being honest, I definitely did consume a lot of bootlegs when I was younger. Which I don't recommend at all now, and I'm not encouraging, but growing up far from a lot of shows I wanted to see kind of set that off in me. I'm a visual person, but I'm not saying go out and watch bootlegs! For real! I'm just sharing my experience. But anyway, it was less accessible, but it almost made me want it more.

Q: How do you think Broadway can make itself more accessible?

A: DVD recordings. Bootlegs are kind of the worst, but people will keep consuming them if we don't start recording shows. Plus, it is easier to archive shows that closed early or had limited engagements that way.

Q: Back to the topic of fans, you said that you had received some really good gifts. What stuff have you got?

A: Oh my gosh, so much cool art. People post stuff on Tumblr and Instagram and tag me in it, or they mail it to the theater. My whole dressing room is art currently. Gabie [Girard] and I have it plastered on the walls. Someone sent us stickers last week, and we were so happy. But we also got petit fours, which are these amazing tiny cake things, and Gabie and I hoarded them and just ate like.. far too many. But yeah. We get a lot of awesome stuff. I'm sure the other cast members do too.

Q: How does the experience of being in Moulin vs this show compare?

A: They're so, so, different in many ways, but not in a bad way necessarily. Moulin Rouge was very much a lot of dancing, which was difficult for me because, frankly, dancing is my weakest area (I was dance captain though!) I had different responsibilities and a completely differently structured show. It was so fun and the costumes were great, I had a blast. Next to Normal is a bit more serious and very intense to do, but really rewarding. But when I do this show, I get to take parts of my other job, which is interpreting, and bring it with me. I love that. When I pick up a lot of acting work, I miss it sometimes. This is great because it combines my two passions. Both shows are so fabulous and so amazing, but so separate.

Q: How is your bond as a cast?

A: I couldn't ask for a better group of people. We all get on really well, which is so cool and I'm really glad there's no drama. From the start, we all kind of clicked, and I was sort of bridging the gap between the hearing and deaf actors since I could interpret. That was a cool thing we took advantage of. We also have a clear family structure-- Patina [Miller] and Shoshannah [Stern] are the moms, Gavin [Creel] is the dad, Chris [Grover] is like the crazy uncle, and then the rest of us are basically devil children. If someone were to hear our conversations with no context, I'm sure they'd think we were an incredibly dysfunctional family.

Q: How did the family dynamic start?

A: I think it comes from the show's nature about family. We just filled those natural roles. Plus I would always make fun of Gavin for being such a dad, and then during rehearsal one day, he said "I don't even have kids," and I said, "Yes you do, we're your terrible children." and he thought it was hilarious, and then I bothered him another time about how he's old enough to be my dad, and Gabie picked up on it and then there was no shaking it. Patina and Shoshannah are natural moms. It's awesome. Chris is such a wildcard guy that he just fits the bill of being a weird uncle.