Image Credit: Matt Hoyle
Glee‘s Jane Lynch begins a summer run on May 16 in the Broadway revival of Annie, playing the boozy and bawdy orphanage manager Miss Hannigan, who torments the titular red-haired girl. (Lynch is replacing current star Katie Finneran.) The actress rehearsed for the part this winter in L.A. while she wrapped up the fourth season of Glee.
Lynch admits that the role shares similarities with her villainous Glee character, Sue Sylvester, and says the two characters would probably be pals in real life. “I think Miss Hannigan would look up to Sue because Sue is much more stealth and much more successful at being manipulative,” says Lynch. “Miss Hannigan is just sloppy. She’s kind of a mess.”
Lynch adds that her Glee costar Darren Criss, who stepped in for Daniel Radcliffe in the Broadway run of How to Succeed…, gave her some good advice. “He said ‘Make yourself comfortable.’ You have to really save your energy and your angst for the show.” Lynch admits that performing live on stage every night is going to be a test of endurance. “I had a rehearsal onstage for the first time and I got to the point where I was doing ‘Little Girls’ and I was out of breath,” she says. “So I have to learn how to conserve my energy.”
She’s also not gonna be preoccupied with any potential Glee castmates or other pals coming to see her. Says Lynch, “I’ve told them I don’t want to know when anyone’s coming. I just wanna show up and do the show. I don’t want to think oh so-and-so is out there. I met Patti LuPone last night and she was like, ‘I’m going to come see you.’ And I was like, ‘You cannot let me know when.’ I do not want to know when Patti LuPone is coming to see me!”
Read more:
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‘Glee’: Listen to three songs from this week’s Stevie Wonder tribute — EXCLUSIVE
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