Jo Anne Worley's Backstage Chit-Chat with Mr. Mickey

JoAnne Worley, legendary comedian and Broadway baby, made a name for herself on the seminal, ‘60s political comedy hour Laugh-In, where, alongside the likes of Goldie Hawn and Lili Tomlin, she helped shape and paved the way for female comedians today. She also happens to be a Broadway regular, having starred in such shows as Grease and the ill-fated The Prince of Central Park. For years, she was a fixture on the regional theater circuit, taking on roles such as Mama Rose in Gypsy. At present, she’s back on Broadway and doing her last week in the fabulous The Drowsy Chaperone. We caught up with her backstage and talked about all her favorite topics: animals, theater and her fabulous return to the stage!

Mickey Boardman: You’re having quite the year on Broadway if count Follies.
JoAnne Worley: The Drowsy Chaperone is such a wonderful theater family because, as you know, Follies was a short run and this is a big, fat, wonderful, ongoing hit.

MB: I like to fantasize that Follies will be resuscitated. I mean wasn’t there talk at the time, because of Donna Murphy being in it?
JW: One never knows! It was really a joyous experience. Follies has many, many levels and many deep things. The Drowsy Chaperone, as you know, is a show within a show and it’s about the Man in Chair and his life and his relationship to musical comedy. And it’s presented simply for the enjoyment of the audience. That’s its only purpose.

MB: This show is similar in many ways to a lot of the classic shows you’ve done, like Anything Goes.
JW: Well, this is why I got into musical theater, to do these kind of musicals. The kind that have wonderful songs, and are joyous and you get to wear some pretty clothes.

MB: I’d love to see your clothes versus Georgia Engel (who you replaced as Mrs. Tottendale)’s clothes.
JW: Yes. Apples and oranges! It was actually very brave of director Casey [Nicholaw] to cast me, because usually, as you know, when they bring replacements on Broadway they are cookie-cutter replacements.

MB: And so, to back up a little bit to Follies, how did that part come about?
JW: In the early ‘80s I did a tab version for a special on KCET out in California with a lot of people and I happened to do that number [“Who’s That Woman”] -- but that was years ago. I was familiar with the number of course from seeing several incarnations of Follies, but I said to them, ‘You know, I think you want someone who’s a better dancer.’ But Casey assured me that he would make me look good and he certainly did. I also took some tap lessons to get myself going. So, I was thrilled to have been able to do it.

MB: After spending so much time on Broadway, what’s it like… is it still a thrill for you?
JW: You can simply say it’s heaven. I talk to all my friends, and they say ‘We miss you here, JoAnne. When are you coming back? You’ve got to come back to California. But you’re exactly where you belong.’ My real friends know that this is what I love, and are happy for me.

MB: And you’ve done a lot of these classic roles like Mama Rose in Gypsy. Are there roles out there you haven’t done that you long for? It seems like you’ve had all the big ones.
JW: I haven’t done Sweeney Todd. I would like to do a Sweeney Todd. And Mr. Hal Prince did ask me to take the road company out years ago, and I was doing something else at the time but I regret I missed that opportunity. I would have enjoyed that a great deal. I would love to be Mrs. Lovett at some time.

MB: I read a quote in some of the press you’ve done recently where you say ‘I have no desire to be Lady Macbeth or some Romeo and Juliet.’ Have you always had this sort of self-awareness about who you are as an actress, and what kind of roles you feel are right for you?
JW: I always have, but managers and agents haven’t always. They always say you have to do a departure role because I guess people are just curious to know whether you are really crazy or not. So I’ve done ‘departure roles’ on television and they’re just boring. It’s just like a plane crashes into the ocean and you’re tattered and covered with oil, gasping for breath, almost dying. I’d rather make people laugh than crawl through the sand.

MB: When you talk about being a comedian, do you think of yourself as standing up telling jokes, or is it more of a comedian in the musical theater sense?
JW: A stand-up comic. When I was first going to nightclubs it was difficult. Back then they either booked you as a singer or a comedian. It was very confusing to them. Once you get a name they book you and you can do whatever it is you’re doing. But starting out you were either a stand-up comic or you were a singer --there weren’t crossover things. But that’s just how I got my humor -- I would take a song and I would do a twist on them. And then I remember talking, the first time I talked in a nightclub and I thought it was really funny to say ‘Good evening Ladies and Germs.’

MB: You were on Laugh-In for two years, and it just seems funny because that legacy is so strong, and it was really just two years.
JW: It was number one and so innovative -- it was a must-see for everybody. Families sat down and all watched it, wouldn’t miss it. So the impact was made for two years, and again that was an agent and manager’s decision for me to leave.

MB: So let’s talk about Actors and Others for Animalsfor a moment if that’s OK.
JW: Actors and Others for Animals is an L.A.-based charity. Our main mission is the importance of spaying and neutering and that is where most of our money goes -- to spay and neuter.

MB: I remember a story somewhere, of you turning down jobs because there was travel involved where you couldn’t bring your pet.
JW: Yes. That’s just the way it is. I have no children from my loins, and so my animals, are my of comfort. If I’m traveling I want to have a pleasant life too and that means I’m with my animal family. Luckily one of the “when you’ve made it” points is when you don’t have to ever worry about money again, and that certainly is where I’ve been at for a long time. We all like to be asked to dance, and I was very glad to have the offer, but my level of happiness in doing it would be lessened if I didn’t have my animals with me.