Why I love this show.

This show is HAZARD COUNTY, for the one person who might be reading this and not actually receive an email on the subject.


Sure, I've spent my life doing a lot of theatre. It's ranged from god-awful to brilliant.

Even just in my five and a half years here in LA, I've done ... 16. (Of those, one was an actual honest-to-God pay-me-real-money Equity contract). The rest, theoretically, I do for the love of the art.

And yet, of that list of 15, only about a third were shows I was passionate about going into the project. And of that small list, only a small percentage were the experience I wanted them to be.

I thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to be Mistress Quickly in THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR and - while not perfect, a good time had by all, including (it seemed) audiences. ON THE VERGE took a more literate audience, so it didn't find its way with the general public ... but it was such a beautiful journey. With my "sisters" Shelley and Kathi, we bonded so closely during that rehearsal process that come opening night we freaked a bit - not because of nerves, but because we felt that what we created was ours, our own personal little treasure, and we didn't want to share it with anyone else! (I've never felt that before, or since.)

Those experiences, and other good ones, even added together don't come close to this show. Even if I added in my best experiences in New Orleans (I should mention that there are over 60 productions in my many years of working onstage) ... they still wouldn't add up to HAZARD.

I love the script. I don't begin to claim that it's perfect, but it's so rich and layered and so genuinely southern. Allison Moore truly has a gift for dialogue - the detail (probably unperceived to the audience, which is OK) is so rich. Now, to be fair, I cursed her name a lot while I was getting off book, but it was so worth it.

I love the cast. This has been the easiest show I have ever done. There have been no dramas or personality conflicts ... everybody came to the party prepared. Everyone was ready to work - and still keep it fun.

I love the director. OK, so I'm married to him. :) But his work as a director just gets better and better.

And the cast, as a unit, genuinely loves the show. There are just enough laughs to keep it from being too heavy to have to live with night after night; but it's rich enough to stay interesting.

If you live in LA, please come see it. I don't want to set this up as too much hype; your mileage may vary. And that's OK. But for me, I've just don't know if I've ever been prouder of my work as an actress. So don't come see it just because it's another show that I'm doing and you feel some obligation. See it because this one ... is special.