View Full Version : In Step w/ Jane Krakowski


DarleneIllyria
06-29-2003, 07:43 PM
This was in today's paper, in the Parade.

In Step With Jane Krakowski by James Brady

Remember Elaine on Ally McBeal? Jane Krakowski has moved on-with a new film, a hit Broadway show and a Tony Award.

That glorious actress Jane Krakowski-looking sleek in a black leather jacket-was having a pretty good day. So, being a big sport, I took her for a Starbucks coffee on the West Side of Manhattan to celebrate.

At 8:30 that morning, they'd announced the 2003 Tony Award nominees. Jane, three fellow cast members and their Broadway musical, Nine, all were saluted with nominations. It was Ms. Krakowski's second such honor. The first was for Grand Hotel in 1990, but she slept right through it. "I meant to get up and watch on TV," Jane said. This time she attended-and won.

Although Jane has a movie coming out next month with Lisa Kudrow called Marci X- about a hard-core hip-hop record label-she revels in stage work.

In this Broadway revival of Nine, Antonio Banderas plays a fictionalized version of the great film director Federico Fellini, and Jane is his mistress. It also stars Chita Rivera and Mary Stuart Masterson.

"Theater is so collaborative," Jane said. "Every person contributes to your performance. I love being entrenched in the work. And even though opening nigh is always bittersweet, you no longer are inspecting the work. From that night on, the actors are doing a job."

Nine is due to end in September, though there's talk of an extension. "Great roles don't come along that often," said Jane. "So if they extended, I'll extend. This has been a great welcoming back to Broadway after Ally."

For five seasons, Jane was a regular on Ally McBeal, playing the sex kitten Elaine opposite Calista Flockhart, with whom she had acted at the Williamstown Playhouse in Massachusetts when they were both just starting out.

"I was fortunate to have been on that TV show," Jane said. "It was so unique. When Ally started, even we didn't know what it was going to become. I'd go back in a minute if I could. I love television! More people saw Ally in one night than will see Nine in its entire run."

Brady's Bits
Jane Krakowskit grew up in Pasippany, N.J., a small town within commuting distance of New York City. "I never went to college," she said. "I went right into show business." Her first film was National Lampoon's Vacation, at 15, then she spet two years on the soap Search for Tomorrow. "When I was 17," she said, "I auditioned for a Broadway role in the musical Starlight Express- on roller skates. I had skated before as a kid, but at that show, if you had the moxie to fall down and get up and try again, you got the role." Besides acting, Jane is fascinated by film editing but has no desire ever to be a director. I asked her why. "I feel very uncomfortable telling other people what to do," she answered. One thing Jane does love to do is dance. It's her first love-more than acting. "When I was on Ally, I realized I was missing something," Jane told me. "So I went back to dance class. Communicationg without sound through dance, is so important to me-though you have to suck up your ego when you go to class and you all pull on your tights."


Personal
Born Oct. 11, 1968 in Parsippany, N.J. Single

Television:
Includes No Big Deal, 1983; Search for Tomorrow, 1984-86; Queen, 1993; Ally McBeal 1997-2002; Just a Walk in the Park, 2002.

Films
Include National Lampoon's Vacation, 1983; Fatal Attraction, 1987; Dance With Me, 1998; GO, 1999; The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, 2000; Ice Age (voice), 2002; Marci X, 2003.

Theater:
Includes Starlight Express, 1987; Grand Hotel, 1990; Company 1995; Once Upon a Mattress, 1996; Mack and Mabel, 2000; Nine, 2003.


I'll scan pic of article in a second.

DarleneIllyria
06-29-2003, 07:53 PM
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Central Perk
06-29-2003, 10:20 PM
That's great news. I'm glad everything is going well with Jane career-wise. It seems like a lot of Ally stars are doing well. Portia de Rossi is going to star in an upcoming Fox Comedy series called Arrested Development, Lucy Liu starred in Charlie's Angels Full Throttle and her other movie Kill Bill is set for release in October, and Calista's movie Providence will be released in 2004.