When I was on Broadway when I was little I remember always driving through Times Square with my dad to the theater. Now when I go back you can't even drive on Broadway in the 40s. New Times Square is too touristy to me.
I'm the most inappropriate dad. I curse in front of my kids and their friends. I let my kids watch R-rated movies. I'll walk by the movie theater and say 'Let's go see that ' and my kids will say 'No it's rated R. It's not appropriate for kids.' I'm like Uncle Dad. We have fun. I don't live with them but I drive over four days a week.
Going to the theater is such a joyous experience. My dad would take my sister and me to plays when we were very young like six or seven years old.
Thirty years ago we were in a movie theater and thought it was so cool because we were finally delivered from the horrors of stained glass and wooden pews.
I definitely wasn't cool in high school. I really wasn't. I did belong to many of the clubs and was in leadership on yearbook and did the musical theater route so I had friends in all areas. But I certainly did not know what to wear did not know how to do my hair all those things.
I like doing theaters. I like being up close and personal with the fans. It's really cool.
I just hope that theaters remain. I think there's something very wonderful about getting into a dark room with a bunch of people. There's something cool about that. Brings us all together in one room where we can experience all those emotions.
Theaters are always going to be around and doing fine. With computers and technology we're becoming more and more secluded from each other. And the movie theater is one of the last places where we can still gather and experience something together. I don't think the desire for that magic will ever go away.
In 1984 I turned to theater in the hopes of finding a more direct form of communication between me and my people.
Communication is very important. And the arts do that whether it's film or theater.
Think about what people are doing on Facebook today. They're keeping up with their friends and family but they're also building an image and identity for themselves which in a sense is their brand. They're connecting with the audience that they want to connect to. It's almost a disadvantage if you're not on it now.