What It's Like to Go From "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" to Broadway
When people first started talking about the Broadway revival of Burn This, Lanford Wilson’s 1987 play about an unlikely relationship that blossoms in the wake of a young man’s death, they were talking mostly about the poster. And who could blame them? It featured the play’s movie-star leads, Keri Russell and Adam Driver, curled up on a sofa and looking decidedly smoldering. After the show opened, however, all of the buzz has been about Brandon Uranowitz, the actor playing Larry, a roommate to Russell’s Anna and a verbal sparring partner for Driver’s Pale. Indeed, Uranowitz-a veteran of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Fosse/Verdon-has won nominations for both Drama Desk and Tony awards for the role. Here, he talks to T&C about why his character has resonated with audiences, how the show’s sultry advertising has worked in his favor, and which audience member has proven the most distracting.
This is a show that had a long life before it actually opened-there was supposed to be a version with Jake Gyllenhaal and then there was a series of delays. How did you come on board?
I had no involvement in those other iterations of the show. But last summer, I got a call asking if I would be interested in reading the role of Larry at a small table read of Burn This with Adam as Pale and Keri as Anna. It was just going to be for a small group who wanted to hear Adam and Keri read together, so I assumed there was some other celebrity attached to play Larry who had a scheduling conflict and I was stepping in. And I was more than happy to do that.
Was that the case?
My assumptions were wrong, because the day after the reading, they called me with an offer to do the production.
You’ve earned your third Tony nomination for this role. What does that mean to you?
The recognition of the work is wonderful, because that means it’s resonating with people, but it’s more about recognition from this group of artists that I’ve always wanted to be a part of. I’ve always been so in awe of people who make theater and put everything they have into creating something that could either soar or bomb. It’s an amazing thing that these people do, and I’ve always wanted to be a small part of whatever that is. [Awards nominations] are about feeling like a real member of that community.
Larry does a lot of the show’s heavy lifting. What about playing him felt exciting to you?
The thing that was most intriguing to me was that on the surface, Larry can feel a bit like a modern-day trope, the funny, gay sidekick. This play was written at a time before that trope was so ubiquitous-before Will & Grace and Modern Family-so Lanford Wilson was a kind of pioneer in bringing that sort of character to the stage. I was intrigued by the idea of honoring the intention Wilson had in writing this character-Larry brings levity to the situation and adds rational thinking as things are spiraling out of control-while also making him as human as possible. That was an exciting challenge.
Has the character changed for your during the run?
I discover new things every night. That sounds like a trite thing to say, but it’s true. It started during rehearsals; when things stopped being funny in the rehearsal room- even though it felt terrible rehearsing something in front of the same people over and over again-it forced me to dig deeper to find authenticity and truth that the humor was grounded in. I find the humor in these things every night because they’re grounded in other things, they’re not just jokes for jokes sake.
Does playing someone who’s so quick with a quip and so reliant on his sharp wit follow you home?
I think I have a better sense of my communication skills having played Larry. It’s not just about having a war of words, but this entire play is about how people learn to communicate with each other and I have definitely learned from Larry the vitality of honestly in everyday communications. And I’m less prone to mincing words. He has a bravery I try to bring with me.
What do you make of the fact that this show has a reputation for being really steamy, even though it’s probably no more so than a lot of other plays out there?
Before we really got going with the play, it felt a little to me like false advertising even though I totally understood that it was what would sell the most tickets. Not only because it left Larry and Burton out of the narrative, but because there’s so much more to the story. But now I take that all back, because I love the surprise we’ve bestowed on this audience, which has come in expecting one thing and is getting something different. People think they’re coming in for one thing and we’re forcing them to think about things they weren’t prepared to think about. That’s been incredibly exciting and satisfying.
Can you tell that people are coming in expecting to see something edgy?
It can be jarring! There was a kid in the front row who couldn’t have been older than 10. It was a wild ride to go on, even just with the vocabulary coming out of our mouths. It was very strange.
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