Photo: Jeremy Daniel
Debra Messingis having her cake and eating it, too!
TheWill & Gracestar, 53, is gearing up for her return to Broadway in the New York premiere of Noah Haidle’sBirthday Candles, and PEOPLE has a first look at the actress in rehearsals.
In the 90-minute play, which begins performances Friday at the American Airlines Theatre ahead of an official April 10 opening on Broadway, Messing plays Ernestine Ashworth, who celebrates birthdays from 17 to 101 over the course of the evening.
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Jeremy Daniel
“Bringing this new, gorgeous play to Broadway is more thrilling than any birthday wish I could imagine,” Messing tells PEOPLE of the new play, which had its world premiere in 2018 at the Detroit Public Theatre.
Messing, who was last seen on Broadway in the 2014 production ofOutside Mullingar, said that her return to the Great White Way feels “like coming home to the home I’ve always wanted.”
In apromo for the show, she added, “Theater is my first love, and there’s nothing purer that acting in a play in front of live people. The Roundabout was this monolith, this place that did extraordinary work with thrilling artists and new artists that no one ever heard of before, and I just wanted some day to be able to act in a play at the Roundabout. To bring a brand-new play and to originate a brand-new play is such a privilege. I feel so honored, and I just want to do the play justice.”
PHOTO: Jeremy DanielPHOTO: Jeremy Daniel
In a recent interview withPlaybill, Messing said thatBirthday Candlesasks the question, “Have I wasted my life?”
She explained, “That’s a question you’re constantly asking yourself at every stage. Am I wasting time? What should I do with my time? And the people in your life? And at the end of your life, do you feel like you have lived a full life?”
Birthday Candlesis scheduled to play a limited engagement through May 29 at the American Airlines Theatre.
source: people.com
