Gina Gershon: “Rose Alvarez is a smart feisty woman who ultimately gets her man”

Gina Gershon made her Broadway debut playing Sally Bowles in the acclaimed production of CABARET directed by Sam Mendes. Now, she takes a break again on her work in the big screen to return to Broadway with a musical. Gershon and John Stamos lead the current revival of BYE BYE BIRDIE, that began performances at the Henry Miller’s Theatre on September 10th, with an official opening on October 15th.

Robert Longbottom directs and choreographs this new production of BYE BYE BIRDIE that will be a limited engagement through January 10th, 2010.

Gina Gershon –who has a prolific career on cinema and tv, having been in films as ‘Showgirls’, ‘Cocktail’  and ‘P.D. I Love You’– talks us about her work in the BYE BYE BIRDIE Broadway revival and about her career.

LAST SEPTEMBER 10TH ‘BYE BYE BIRDIE’ BEGAN PREVIEWS ON BROADWAY. HOW ARE GOING THESE FIRST PERFORMANCES?
Previews are going well....they are tough because every night it seems like we are changing things, fine tuning. It´s very unnerving some nights when there has hardly been any rehearsal time, and you just go out and perform these changes in front of an audience. Hopefully its all for the better!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ‘BYE BYE BIRDIE’? WHAT OFFERS THIS MUSICAL TO NOWADAYS AUDIENCES?
BYE BYE BIRDIE is an old fashioned musical that was the first rock and roll musical of its time. The music is timeless however, with some truly great songs. It seems funny to think that it had such a hard time getting made in the 60´s.....It seems so innocent now.

‘BYE BYE BIRDIE’ OPENED ORIGINALLY ON BROADWAY IN 1960. THE MUSICAL IS FOCUSED ON A ROCK AND ROLL MUSICAL STAR, AND IS INSPIRED BY THE PHENOMENON OF POPULAR SINGER ELVIS PRESLEY. DO YOU THINK THAT ALMOST 50 YEARS LATER, THE STORY THAT EXPLAINS THE SHOW COULD HAPPEN TODAY?
I think we as a society think of war a lot differently. We are not so innocent after the Vietnam war.....I think most young pop stars (certainly of the ilk of Elvis Presley) would probably not go to war, but fight for peace in other ways.

YOU PERFORM THE ROLE OF ROSIE ALVAREZ. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST / LESS OF THIS CHARACTER?
I love it that Rose Alvarez is a smart feisty woman who ultimately gets her man. She is very resourceful, and even though she puts up with a lot of nonsense she stays focused  (for the most part) and get what she wants in the end.

HAVE YOU SEEN ANY PREVIOUS PRODUCTION OF THIS MUSICAL OR THE FILM? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THEM?
The only production of BIRDIE that I have seen was the one that I was in when I was 14!! I played Rosie in jr. high school!!! It was sweet as I recall....not as fancy or ethnical as this production, however!!! The movie is VERY different from the play! You had 27 year olds playing kids who are supposed to be 15!! And Conrad Birdie seemed silly to me. Except for his gold jumpsuit....that was cool.

WHAT ARE YOU ENJOYING MOST OF BEING PART OF THIS SHOW?
I´m enjoying being around all the kids in this production! They are so much fun, good natured and soooo talented!!!!

YOU PERFORMED SALLY BOWLES IN ‘CABARET’. HOW DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING ON THIS RENOWNED MUSICAL? WHAT DID IT MEAN THIS ROLE TO YOU?
Sally Bowles is one of the great parts for women…and the Sam Mendes production that I played her in was truly brilliant. It was an honor to play her for 7 months on Broadway. It meant a lot to me. It was very challenging and very satisfying on all levels. It was an inspired production.

YOU CAREER HAS MAINLY BEEN FOCUSED IN FILM AND TV. YOUR PREVIOUS THEATRICAL EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN ‘CABARET’ AND THE COMEDY ‘BOEING BOEING’. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WORKING ON A STAGE?
Working on the stage, especially Broadway, when you are doing 8 shows a week, is thrilling and exhausting at the same time. Live theatre is great. Nothing like it. I just wish it were 6 shows a week, not 8!!! Too many!!!!

YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER AS AN ACTRESS IN 1985.  IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT ARE THE MOST REMARKABLE MOMENTS OF YOUR CAREER? WHAT ARE THE WORKS YOU FEEL MOST PROUD OF?
I´ve been fortunate and have had a lot of projects that I´ve been proud of... I think my favorites were ‘Bound’, ‘Prey For Rock and Roll’, ‘The Insider’, ‘The Player’, ‘Face Off’, CABARET and ‘Boeing Boeing’.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PROJECTS YOU CAN TELL US?
I have an upcoming miniseries on Lifetime coming out in November called "Everything She Ever Wanted". A true story based on this crazy woman who would do anything including murder to keep her home and live like "Scarlett O’Hara.” She was very disturbed woman, but fun to play. I also have a kids record coming out called "The Good, The Bad, and The Hungry” which will be out in a few months.

John Stamos and Gina Gershon in BYE BYE BIRDIE