Broadway’s Kathryn Gallagher shares CT love
BROADWAY STAR KATHRYN GALLAGHER’S HEART BELONGS TO CONNECTICUT
Growing up, Kathryn Gallagher, 27, enjoyed catching salamanders in her backyard in New Milford. Meanwhile, her father, actor Peter Gallagher, was busy starring in movies, theater and the hit TV show, “The O.C.”
Today, Gallagher’s adult life has come to more closely resemble her father’s as she is a singer/songwriter who has appeared in two Broadway shows and had an acting role in the hit Netflix drama, “You.” Her most recent Broadway venture, “Jagged Little Pill,” a show set in Connecticut and based on the music of Alanis Morissette, was nominated for Tony awards and won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album this year.
We chatted with the Broadway star about the show's Grammy win, her love for Alanis Morissette and watching beavers build a dam in Connecticut.
Tell me a little bit about your childhood in Connecticut.
When I was 2, my parents got a home in New Milford. I went to school in Manhattan but spent every summer, winter holiday and weekend up in Connecticut, and it just gave me the most idyllic childhood playing in the brook in the woods. It was amazing.
Did you quarantine in Connecticut?
Yes, I went the first night that Broadway was shut down. I was there the whole time until August. I built a garden, and I was sewing and baking and doing yard work. I was like, “This is different than being on Broadway, and it’s lovely.” I have a dog who was so happy there, but we once saw a bear, so that was scary.
I have a little recording studio, so I recorded two records up there and four singles. Every day I was making music and going out in the yard and gardening. I got really into testing the nutrients in the soil, which is the geekiest thing I could get into, but I did. Great soil in New Milford if you're wondering! I set up a camera so I could watch beavers build their dam. I was like obsessed with it. When I grew up, I was obsessed with nature books and tracking paw prints and finding salamanders. That side of me had an awakening in the last year.
Tell me about the music you wrote in quarantine in Connecticut.
I wrote two EPs: Demos Volume 1 and 2. When I got up to Connecticut, I just had time off and wanted to catalog my own music. I put one of my songs up on Instagram and people were so nice about it that I realized it would be interesting to release songs really stripped down to guitar and vocals. I went into what we call my grandma's room — she passed away two years ago — and I recorded them all in this tiny room. People responded well to that.
In isolation, I let go of any idea of “this is how it should work,” and accepted it for what it was. Everything was to its core the most “me” it could possibly be, which was A, terrifying, and B, vulnerable and freeing. Being surrounded by such beauty in Connecticut...I can’t imagine having made (the music) anywhere else under any other circumstance.
I teamed up with a few people when I wanted more production (on a song). I recorded the vocals and guitar and would send that off to friends in New York and Los Angeles — songs like “Cross Legged in the Kitchen” and “Whatever You Can Do.”
They were all written in my grandmother's room and childhood bedroom. It has an aura of nostalgia.
“Jagged Little Pill” takes place in a fictional town in Connecticut. Is it an accurate portrayal?
I think it’s safe to assume it’s based on (wealthy Fairfield County stereotypes). I didn't learn about those stereotypes until so much later in life because to me Connecticut has always been a farm. It’s a place in the woods where I know two people and there’s no cell service. When I first heard about Connecticut having SoulCycle, I was like, “Where?!” It blew my mind that that was that reputation associated with Connecticut. It's such a different experience. I still feel very naive, so don't think I could correctly answer if it was an accurate portrayal. It's definitely different from what I remember. The vibe in the show is not looking for salamanders.
How did you get cast in “Jagged Little Pill”?
I sent my parents an article back in 2013 about the show and said, “I need to do this.” I wasn't even auditioning for musicals; I was studying music at USC and writing music. But I guess I started manifesting this eight years ago. I heard once it started going that there was a reading, and I called my manager and said “I will do anything to be in this musical. I will sweep the floor.” There was no role for me, and then they reworked it and my character Bella was written. Bella was pretty small and throughout the run, the part grew and grew and became a principal.
Are you an Alanis Morissette fan?
One hundred percent. The only thing I knew about it was that it was Alanis. I had no idea that all these people I idolized were also involved in it (like writer Diablo Cody). I grew up as a songwriter and a girl with a rock voice. My mom would play Alanis in the house; I wrote a paper on her in college. Everything about her is everything I wanted to be. She’s such a rock star. She stands in her femininity. It’s 25 years later, and her album is just as relevant. What kind of genius can do that? I was so excited to be in a show and to sing her music.
I met her and she’s the most lovely, greatest human on the planet. We sent videos back and forth on Grammy day.
What is your favorite Alanis Morissette song and which ones do you sing in the show?
“Hands Clean” is my favorite; it has been forever. I think it’s pure work of genius and I’m obsessed. “Hands Clean” is also Diablo Cody’s favorite song, and we were like, “It should be in the show,” and we fully finagled it in. It became like a transition song when I would come on stage. It became my theme song, which I’ve been trying to make happen since 2001. Nailed it.
In the show I sing a brand new song called “Predator.” I also sing “No” and “Uninvited,” which is a close second favorite. And I sing in “You Learn” and all the group numbers.
In a nutshell, who is your character?
Bella is a senior in high school who is deeply artistic, intelligent and tough. She gets put in a situation where she is sexually assaulted at a party. She is not from an affluent area in town; she comes from a single parent household, and everything about her when she is assaulted is used against her in an attempt to delegitimize her assault.
We’re constantly seeing these attacks against survivors, especially women who speak up. Every single story from survivors deserves to be told, and it’s such an honor to get to be the one to embody her.