Paul Rudd, Ed Asner & ‘Grace’
Have lunch with two stars of new stage show
NEW YORK Paul Rudd and Ed Asner had met only once, briefly, before they were cast together in a new Broadway production of Craig Wright’s tragicomedy Grace. But Rudd, 43, has long considered his 82-year-old co-star a role model.
“We’re both from Kansas,” Rudd explains, lunching with Asner at a restaurant near the Cort Theatre, where Grace opens Thursday. “Growing up, that was a big deal. You think, ‘ Wow, Ed Asner’s from here, and he made it.’”
Digging into overstuffed turkey sandwiches, the two actors share the easy rapport you would expect of neighbors, or fellow troupers. Both are stage veterans, with careers that predate Rudd’s steady span of highprofile films and Asner’s iconic stint as crusty newsman Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and a spinoff series. Rudd last appeared on Broadway seven years ago, in Three Days of Rain; Asner’s most recent gig here was a 1989 revival of Born Yesterday.
Asked what brought him back to Times Square after more than two decades, the impish Asner replies, nodding toward Rudd, “The chance to be with these bums — and because nobody had asked me again until now. And the play, of course.”
In Grace, Rudd plays the thirtysomething Steve, who moves to the Florida shore planning to launch a chain of gospel hotels. Asner turns up as Karl, a grizzled exterminator who works in Steve’s apartment building. Kate Arrington is Sara, Steve’s wife and partner in faith, while Michael Shannon plays Sam, a scientist who tests the couple’s bond.
Presented in earlier versions at several regional theaters, Grace marks the Broadway debut of Wright, whose quirky voice has also distinguished TV series such as Six Feet Under and Dirty Sexy Money.
Shannon, a frequent Wright associate, is Rudd’s buddy. “I loved the idea of working with Michael,” Rudd says. “I hadn’t felt a burning desire to do another play, just for the sake of doing one. But I thought this was really interesting. And the character is different from the kind I’ve usually played.”
Asner elaborates, describing Steve as an “unattractive” sort. “People may pity him, but they won’t love him. It’s a very brave thing that Paul has done. And he takes on the lion’s share of chores on stage, so I don’t have to work all the time.”
Rudd notes that the play, which takes place in two apartments represented by a single set, poses distinct challenges. “There are sections where things move backward in time. And the language is different — very specific and contemporary, with speeches that are like giant run-on sentences. I usually memorize lines pretty quickly, but these were hard to learn.”
The younger actor, who will be seen next in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40, due in December, admits that he also “hates working six days a week,” with two shows each on matinee days. “I would love two days off, you know?”
Rudd nonetheless finds it “gratifying ” to be back on stage, particularly at home in New York. “The last time I did a play, my son was about 1½. Now he’s 7, and I have a 2-year-old daughter. I’ve felt a little absentee during the rush of the last few weeks, so it’ll be nice when rehearsals are over and I can be with them more.”
As for the Los Angeles-based Asner? “Where the work goes, I go,” he intones playfully. “Wherever adulation occurs, that’s where you’ll find me.”