9 quick questions for jane krakowski | members only access

In the Apple TV+ comedy _Schmigadoon!_,_ _a_ _couple out for a hike in the woods stumble upon a magical town where everyone acts like they’re part of a classic Broadway musical. In Season 2

of the show, veteran stage and screen actress Jane Krakowski, 54, plays Bobbie Flanagan, a take on the character Billy Flynn she played in the musical _Chicago_. GROWING UP IN NEW JERSEY,

DID YOU OFTEN GO TO BROADWAY PLAYS? I did, absolutely. My parents were involved in community theater as their hobby when I was growing up. I went to the theater with them instead of them

getting a babysitter. I’d sit backstage and watch them create shows and have fun, which I know was an absolute direct influence to me wanting to do this — seeing my parents have fun and

being creative that way. We went to see every Broadway show if we wanted to skip rush-hour traffic. My mom or my dad would let us just walk up to the window and get standing-room tickets to

any Broadway show to kill the time, and we would watch the show and leave when there was no more traffic. WHICH BROADWAY SHOWS MADE AN IMPACT ON YOU AS A CHILD? I remember being 8 years old

and seeing _Chicago _with Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach, and being in the third row sitting next to my mom with my eyes ablaze with excitement, and being blown away by them

all. At the end of the show, they throw roses, and I remember Chita Rivera looking me in the eye as a wide-eyed youngster and throwing me a rose. That moment meant a lot to me. I know it had

a great influence on me and the roles I wanted to play moving forward in musical theater. I saw _A_ _Chorus Line_ nine times; that was my _Star Wars._ Everybody was saying how many times

they saw _Star Wars_;_ _I saw _A Chorus Line_ nine times. They are pretty ingrained in me. This time period we are covering in musical theater in _Schmigadoon! _heavily influenced me. I’m

thrilled to get to live some of these fantasies out even in this comedic, loving parody way. DOES _SCHMIGADOON! _BRING BACK MEMORIES OF YOUR TIME WORKING ON _ALLY MCBEAL_? When I got on

_Ally McBeal,_ I was on a law dramedy, and then music became such a large part of that show. It really became a character in that show. I never expected to be singing in that show. It was

never part of that original concept. I was told by [writer] David [E.] Kelley and some of the producers that they were driving in L.A. traffic and the Broadway station was on the radio, and

one of my songs from a Broadway show I was on came on. And they were like, “Oh, Jane sings. Maybe we can add her  singing into the show.” It’s been a little bit of a journey like that where

[singing] got added in. … In _Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,_ it’s really the only [show that] they didn’t write [singing parts] for me, because they wanted to … make her a different character

that she couldn’t sing. I think in Season 4, Tina [show creator-writer Tina Fey] let me sing a theme song of a show within the show, and I was like, “Oh, I can’t believe you’re finally

letting me sing,”_ _and she’s like, “We wanted to get our money’s worth.” In Season 2 of the Apple TV+ series “Schmigadoon!,” Krakowski plays Bobbie Flanagan, a parody of her Billy Flynn

character from the Broadway musical “Chicago.” Apple TV+ HOW DO YOU HANDLE THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF YOUR ROLES? I love that when I was 47 doing _She Loves Me,_ I was jumping into the splits

eight times a week. My body is still paying for that. … I love to be physically challenged in the roles that I get to play [and] certainly [_Schmigadoon!_ character]_ _Bobbie Flanagan is no

exception. I’ve never done anything on trapeze before. [Show creator Cinco Paul] wrote it in and I asked, if I could learn a few extra tricks — if I had the time before filming the number —

could they put them in, if I filmed them? They made it in. I love that I’m now in my 50s and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be flying in on a trapeze still in a musical number and ending in

the splits still. It’s a great joy to me and I’m thankful that my vessel is still allowing me.