Actress Laura Gómez talks about her career, what’s next, and the art of bringing OITNB’s Blanca Flores to life for seven seasons.
For seven years, Laura Gómez transformed herself into the character of Blanca Flores on the hit show Orange Is the New Black. Blanca began the show as (so it appeared) a satanic bogart haunting the only stall in the prison with a working lock. Through Gómez’s empathetic performance, we watched as Blanca revealed the beautiful and tragic love story buried beneath her first impressions. A story finally concluded at the end of OITNB’s seventh season.
Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black may have introduced many viewers to Gómez, but it was far from the start of her career. She began acting in her native Dominican Republic, though she went to school for advertising. At 21, she moved to NYC to pursue acting as a career. She found a home with the Spanish Repertory Theater, participating in award-winning plays. From there, she branching out into television and movie work, as well as voiceovers. Fans may have seen her in the movie Exposed, opposite Keanu Reeves, in her recurring role in as Selena Cruz in Law & Order: SVU, or on HBO’s limited series Show Me A Hero.
1. How do you feel about how the show left Blanca at the end of season 7? Very satisfied to be honest. Blanca’s storyline in season 7 was very difficult to inhabit and to watch, because it’s such a close depiction of today’s sad reality in the United States. I believe it was somewhat necessary to give the audience some sort of comfort and relief at the end of a very hard season, and Blanca and Diablo’s unconventional love story provided precisely that.
2. What do you think (or hope) will happen to Blanca after the show ends? I hope she and Diablo live happily ever after.
3. How does it feel to leave Blanca Flores behind? I loved playing this character and her evolution on the show, but acting is one of those professions where you get used to things ending and new chapters beginning, whether it’s a play, at the show, or a movie. We actually had a pretty long run and I feel very grateful for it, but I’m also ready to move on onto a new horizon.
4. What have you learned during your seven years on the set of OITNB? I’ve learned a lot more than I already knew about our broken prison system. OITNB is a show that educated us all about difficult topics, bringing important conversations to the table. On season 7, we are exposing harsh realities about immigration and detention centers, and even though I’m well informed about the subject, there were new things I learned through Blanca and new character Karla’s stories. Plus, working with such amazing cast and writers, I definitely grew as an actor,
5. Was it a coincidence that Blanca was from Santo Domingo, or was that written in to match your life? It was described like that from the get-go. I brought my all to the audition and got the part that happened to fit me like a glove.
6. What is an important issue that you believe OITNB covered well during its run? Oh well, pretty much all of it, from the privatization of prisons to white privilege to Black Lives Matter to transgender issues (remember the beautiful backstory of Sophia -Laverne Cox’ character- on Season 1?) to opioids epidemic to the whole immigration issue around ICE on season 7. Not to mention the fact that it is a show created by a woman with a strong female presence all around. Meaning, it covered that in terms of a male-dominated industry.
7. What is an important issue that you wish OITNB addressed more, or better? I think we did pretty good overall, all things considered.
8. What is next for you? I just came back from shooting a film back in the Dominican Republic called Sunshine which will hit the festival circuit sometime next year, and right now I’m in the complex process of auditioning for new things. Not something that I can control, so in the meantime, I’m very focused on developing two screenplays -short and feature film- both based on plays that I wrote, which I also plan to direct.
Li Jun Li, who will play Jenny Wah in Netflix's Wu Assassins. Photo credit Storm Santos.
Downtown chats with actress Li Jun Li of Wu Assassins about her career, her love of martial arts, and growing up as a Chinese American immigrant.
Li Jun Li will be playing Jenny Wah on Netflix’s Wu Assassins. Photo credit: Storm Santos
Li Jun Li’s voice is bright and friendly on the phone. Li Li, as her friends call her, is celebrating: the electronic ad for her new show Wu Assassins has just gone up in Time Square. She plays Jenny Wah, a businesswoman who is left to run her parents’ restaurant and take care of her brother. The show is set to come out on August 8th, an auspicious date in Chinese culture, and she’s enjoying the anticipation.
Dan Metz: Could you explain why the date of Wu Assassins’ release is so important?
Li Li: Eight, in Chinese is Ba, and it rhymes with Fa, which means to make a fortune, prosperity, and success. So if you ever see anyone with a phone number full of 8’s or a license plate with a lot of 8’s, chances are they’re Chinese.
DM: Huh. I didn’t know that.
LL: Yeah! Learn something new, you know?
DM: I just finished watching The Exorcist season 2. I was gonna just watch a couple of episodes but I ended up watching the entire season. I was crushed about it getting canceled in the merger.
LL: Oh, thank you. Not a lot of people even knew about it, but it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. I loved it so much. Wasn’t John Cho great?
DM: Yes! I was just about to ask: how was acting next to John Cho?
LL: Really great. We got along really well and it was so fun. I’ve been really fortunate with that cast as well as Wu Assassins, that we all really became so incredibly close. We made friends and family for life. He’s wonderful to work with. So it was a really good experience.
DM: Tell me a little bit about your character Jenny Wah. Who is she?
LL: She is a young businesswoman with a BA who had her own dreams but had to put them on the back burner when her parents all-of-the-sudden decided to move back to Hong Kong and left her with the family restaurant. In doing so, she ruined some relationships with some of the other characters in the show, and she definitely carries a lot of burden of expectations from her parents of what it means to be a good Chinese daughter, what it means to be a loyal daughter to your parents’ wishes. As well as taking care of her drug-addicted brother.
DM: Do you relate to her story?
Li Jun Li, who will play Jenny Wah in Netflix’s Wu Assassins. Photo credit Storm Santos.
LL: Absolutely. I’m first generation. I’m an immigrant. I moved to NY when I was 9 years old. I go through things every day that a lot of my friends who are not Asian American probably won’t understand. Wu Assassins explores similar themes, of being an Asian American living in a western country.
DM: Tell me about some of those experiences.
LL: Sure. Just normal cultural practices. As simple as taking your shoes off when you get into the house. A lot of people don’t do that. It always baffles us because you’re carrying the New York City filth into your apartment if you don’t take your shoes off.
Then there is fighting for the check at a restaurant. Some people will never understand how far we’ll go. Sometimes we see our relatives physical with each other in order to get the check for dinner. Nothing too violent, don’t worry.
With Chinese culture, we are raised by our parents up until we are independent enough, and we have our own jobs, and then the role reverses, and we then take care of our parents. We don’t see it as a debt, obviously. It’s love. It’s family. It’s something that isn’t practiced often in the western world.
DM: You have taken on a lot of diverse roles. You were a social worker in The Exorcist; you are a businesswoman and restaurant owner in Wu Assassins; you played an FBI agent. How much research did you have to do for these kinds of roles?
LL: Different roles, different research. When I was playing a cop on Chicago PD, we did some ridealongs. We trained with retired cops. We trained with guns that I think a lot of people wouldn’t be as comfortable with. It was actually really intimidating because we were given really intense situations to be in. For the FBI roles, it was obstacle courses, boxing gyms. Social worker, I just did some research on the internet.
This role is the closest to something that I can relate to. It’s one of the network’s first original stories, so we were given the freedom to really explore at our own pace.
DM: Tell me about being part of a Netflix original series.
LL: It’s definitely something that I’ve always wanted to do. Something physical. I like being physically challenged. I like martial arts. I’m not obsessed with it, but I always knew that it was a direction I would eventually take happily. So when I learned about Iko Uwais being cast in it, it made it that much more exciting because his… I don’t know if you’ve watched his movies The Raid 1 and 2.
LL: Oh my god. It’s incredible. It just changes the…it’s a whole different genre. So as soon as I found out about it, it made it that much more exciting that I got to be in this show.
DM: Tell me about training for this very physical role.
Wu Assassins comes out on Netflix August 8th, 2019. Photo from IMDB.com
LL: It was so funny because a lot of shows, you hear actors and actresses saying, “Oh yeah, I had two to three months to train for it.” I was one of the last people to be cast for the show and I found out and I flew out in the next two days. I flew into Vancouver, I had my fitting, and after my fitting I went right into the studio to where I met the stunt team and they taught me my first fight.
I had never been so sore. I didn’t even get to warm up properly and that was completely my fault. I was so caught up and so excited that I went right into it. The next day, I have never been so sore in my life. I couldn’t even breathe in and out without everything hurting. It was awful.
We also had a very tight schedule, so we would learn the fight a couple of days before we would shoot it and then we would do it. The thing is, most of the cast, they’re actually real martial artists, so it makes it much easier for them to learn how to film on such a tight schedule.
DM: Did you have a chance to learn from some of the other cast members who were established martial artists?
LL: Not in a way that we were able to take our time and give each other lessons, but Lewis Tan who is in our cast, has become such a close and dear friend of mine. I always go to him for advice. If I’m posing for a photo, I’m always like “Lewis, is this okay? Is it at the right angle?” I just want to make sure I don’t disrespect the art or look stupid.
DM: What is next for you? If you can share.
LL: I’m not allowed to share, but it’s very exciting. And it’s a comedy. And it’s with someone that I very much admire, and have admired for a long time. So, yeah. That’s all I can say about it. And it doesn’t take place in present time. That’s it.
DM: Well that sounds really really exciting.
LL: Definitely different than anything I’ve done in my entire resume.
DM: What would you like to do in the future?
LL: I definitely want to continue to pursue this direction: action. I really do love it. I’m training on my own. I mean, granted I’ll never be as advanced as a martial artist like Iko and my fellow castmates who have been training since they were kids.
DM: What do you want viewers to take away from Wu Assassins?
LL: I just really want people to enjoy it. It’s a really exciting show. It’s important that, on top of the martial arts that are going to be amazing, we were able to achieve it without sacrificing a good story.
From debuting as a web series with its first two episodes uploaded to YouTube back in 2012, Eastsiders has grown into an Emmy-nominated show with a cult following and three darkly twisted yet hilarious seasons with more to come.
Eastsiders is an LGBTQ+, dark comedy series created by Kit Williamson that follows the turbulent and endearing relationship between Thom (Van Hansis) and Cal (Williams) as they grapple with issues from infidelity and trust to roadblocks in their respective careers as a writer and a photographer. The show also branches out to explore the relationships of their Silver Lake, Los Angeles friends, including Kathy (Constance Wu) and her boyfriend Ian (John Halbach) celebrating their six-month anniversary, making it Kathy’s longest relationship but Ian’s shortest and Quincy (Stephen Guarino), a gay club promoter, and Douglas (William Belli), a drag queen, sparking up a dynamic relationship.
This upcoming season will mark the final installment of the series and have the characters confront the hidden truths within their relationships, from answering questions on how love and commitment manifest into a long-term relationship, to examining the challenges of marriage.
Last week, Downtown Magazine attended a special screening for the new season and had the opportunity to sit down and chat with a few members of the cast, discussing the progression of the show since season one and the success found in crowdfunding the entire series.
Downtown: What do you hope your fans and viewers are going to get out of this season?
Kit Williamson: “For me, I hope that people enjoy a fully realized arc. I hope that they feel that every character’s journey is completed. One of the many reasons that this is the final season is that I believe good stories have endings, and I want to leave all of the characters in a not necessarily a happy place, but in the right place for the journey that we’ve seen them go on for the last seven years.”
John Halbach: “I’m so grateful for everyone for following along with us since 2012. And I hope that we can give everyone who’s been so loyal and amazing and supportive, a good, satisfying conclusion for these characters that I love as much as I hope that they do too.”
Van Hansis: “And I also just want to say that like Eastsiders has always been an ensemble show. And the last season, we went on a deep dive into certain relationships. And this one is so much more about, like, Who are these people as a community? And showing so many different types of relationships. It’s a love letter to the show.”
KW: “It’s a love letter to the characters.”
Downtown: “How is the Season 4 storyline and the way you’re ending the series compare and contrast with how you began the storyline originally in Season 1?”
KW: “The characters have grown up a lot over the last seven years, from being just complete and total methods to sort of having their shit together. But just because you have your shit together in your life doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to have your shit together in your relationships. And it’s important to depict that, that relationships are hard, no matter what stage of life that you’re in.”
JH: “The ensemble has grown so much. In the beginning, there were five main characters, you know, there’s what 20 main characters now. *laughs* It’s a much bigger, broader world with different stories and different representations and different relationships. It’s really cool patchwork quilt.”
VH: “Yeah, but there’s also a total through line from who these people were in Season 1 to who they are now. Even if like, we haven’t seen some of them for a couple seasons, like coming back into where their lives are now is really exciting. And it’s also exciting to see that like, everybody is different. Jeremy (Matthew McKelligon) is in a place that I never thought he would be in and seeing somebody like him occupy that space is really exciting.”
Downtown: “How have you seen your show fit into this bigger picture of telling queer people’s stories in more nuanced and complex ways?”
KW: “I think being an independently produced series affords us the freedom to tell stories that are a little bit off the beaten path and to represent characters that don’t necessarily fit into an easily understood box. And when you get into depictions of LGBTQ+ characters on network television, especially, they tend to be flattened, one-sided, and often fall into the tropes of respectability politics, with 2.5 kids and a white picket fence in the suburbs, because they’re trying to make these characters palatable to as many people as possible. But the humanity of these characters is just as valid as the humanity of these kinds of characters that I’m talking about. And we need all kinds of representation, we need representation of LGBTQ+ characters that are flawed and complez, and we need to allow them to fuck up their lives and relationships. Because there is catharsis in that. There is validity in that kind of storytelling as well. We need to represent the full spectrum of the human experience, because that’s what we are as LGBTQ+ people, we are every kind of person, we just happen to be LGBTQ+.”
VH: “I would say one thing that’s really amazing about Eastsiders is that our bottom line is so low, because we’re not an expensive show, we’re a very cheap show. We don’t have a lot of money to work with, with that we get to tell our story in a way that I think that if there’s a ton of money behind it, there’s a bottom line that’s higher. And I think that’s why we outlasted shows from fancy networks, because we haven’t taken much to tell the story. And therefore, the risk is less. So for somebody like that, to be behind us, we get to play a little bit more. Which, you know, it sucks that we don’t have the money that we would love to have. But I guess the flip side of that is that because we don’t have money, we get to play.”
JH: “There’s only been a handful of cases really in the history of television. I think that something really special about ours is that you get to see Thom and Cal in a loving, long-term committed open relationship over seven years and I don’t think I can think of another show where you’ve seen that. There’s been a lot of like wacky three-some episodes or it happens once in a thrown-off way.”
VH: *mocking voice* “What did we do?”
JH: “I remember like David and Keith had a three-some on Six Feet Under but it was just one episode.”
KW: “I put a nod to that in Season 2 actually with the coffee scene.”
JH: “So I think that’s something that stands out about Eastsiders.”
Downtown: “How have how have the characters you play on the screen affect your interpersonal relationships in real life?”
KW: “I think everybody assumes that the show is completely autobiographical, which is hilarious because it’s never autobiographical in the ways that people assume it is and often autobiographical in the ways that nobody assumes. Thom and Cal are not Kit and John, but obviously, as this visible gay couple making this gay show people kind of assume that it’s just our life story put on the screen.I don’t know. How has it impacted your life, darling?”
JH: “I don’t know if it has because my character is so close to me. I mean, it’s written for me by my husband so I don’t know that it has. Except in that I love the cast and I love the crew. And we’ve created a family making the show together. So in that way, it certainly has. But I don’t know if it has affected the way that I behaved as a person in the world.”
VH: “I think as far as my character, we actually talked about this, Kit has put a lot of himself into Thom as well. So it’s not like the Kit and John relationship. Like, Tom is the writer. Kit’s a writer, Kit’s the creator. Kit always has a million things in the fire and that’s one of my favorite things about him. But as far as my personal life, I don’t know, I guess the only thing I can think of is I’ve made some friends that I think I’ll have for life, I hope I have for life., You know, being a part of the show and if they share some of their lives with me, based on how they write for me, that’s an honor.”
Downtown: “You’ve had so much success with crowdfunding the entire series of your show, why do you think your show was so successful in doing so? And do you recommend that more shows should be crowdfunded, esp. as it relates to telling more queer narratives?”
KW: “I really recommend crowdfunding for any content creator, but I think that you need to come to the table having produced something independently and self-financed something first, so that you can provide a proof of concept. You’re not just asking for handouts, you’re asking to continue something that you’re already doing. I believe in crowdfunding, especially for projects like ours that are on unlikely to get greenlit by a traditional studio or network. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m continuing my own crowdfunding journey on Patreon. I’m extremely inspired by people like Amanda Palmer who has over 10,000 patrons on Patreon. Willam has over 4,000. You see, these creators who are creating unconventional work get embraced by the crowd because I think that we have a thirst and hunger as an audience, especially as a queer audience, for unique stories. And mainstream media is not known for its uniqueness. They’re known for getting on the bandwagon well after ideas have taken hold in the public consciousness. So for people who try to be on the avante garde, for people who try to innovate and create new ideas and put new ideas out there and really stick their neck out as storytellers, crowdfunding is an amazing place to be. And I am so grateful to have forged, meaningful and lifelong friendships and relationships with people who I met because they were supporters of my work. Like Jen and Jeff Sarabock, who are here today who began as crowdfunding contributors in Season 1 and are now executive producers on the third and fourth season of the show. And now we’ve become close friends. So it’s amazing to just open up your work, your life. You open yourself up to the goodwill of the internet, amazing things can happen.”
Downtown: “Lastly, do you have any advice for any aspiring screenwriters, actors, and anyone wanting to be in the industry to do what you’ve done? Especially as it relates to creatives in New York City?”
JH: “Yeah, I would say to just make something and get it out there. We meet people all the time who say they want to make a show and then wait. You’ve tried to sell it to HBO and try to sell it to Netflix and sit on it. If you can sell it to HBO or Netflix, great and let’s celebrate you. But I think that you’re probably more likely to find success in sharing your story if you just get out there and share it yourself. I mean, I’m so glad that we ended up on Netflix, but we would have not ended up on Netflix if we hadn’t started out on YouTube. And it has been a journey. So I would recommend that, make it and get it out there.”
KW: “Yeah, almost no one sells their first project HBO or Netflix. Almost no one comes out of the gate with the first idea they’ve ever had, the first thing they put pen to paper becoming a televison show. You’ve got to just create and that begets more creation, more success. And I’d say as it pertains to people in New York City, in particular, New York is actually very independent film friendly, very guerilla filmmaking friendly. We have an episode in season three that we shot almost entirely in New York or primarily in New York. And if you’re shooting on a skeleton crew, you don’t actually have to get permits to shoot and a lot of places in New York, you can go out there with a camera operator and a sound mixer and you can make some beautiful art because you have some incredible, timeless, unique places to shoot in New York City. So just get out there and fucking do it. You have no excuse. Your project can look like a Woody Allen film. Not that I’m endorsing Woody Allen. Though, Annie Hall was an important movie for me, I’m not currently endorsing Woody Allen. But I am saying that you can get out there and make things and take advantage of the artistic community in New York City because it’s it’s incredibly vibrant and unlike any other place.”
Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are available for streaming on Netflix right now. Make sure to catch up with the series before the fourth and final season premieres this summer!
It’s been a few weeks since the second season of On My Block premiered on Netflix, but we’re still basking in the glow of Monse, Ruby, Jamal, and Cesar and their ability to mix silly moments with serious social issues. We chatted with Sierra Capri, who plays Monse, about how her life has changed, how she relates to a character so much younger than her, and what she’s looking forward to.
Photo by Elisabeth Caren
Downtown: What was your life like before you got cast on On My Block?
Sierra Capri: I was in college studying biology. I thought I wanted to go into forensics because that was the career path that I had chosen, but other than that my life was pretty much how it is now.
Photo by Elisabeth Caren
Downtown: How did you pick biology? How does it help with acting?
SC: I always loved science for some reason. I contemplated becoming a police officer but there’s only so much I can handle at a crime scene, which is ironic because I was like “I guess I’m just going to go into forensics because I love studying the body.” So in a way, it taught me discipline, and I’ve carried that into acting and just staying focused.
Downtown: Who inspires you?
SC: My mother and my grandmother inspire me. All the people who love and support our show also inspire me as well.
Downtown: Is it hard to relate to a character so much younger than you really are?
SC: Sometimes, just because I never want to give off the vibe that being a teenager is easy, when it isn’t. And even though it was a while ago and I was once a teenager myself, I still can relate to a lot of things that teenager’s go through because it’s all part of growing up and finding yourself, which I feel like I am still doing.
Downtown: What are you most excited about in Season 2?
SC: All the developed story lines. I also feel like we have all settled in our characters by now, and we get to really learn about everyone’s personalities as individuals.
Downtown: How has being on On My Block changed your life?
SC: It honestly hasn’t changed much other than a few extra Instagram followers and being known more so than I was before. It’s changed in a sense that I gained new family members in the cast members – people I can’t imagine life without. I love all of them, we are a family!
Downtown: What’s next?
SC: I have a few projects in the works, nothing I can talk about now but I am super excited for what the future holds.
As this Sunday is Easter, a lot of New Yorkers have plans to dine out. Whether or not Sunday marks the end of Lent for you, Downtown spoke to representative from four great spots to consider for your Easter meal:
How would you describe your restaurant to someone who hasn’t been there?
Wilmer Chicaiza, General Manager of Irvington: I think Irvington is so special because of its unique location in the city. Housed on the corner of 17th and Park, it’s at the perfect intersection of uptown and downtown, so we get an eclectic and always exciting mix of guests. It’s a great spot for corporate lunches, a first date, girls night out and everything in-between. The venue itself draws inspiration from the neighboring Union Square Greenmarket and offers natural elements juxtaposed with a modern industrial palette. There’s also a welcoming open kitchen that boasts a brick stone oven, which delights almost everyone who stops in for the first time!
Anthony Hernriquez, General Manager of Kingside: Kingside is not your typical hotel restaurant, evidenced by its own separate entrance and identity. Upon stepping in, diners are immediately transported from the busy New York City streets to a comfortable and stylish modern American bistro. From the buzzy bar to classic food counter, Kingside is designed to easily offer a range of experiences whether it be a drink — or three! — with friends, a romantic meal, or comfortable and delicious dining experience with family.
Chef Michael White of Vaucluse: A modern-day brasserie. Comfortably-elegant, soft provencal décor, classic and craveable French dishes.
Chef Anthony Rodriguez of Fish Bar: Fish Bar has something for everyone. Our dining room floor provides you with an intimate and cozy setting, while our lounge and rooftop let you unwind with friends, as well as mix and mingle, and that rooftop has a fun late night scene on the weekends as well. No matter where you are on the boat, you have the New York skyline as your backdrop — and it does not get better than that.
Irvington / Photo: Gerber Group
What’s in-store for Easter Sunday? Any specials?
Wilmer Chicaiza, General Manager of Irvington: This Easter Sunday, in addition to the regular brunch menu, Irvington is offering a series of brunch specials including a Rotisserie Leg of Lamb with spring onions, mint chimichurri, and marble potatoes and complimentary Angele’d Eggs with pink pickled eggs, chives and harrisa aioli. We’re also offering a speciality mimosa menu that can be combined with an array of cold press juices — guests love incorporating juices into their cocktails any way they can!
Anthony Hernriquez, General Manager of Kingside: In celebration of Easter, Kingside will be offering an Herb Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb with rosemary baby potatoes and an array of mimosa and bellinis. Between the tenderness and flavor we achieve with the leg of lamb, there is no better way to celebrate Easter in NYC than with this celebratory roast. Plus, who can say no to mimosas and bellinis?
Chef Michael White of Vaucluse: In France, lamb is a traditional Easter dish. We will be offering a special Gigot d’Agneau roasted leg of lamb, flageolet, spring vegetables. We will also be serving a Ham and Comté Croissant. The special viennoiserie will be a pistachio lemon snail. And for all the children joining us, there will be a special Easter treat to take home.
Chef Anthony Rodriguez of Fish Bar: We have a great brunch menu we will be serving that pairs great with unlimited mimosas of your choice.
What’s your favorite item on the menu there?
Wilmer Chicaiza, General Manager of Irvington: How about something that we always offer, but kept a bit of a secret? On Thursdays, we have a “SG Chicken Parmigiana” special, but it can actually be ordered any day of the week! It’s a homemade recipe passed down from [Gerber Group CEO] Scott Gerber’s family — a pan fried, pounded chicken breast served with housemade tomato sauce and melted Muenster and parmesan cheese. It tastes just like the chicken parm your grandmother used to make…seriously!
Anthony Hernriquez, General Manager of Kingside: We recently introduced a daily lunch specials menu and the Friday Fried Chicken special is out of this world. Yes, I know there’s no shortage of fried chicken offerings in this city, but the combination of spices on the chicken with the mustard gravy on top makes it a weekly must-have for me and the staff!
Chef Michael White of Vaucluse: Our Viennoiseries! Vaucluse’s homemade pastries have become the showpiece of our brunch service.
Chef Anthony Rodriguez of Fish Bar: I would definitely have to say the Goat Cheese tart with caramelized onions and balsamic glaze — simple, yet a perfect blend of flavors.
Finally, when not busy with work, how do you like to spend your free time?
Wilmer Chicaiza, General Manager of Irvington: I love visiting the Union Square Greenmarket right across the street, either before or after work. It’s like a little escape in the big city. It also serves as great inspiration for new dishes using all the seasonal produce we can get our hands on! I also like dining out — it’s good for me to see what other restaurants are doing, the types of menu items they are incorporating and how they are appealing to both locals and guests.
Anthony Hernriquez, General Manager of Kingside: Being in the hospitality industry is a 24/7 job, but when I have time off, I like to hang out with my friends and explore New York City. Now that spring is finally here, it’s great to be outside and see how alive the city gets when the weather is nicer. Additionally, Gerber Group has a wonderful wellness program for the staff where we go to a lot of fun fitness classes together, anything from spin to yoga. This helps balance out my love for the Fried Chicken Fridays!
Chef Michael White of Vaucluse: Family time! Any free time, we try to travel together, cook together, explore together…
Chef Anthony Rodriguez of Fish Bar: Normally I like to catch up on all my Netflix shows. If not, I’m walking around the city looking for new markets and ingredients to cook with.
When it comes to comedies, few films are as universally-respected as 1993’s Groundhog Day. The movie — co-written by Danny Rubin and director Harold Ramis and starring Bill Murray — manages to be very funny, while maintaining both heart and originality. All these years later, it retains a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes while holding top honors from BAFTA, the Writers Guild Of America, and the American Film Institute.
Last year, a theatrical adaptation of Groundhog Day opened at The Old Vic on London’s West End. The production was critically-acclaimed as can be, earning various “best” nominations from the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, the Critics Circle Theatre Awards, and the Laurence Olivier Awards. Fortunately for New Yorkers, a Broadway production of Groundhog Day begins previews at the August Wilson Theatre on Mar. 16; the show opens Apr. 17.
The team behind the Groundhog Day musical is very impressive, even by Broadway standards. Director Matthew Warchus was nominated for “Best Director” at the 2014 British Independent Film Awards for his work on Pride, also succeeding Kevin Spacey as the new Artistic Director of the Old Vic Theatre London that year. Choreographer Peter Darling worked on Billy Elliot The Musical and Matilda The Musical. Designer Rob Howell won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for Ghost The Musical and an Olivier Award for his work on Matilda The Musical in 2012. Composer Tim Minchin is another award-winning member of the Matilda team, although you may recognize him as Atticus Fetch from the show Californication. Andy Karl — who plays the Bill Murray-helmed “Phil Connors” role — received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in Rocky The Musical. And those are just a few of the cast and crew members that have received major honors.
Downtown had the pleasure of chatting with Groundhog Day actor John Sanders, who will play the lovable Ned Ryerson role, as originated by Stephen Tobolowsky. John is another former Matilda cast member, beyond spending time on Broadway in Peter and the Starcatcher. Prior to moving to New York, he was a veteran of the Chicago theater scene. Beyond his work with Groundhog Day, John can be seen in the upcoming Netflix series Iron Fist.
More on John and the rest of the Groundhog Day cast can be found at www.groundhogdaymusical.com. The show can also be followed on Twitter via @GHDMusical.
Do you remember the first time you saw Groundhog Day? Was it in the theater?
John Sanders: Groundhog Day was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. I don’t remember my first viewing, I’m pretty sure it was on VHS. I’ve always loved the combination of comedy and mind-bending metaphysics in this story.
Do you have a favorite scene in the movie?
John Sanders: I love watching Bill Murray stuff pastries into his face while contemplating whether he’s a god. Who wouldn’t want to be able to eat like that with no consequences?
Aside from it being a musical, are there any major differences between the movie and the play? Or will fans of the movie be pleased either way?
John Sanders: Fans of the film will not be disappointed. First of all, we have the same writer as the movie, the brilliant Danny Rubin. He’s brought so many of the iconic lines and moments that fans of the movie will love to see and hear. But telling the story as a musical opens up a lot of new possibilities. We never attempt to explain the same-day phenomenon, but we do get to hear so much more about what’s inside these characters’ heads and hearts. And I must say my character Ned has some really surprising depth that isn’t in the film, and that’s really fun to play and to sing about.
Had you worked with any of the Groundhog Day cast before being cast in this production?
John Sanders: I have. A number of actors from my time at Matilda are here, at least five or six of us from that production. And most of the creative team from Matilda are the ones behind Groundhog Day. And of course there are the dozens of backstage crew who I’ve worked with before, and many that I’m getting to know now. I’m a California boy who worked in the Chicago theater scene for 11 years, so I sometimes have to pinch myself that I get to be part of this Broadway community.
Do you have a theory on the time loop duration of Groundhog Day? I’ve heard that it’s 10 years, and I’ve read Harold Ramis say that it was 10,000 years.
John Sanders: I think it must be longer than 10 years, since Phil changes so profoundly. It’s like we get to witness someone live an entire alternate lifetime and come out the other end a changed man. Sort of like, dare I say it, that episode of Star Trek when Patrick Stewart lives a whole life on this other planet in the space of 20 minutes. Did I just up the dork factor in here? Yes, yes I did. But I also think 10,000 years seems a little long — Phil would just be comatose and insane at the end of that, like Leo DiCaprio near the end of Inception.
John Sanders: Only through his work, which I love. But he certainly seems like a fascinating and well-rounded guy. My first encounter with him was watching him as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day. Since then I’ve loved him in Californication, Silicon Valley, and his Tobolowsky Files podcast. He also has a fantastic episode on The Nerdist, which I highly recommend.
Although you have worked in television and have appeared on film, what is it that draws you to theater?
John Sanders: My parents were great and took me to theatre in San Francisco when I was young. I remember being blown away by the original touring production of Les Miserables. We also saw a version of this farce called Charley’s Aunt at ATC back in the 80’s, and I remember marveling at the lead actor’s skill and physical precision. He seemed to be juggling eight things at once and walking the line between control and chaos. He had us all on the edge of our seats, and I just remember thinking I wanna do that! I wanna have an audience in the palm of my hand like that! Camera acting can be very fulfilling, but there’s nothing like performing live.
Is Broadway what inspired you to move to New York?
John Sanders: Actually, it was luck that got me here. I was a working actor in Chicago back in 2012, with a gig lined up down in Indianapolis and no plans whatsoever to move to New York. Then the casting director Jim Carnahan made a trip through Chicago looking for new people, and I wound up getting cast in the Broadway premiere of Peter and the Starcatcher. They called me up and asked if I could be at rehearsal in New York in 10 days! I had to drop everything, look for a place to live, and try to find the rehearsal hall. It was a shock to the system, but I’m so happy here now.
What was the first acting credit you ever landed that made you feel like this was a career, not just working for a little bit?
John Sanders: Well, I had always been a pretty good student, but I purposefully didn’t develop a backup plan for my acting career. I knew that if I had one, that’s what I’d end up doing since starting out in this business is so difficult. So I guess I always knew I was in it for the long haul. But the impostor syndrome started to subside when I joined the union and started paying my bills as an actor, though that didn’t happen until my early 30’s.
Groundhog Day aside, do you have any projects coming up? Appearances?
John Sanders: You may be able to see a little of me in the upcoming Netflix Marvel series Iron Fist. Other than that, I’m consumed with living the same day over and over again for now!
When not busy with acting, how do you like to spend your free time?
John Sanders: My favorite thing in the world is skiing, and I just spent a week in Aspen with my dad and a few old friends before rehearsals started. I love travelling and can’t wait to hit somewhere tropical soon.
Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?
John Sanders: There are two places on the same block in Chelsea that I love. Dinner at Salinas on the patio. Then late nite drinks at Bathtub Gin, a crazy speakeasy hidden behind a tiny coffee stand.
What about go-to lunch spots near your theater?
John Sanders: I’m a pretty utilitarian eater when I’m working, so when I want something tasty and healthy I usually head to Dig Inn on 8th & 52nd. But if I wanna relax there’s always a burrito at Blockheads. Can’t wait till the weather changes and we can all bask in that courtyard again!
Finally, John, any last words for the kids?
John Sanders: Art done well is like science. And science done well is like art. And farts are always funny.
