I met Donna Lynne Champlin in 2002 and I've seen basically everything she has done in New York since, which means I have seen her in an enormous amount of things. From starring as a young Carol Burnett in a Broadway play to portraying Jane Austen in a festival musical, she has done a lot. I swear if I ever have a giant party for any life event, I am going to beg her to sing "The Air is Free" from The Flight of the Lawn Chair Man. I still think she should have won a Tony for her performance in that, which of course was impossible, because the show never came in. But if it did come in, I'm confident she would win. In the last few months I've been telling her: "I am soon going to be saying I knew you when." Why? Well, it could have been because of her appearance on TV Land's Younger or her standout comedic turn in Bruce Norris' The Qualms at Playwrights Horizons, but really it is because she has landed a featured role in the buzzed-about CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, premiering this fall as the lead-in for Jane the Virgin on Monday nights. In The Qualms, which ended its run on Sunday, Champlin played a heavyset swinger, requiring her to wear a fat suit. (Five minutes after she came out, and until about fifteen minutes into her appearance, I began thinking of the last time I saw a woman in a fat suit onstage. Then I was flooded with memories of Leslie Kritzer and Shoshana Bean donning fat suits to understudy Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray.) In Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, she gets to act sans padding, playing a mother of two who becomes a sort-of sidekick to Rachel Bloom's lead character after the two meet at a law firm. (Bloom's lead is a lawyer, while Champlin plays the head paralegal.)
As Champlin leaves New York for the time being, I checked in with one of my favorite stage stars to talk about the end of The Qualms and the beginning of her new life as a television star.
That fat suit was a lot. How heavy was it?
It was a little heavy and hot but honestly, after wearing it for two minutes, it really did feel like a second skin, thanks to the costume department at Playwrights Horizons. We all wanted "Deb" to dress as alluringly as possible with the maximum amount of flesh showing, so the shape had to be both "busty" and "bootylicious" allowing for my arms and upper body to be exposed, which was tricky. But it was an incredible design that used all different materials depending on how much cellulite and sway every separate body part needed. And it really is true that sexy is a state of mind, because I felt way more sexy in that beautiful body suit as Deb than I do on a regular basis as me.
At first glance, it's really believable. Did any of your friends think it was weight gain?
Yes, quite a few. Which is understandable since I've happily settled into a 'plus-sized' type after I got pregnant and had my son four years ago. The whole run was rather enlightening in regards to the range of reactions I've gotten from both friends and audiences, actually.
The first thing I noticed was that for most shows there'd be a nice welcoming feeling from the audience on my entrance which allowed me to get the Deb ball rolling pretty much from the start. But Tuesday nights and Sunday afternoons, it would always take a good 25-30 minutes before I felt a distinctive "wall of judgement" start to melt away. Turns out there's a high demographic of senior citizens at both of those shows which seems to indicate that the older generations still have a lot of prejudice against big girls. So it gave me great pleasure to turn those particular audiences around when I could.
Regarding friends' reactions, I think the comment I found most interesting was when a fellow actor said to me, "You're so brave," when I told him I was going to be padded. And I was genuinely confused. First of all, it's not like I'm Gwyneth Paltrow slumming it in Fatsville. I'm already a plus-sized actress just adding more "plus" to my "size." Secondly, like any foundational costume piece, it is designed specifically to help me do my job better. So why would I be anything but grateful for it?
But then I realized that while well meaning, it was actually a very chauvenistic thing to say. He was clearly concerned about the backlash I would endure, specifically as a woman, if I allowed myself to look fat--or in my case, fatter--than I already am in public. Because I don't think he (or anyone) would call Kevin Kline "brave" for wearing a prosthetic nose as Cyrano or a big pot belly pad as Falstaff either, come to think of it.
And if I'm going to speak truth here, you know what's far taken more courage in my life? Being spanxed and strangled to death by industrial strength undergarment, corset-monsters under my costumes in every damned show I've ever done for the last 25 years. Those frigging contraptions have been choking off my air supply, constricting my diaphragm, and making me feel like total shit about myself for my whole career. And for what? To make me look 10, maybe 15 pounds thinner? Which was never thin enough anyway. So for me to wear this beautiful, "baby got back," custom-designed body suit was to finally breathe, feel super sexy and just enjoy myself in this glorious play with these amazing people. It wasn't brave at all. It was freeing and absolutely wonderful.
Bottom line -- I don't know for a fact what people say to male actors when they wear a fat suit or a general prosthetic? But I'm pretty damn sure it's not, "You're so brave." So maybe it's time to think about that for a second, you know?
In The Qualms, one of the characters told your character that he didn't want to sleep with you because he didn't find you attractive. Is it hard to hear that line?
Ya know, up until last week, I would have said: "No, it's not hard." That line had been said to me over a hundred times, so while it was my job to make the audience think that it's hard for Deb to hear that line? For me the actress, it was not.
However, one day last week, when Chris [the lead character] says to Deb, "The reason I don't want to have sex with you is because I find you physically unattractive," I distinctly heard a man in the front row say: "Uh, huh! Yup!" Just blatantly throwing 100% of his support behind the guy who's disgracing and shaming the fat girl not two feet away from him! And, in a weird way, I was grateful for the reminder of just how absolutely cruel that line is. And how the prejudice against plus-sized women is still so acceptable that this guy felt like he could cheer for my ridicule and not for one second, think he was either wrong or in the minority.
So now? After that night? Yeah, that line did hurt. A lot. Because after that, all I heard in my mind is some nameless, faceless, douche bag yelling "Uh, huh! Yup!"
Onto a cheerier topic, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Did you have to do anything for it while you were in The Qualms?
I went to the CW "roll out" party one night after rehearsal where I met other actors on the network, some CBS brass and lots of lovely CW staff; many of whom are parents who have been instrumental in helping me get my son situated in an LA pre-K school and with a pediatrician.
And then there was my "day off" where, after 2 days of tech, I flew to LA on at 4am to do the "Mondo Shoot" at CBS Radford and then took the red eye back to NYC, getting home just in time to go into yet another 10 out of 12 day of tech, followed by our tech/dress day and then our first preview. So that was a little rough for me? But the CW "Mondo Shoot" was probably one of the most fun and crazy experiences I've ever had. I don't really recall much of it? But I'm absolutely thrilled I didn't miss it.
How would you describe your character in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend?
My character "Paula" is supposed to be the Ethel Mertz to our star's Lucille Ball (aka the brilliant Rachel Bloom as "Rebecca Bunch"). I am her partner in crime and also a substitute mother figure as well. It's a real fun show with "musical elements," so a bunch of us Broadway folk are all excited to sing, dance, play instruments and generally have a grand hootenanny of a time.
What is biggest thing you think you'll miss from NY while in LA?
The autumn in New York. Definitely. It's by far my favorite time of year. The trees. The crispness in the air. The hayrides. The first time you can see your breath at night. I'm definitely gonna miss all of that. But, even if it's 100 degrees outside we are gonna kick-to-the-face do Halloween on the West Coast just like we would if we were on the East Coast. No doubt.
What is the thing you're most looking forward to in LA?
Honestly, at this point, I'm most excited to just get there because the logistics of having to temporarily re-locate in such a short period of time (not only as a New Yorker but as a parent) have almost made my head explode a couple times. It's a lot of plates in the air. A lot. So I'll breathe a big sigh of relief when my family lands at LAX, knowing that all that lies ahead is the job at hand. Which if it's anything like filming the pilot, will be a complete and total blast. Toi toi toi, knock wood, and all that.
Photo of Champlin as Deb and Jeremy Shamos as Chris in The Qualms. Photo by Joan Marcus.