The Year of Leslie Kritzer—TV, Stage and Getting Nominated Against Herself

It would have been practically impossible to miss the incomparable Leslie Kritzer throughout the past year, as she was a veritable constant on both stage and screen. Whether she was pushing campers to lose weight in Gigantic, making ugly look good in The Robber Bridegroom, developing the role of Alice Kramden in the The Honeymooners musical or sparring with Ray Romano on HBO’s Vinyl, she was continuously proving her versatility as she developed a multitude of eccentric characters. The one-time stand-out from Piece of My Heart and Legally Blonde spoke with Playbill about her non-stop, award-winning year, which culminated in her replacing Heidi Blickenstaff as Bea in Something Rotten! this week.

You were a part of so many projects this year. How did they all begin?
Leslie Kritzer: Vinyl actually happened first. Last summer I really wanted to do more film and TV, so I focused my attention on that. I got to play opposite Ray Romano as his wife, Moira, in a couple of episodes. It was a dream come true. I’m a huge fan of Martin Scorsese. When I auditioned I just knew it was the right kind of part for me. It was one of those rare experiences where I was like, “If I don’t get this, I know I did my best.” I felt like I nailed it, so when I got it I was thrilled... READ MORE

Photograph by Matthew Murphy