Fast chat: Michael McKean of 'Superior Donuts'
Photo credit: Ari Mintz/Ari Mintz | Michael McKean stars as a Chicago donut shop proprietor in Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts' ("August: Osage County") new play, "Superior Donuts". Music Box Theatre 239 W. 45 St., NYC. Photo by Ari Mintz. 9/23/2009.
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'Superior Donuts'
Michael McKean has had more good hair days than most actors. He shot to stardom as greaser doofus Lenny on the '70s TV favorite "Laverne and Shirley." In the '80s, he donned a blond shag wig and became a cult hero as one of the stoned rockers in "This Is Spinal Tap."
Now Sea Cliff's most famous son is sporting a ponytail and a beard to play Arthur, the withdrawn owner of a Chicago doughnut shop, in Tracy Letts' "Superior Donuts," the actor's fourth Broadway outing since 2002.
McKean, who turns 62 this weekend, recently chatted about everything from "Donuts" to the Declaration of Independence, and shared sweet Scotch kisses from McKean's wife, actress Annette O'Toole (relax, they're her homemade candies).
What attracted you to this role?
It was a character I knew right away from my first introduction of reading the script. It was a person who had to deal with the possibility of being drafted in the Army during the Vietnam War. I was very lucky to get a high lottery number, so I became sort of irrelevant. Several people I knew said, "You know what, I'm going to Canada," and that's what Arthur did. . . . I knew it was Tracy Letts, a great draw right there. I had seen "August [Osage County]" and I met Tracy a few times, and he seemed to think I was the guy and wanted me to play the part. I was flattered and delighted.
You have a wonderful fight scene. How difficult is it?
It's about half the length it used to be. We did it in Chicago, and it was a lot more elaborate. There was a lot more ground covered. I got my head dunked in the mop bucket. If you cataloged what happened, you would have to say it was a more violent fight, but this one reads more violent because it's not show biz. It's two guys who don't normally do this. . . . It was never my favorite part of rehearsal.
Most of the characters you play are so outgoing, but Arthur is the other extreme. How hard was it to reel in those emotions?
Tina Landau [the director] kept after me to be less friendly. It was difficult for me to do because my logic said I know these two cops and I know this guy and I know they're on my side. So I was kind of accepting that they were there to help me, and she had to swat that out of my hand because what I really wanted was for them to get the hell out of there so I could get back to my "no one but me" existence. She made me find that zone. I had to leave my manners behind.
Earlier this year, you were touring with Spinal Tap. What's it like to still do that character after 25 years?
This time was very different, because we didn't put the wigs and the costumes on. It was just us doing material from "Spinal Tap" and "A Mighty Wind" and "Waiting for Guffman" and some original stuff. And it was great fun - we played 30 cities. We did put the wigs back on and the Spandex for two big gigs in England.
Any chance of a reunion of Lenny and the Squigtones [his group with "Laverne and Shirley" co-star David L. Lander]?
Unfortunately, my partner is not getting around so good. He's got MS, but when we are together, we do sing. At Christmas parties, we do this absurd Christmas song. There's actually some talk about doing an animated series with Lenny and Squiggy, which I'd love to do.
Is it also true that you have an ancestor who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Yes, Thomas McKean. He was the last one to sign. Months and months after everybody else.
What took him so long?
He just said, 'I'll get around to it.' [Laughs] He was busy on the farm. He had a plantation, and he lost it all in the war. He represented Delaware and wound up moving to Philly. He was the governor of Pennsylvania for one term and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
What's next after "Superior Donuts"?
Annette and I are writing a musical. We've got all our songs, and we've got all our characters, and we have the story kind of structured but have a lot of fleshing out to do.
