Thread by @zinoman

This Nathan Lane interview on WTF is catnip for theater fans. I badly want to do a Rap Genius annotation to explain and unpack all the things said and unsaid. One piece of news: He’s doing Death of a Salesman in 2021. wtfpod.com

Love how Lane bristled at the idea that it’s interesting to dedicate his life to theater. “Theater is not a stepping stone” was a nice brush-off pitch.

Also, when Maron talks about how The Producers was a game-changer for musicals, the fact Lane mentions “ticket prices” right away. God bless him. I LOVE The Producers, but that is perhaps the most game-changing thing about it. And performers don’t usually say that stuff out loud.

Just wait for the term “vice versa” in the Scott Rudin part.

He makes a great case for The Front Page as THE classic comedy. Says Stoppard thinks The Front Page is the great American play. And Lane says it has the best last line in theater history.

Always really interesting how his narrative of his truly great last decade of dramatic acting (Iceman, Angels, OJ movie, etc) begins as a reaction to the words of a critic. And not the praise, but a description that felt limiting, the idea he was an "entertainer."

Also, Lane’s story about how he learned he was gay was wonderful. It was a movie. Made me wonder how many people learned about their sexuality through a movie, play, work of art.

Also, his take on Kelsey Grammer’s disastrous Macbeth was a model of generosity. His explanation that the problem was he didn’t wait long enough after Frasier probably has some truth, but only some.