NewsPHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Broadway's Machinal With Maria-Christina OliverasNo stranger to instantaneous character transformation and quick changes, Maria-Christina Oliveras is currently playing multiple roles in the Roundabout's revival of Machinal. She shares her daily activities and backstage rituals with Playbill.com.
By
Matthew Blank
February 19, 2014
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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Broadway's Machinal With Maria-Christina Oliveras
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at Broadway's Machinal With Maria-Christina Oliveras
No stranger to instantaneous character transformation and quick changes, Maria-Christina Oliveras is currently playing multiple roles in the Roundabout's revival of Machinal. She shares her daily activities and backstage rituals with Playbill.com.
45 PHOTOS
Good morning! Thrilled to be sharing my day with you. Inspired by Susan Lucci, I wake up looking like this every morning.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
One of the first things I do is tune in to 880AM or 1010WINS to get the weather and the latest news on that ancient obsolete contraption known as a boom box. Then, change it to NPR for some background talk as I get ready to head to…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Love this place— best heated Vinyasa action in NYC. Great warm up for a 2 show day, and no one is freaked out when I vocalize. Lip trilling and sirens are welcome.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Ready to get my OM on with fellow yogi, Segun. Those guns are not photo shopped, and they are indeed certified.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Quick stroll through the Union Square Farmer’s Market— this booth’s sign always make me giggle.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Whole Foods’ Coffee Bar for some green juice and the Ultimate Breakfast of Champions: a Chocolate Peppermint Luna Bar and Large Decaf (I know I know) cup of Coffee with lots of skim milk.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
A little pre-show primping action…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Off to the theater. Head underground at Union Square, and stop for a bit of inspiration and people watching. NYC buskers are the best in the world. Here is one-man band extraordinaire, Jeffrey Masin.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Spotted fellow pandas— and international ones, at that! These girls were on vacation from Bulgaria. Pandas are an endangered species, so I jumped on the opportunity to meet them. Good thing I had my panda in my bag for a quick change.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
I love NY— always randomly running into friends. Here with Henry Russell Bergstein…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…and then, Josh De La Cruz. He is rehearsing Aladdin next door to our theater and just tore his meniscus. Flying carpets can be dangerous and introduce you to a whole new world of pain. (Sorry, couldn’t resist).
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Head through the stage door, which leads into one of multiple quick change corridors.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
The information matrix—our callboard—don’t forget to sign in! You’ll see why later…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Me and the lovely Ashley Bell.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Carly, our fabulous company manager, and company canine, Bailey.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Some of our incomparable, multi-talented crew.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
A few of the many wigs done by Paul Huntley. Google him—he is legendary, and has the best stories.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Brendan, wig maestro, getting it done.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
We are serious about our pin curls.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
From the basement wig station, I climb 6 flights up to what we fondly call “Siberia” where my dressing room is. En route, I run into Sucha, a native from Russia and one of our fantastic dressers. I do know she likes Chobani yogurt and Richard Simmons.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Like Lady Liberty and her torch, this sign greets me at the top of the stairs and affirms that I have arrived to my humble abode, breathless.
Broadway speakers: iPhone in a cup. The amplification is quite good. Today, a little Otis Redding to get in the zone… love this Pandora station (put in “Change is Gonna Come”—Otis, Sam Cooke and some other amazing goodies pop up). Another favorite for t
Maria-Christina Oliveras
With the exception of Rebecca, we all play multiple characters in this piece. Here are a few of my many faces.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
This look was my OK Cupid pic for a while— a surprising number of replies!
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Prohibition be damned.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Meet Abbie and Randall, also known as the Court Stenographer and the Bailiff. They. Will. Cut. You.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Winding down after the show--reading (new plays mostly and just picked up Sotomayor’s memoir), preliminary prep for a couple of voice-over and pilot auditions, checking e-mails, Facebook, snacking, catching up on phone calls, brainstorming new adventures…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
We have a lot of time between shows (our 2pm matinee finishes about 3:40pm), so Saturdays, we sometimes watch movies. Here, the boys troubleshoot technical difficulties.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Dinner and a movie…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Today’s selection: Berry Gordy’s "The Last Dragon," starring Taimak. I pass on this one, and head to Cross-Fit, inspired by the film’s opening image…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
BUT, need a little caffeine jolt, so grab a medium skim latte from Starbucks on the way…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
At The Black Box, where Coach Joseph Campbell (that is his actual name) has us sign in on the infamous white board.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Today’s WOD (Workout of the day) is “Barbara.” 5 rounds of...”Why did I think this was a good idea, especially on a two-show day?!?” I alternate between thinking of Barbara Bush and Barbra Streisand to get through it.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
In action, wig cap and all…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Still have lots of time, so stroll back to the theater from 26th Street, taking in all the tourists and the energy of the city. I am a native New Yorker, and still deeply in love with this place.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Saturday Night on Broadway!
Maria-Christina Oliveras
The amazing Suzanne Bertish (I am secretly obsessed with her).
Maria-Christina Oliveras
This is what happens if you don’t sign in on the callboard.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Back in the Chair…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Two shows done, I head down to the lobby to meet up with my old friend Meredith, in town from New Orleans.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Head to the West Bank Café for post-show revelry with Meredith, Scott and Justin.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Love it here—you never know who you’re going to run into. Meet Natasha Veruskhka, sword swallowing belly dancer, and two time Guinness World Record Holder…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Or the lovely Jack Doulin.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
I finally head home on the 2 downtown. Thank you for sharing my day with me—here’s wishing you and yours health, love, laughter and delicious adventures. Good night!
Oliveras was previously seen in Here Lies Love, the critically-acclaimed new musical by David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim, directed by Alex Timbers at the Public Theater, which she will be returning to when it re-opens at the end of March.
Director Lyndsey Turner (Chimerica at Almeida; Philadelphia, Here I Come! at Donmar) also makes her Broadway debut. When Turner turned to Hall to play Machinal's leading lady, "I just instantly responded to her," Hall told Playbill magazine. "She hasn't directed me before, but I felt such an overwhelming trust in her presence that I knew I could probably do anything she asked me to do."
Of her character, Hall added, "In the play, she's described as a young woman who's like any woman. I think Treadwell is trying to say there is nothing particularly extraordinary about her. She's an Everywoman, and the story's about how an ordinary woman, in not extraordinary circumstances, is driven to murder. Nothing makes her mad or crazy. She's normal."
Tony Award nominees Suzanne Bertish (The Moliére Comedies) and Michael Cumpsty (The Winslow Boy, End of the Rainbow) play Mother and Husband, respectively, with Drama Desk nominee Morgan Spector (Russian Transport) as Lover.
Here's how the play is billed: "Inspired by the infamous 1927 murder trial of Ruth Snyder, Machinal is a gripping drama by American journalist and playwright Sophie Treadwell. It's America's Golden Age, a time of happiness, freedom and prosperity – or is it? For the Young Woman (Hall), a stenographer in the industrial, male-dominated world of the 1920s, life is nothing like she hoped it would be. Restless and unfulfilled in a passionless marriage and unwanted motherhood, she finds her only joy in the form of an illicit love affair. But when reality sets in and she must return to her routine existence, she’ll go to any lengths to regain her freedom. A groundbreaking work in the landscape of American theatre, Machinal is a riveting look at the danger that can come from a life unlived."
The creative team includes Es Devlin (sets), Michael Krass (costumes), Jane Cox (lights) and Matt Tierney (sound).
Hall's credits on the London stage include Mrs. Warren's Profession, which earned her the Ian Charleson Award in 2003, As You Like It (Ian Charleson-nominated), Man and Superman, The Fight for Barbara, Galileo's Daughter, Don Juan, A Winter's Tale (Ian Charleson Award), The Cherry Orchard (Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination) and Twelfth Night directed by her father, Sir Peter Hall. Hall can currently be seen on screen in "Iron Man 3." She received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Her film credits also include "Lay the Favorite," "The Awakening," "The Town," "Everything Must Go," "Please Give," "Dorian Gray," "Frost/Nixon," "The Prestige" and "Starter for 10," which marked her feature-film debut.
Machinal premiered on Broadway in 1928 featuring a young Clark Gable in his Broadway debut and then in London in 1931 under the title of The Life Machine. The play was revived in 1993 in London featuring Fiona Shaw, Ciarán Hinds and John Woodvine and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Revival.
The American Airlines Theatre is located at 227 West 42nd Street. Visit RoundaboutTheatre.org.