In the new musical Bright Star Stephen Lee Anderson and Dee Hoty co-star as a small town preacher and his wife struggling to raise their nonconformist daughter (played by Carmen Cusack), which is amazing considering in 1998 they played a small town reverend and his wife trying to raise their wild-child daughter in the musical adaptation of Footloose.
Below, the pair (who have each appeared 10 times on Broadway) talked to BroadwayBox about reuniting for Bright Star and their Footloose marriage memories.
My first impression of my co-star was:
Dee:
What a great spirit he has!
Stephen:
Oh...I was impressed how talented and more importantly how kind she was.
I think our most memorable performance of Footloose had to have been:
Dee:
Besides the first night he went on, with no rehearsal in DC, and 'killing it,' my favorite Footloose memory of Stevie Lee is sharing the backstage area with him: we had the same dresser (Ms. Pat Sullivan) and Friday night "Cookie Nights" were a highlight amongst us. (Me: "BITE me, Stephen!"—that's with a wink!)
Stephen:
My favorite moment in Footloose was listening to Dee sing, “Can You Find It In Your Heart.” It was just beautiful! She would sing it to me, reach out for my hand, and I would look into those blue eyes…but then I had to walk out of the scene.
Reaction when I found out we were going to reunite for Bright Star:
Dee:
I was so thrilled to be reuniting with him, and as a married couple again! Thank God Walter Bobbie has a long memory. I knew SLA and I would have fun, and do good work together.
Stephen:
I was overjoyed when I found out we were reuniting...I felt like we were coming full circle. We first performed together at the Kennedy Center with Walter Bobbie directing and here we are returning to the Kennedy Center again with Walter Bobbie. AND, as in Footloose, we are dealing with a free spirited, rebellious daughter, only now it's 1923!
My favorite moment we share together in Bright Star:
Dee:
Favorite Bright Star moment is our waltz together for the picnic scene. With a 'lit' lantern, bw, it's very romantic stage lighting.
Stephen:
My favorite moment has to be the dancing…in Footloose, we weren’t allowed to dance! I just didn’t want that..no fun allowed.
Off-stage, my co-star and I bond over:
Dee:
We bond over life, work, art, politics, music, food, The New York Times, laughing all the way. Having known each other throughout these years, and leading "separate lives together" brings a comfort and knowledge that nothing can match.
Stephen:
We bond talking about every thing and anything. We talk about life and where our lives are at this stage of the game. That comforts me.
I think our performances gel so well together because:
Dee:
(As I began above) We developed this, formed it, during Footloose, but it has deepened now that we "remarried" (hah!) in Bright Star. It's an easy, comfortable relationship of trust, and the work, and the process. And wine....! We are so lucky.
Stephen:
We enjoy each others company and we LAUGH a lot together. It’s so nice to work with someone I trust and who has the same sense of humor!!!
One word to describe our marriage in Footloose:
Dee:
"New"
Stephen:
Solid.
One word to describe our marriage in Bright Star:
Dee:
"Used!"
Stephen:
Fun….AND United!
I’m in awe of my co-star's ability to:
Dee:
SLA has this ability to stand up for himself in rehearsal, that is non-threatening, but allows him to find a way to make a scene work. AND—onstage he has a wonderful quality of sensitive sternness—Never harsh, unless it's called for, and unbelievably tender and dear. (In life, I'm in awe of his great good humor, and that fact that he and Daun, his wife, have raised two sons in Manhattan, AND he's done it in the theatre!! Amazeballs!)
Stephen:
I am in awe at how that woman can STAND AND DELIVER!
If I had to describe my co-star in a song, it would be:
Dee:
In a song, "One For My Baby, And One More For The Road."
Stephen:
To describe in a song…well…Dee is my one and only stage wife and my one and only “Broadway Baby."
See Dee Hoty & Stephen Lee Anderson together again back on Broadway in Bright Star at the Cort Theatre.
