Morning sickness and matinees don't exactly go hand in hand, but Lindsay Mendes is making it work. The Broadway actress was already great in her role as Mary in the revival of "Jolly We Roll" when she announced she was pregnant with her second child. Although she was working on her first television series while filming, live acting presented a whole new set of challenges.
"My first trimester was really hard because my morning sickness was round-the-clock nausea, but I had very few remedies. Ginger, that kind of thing," said Mendes, who won a Tony for the role Award nomination. She considers her castmates Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe to be her real aces.
"Usually Dan and Jon know if I'm feeling really bad, depending on how sweaty my palms are or if I'm grabbing them in a certain way. I [will] be like, 'I probably need to get off [the stage] One minute,'" said Mendes, who won a Tony Award for the 2018 "Carousel " revival . “But they were awesome and we just got through it.”
"Happy Days" centers on three artistically inclined best friends who, over the course of 20 years, let their ambitions trump their friendship. According to Mendes, the cast's dynamic offstage is similar to their characters in their early happier days. In fact, their relationship was so close that when Mendes got married this month, Grove officiated the ceremony and Radcliffe served as ring bearer.
"There's a very relaxed, very cordial feeling between the three of us. Our dressing rooms are all to one side of the stage, so we're always together," she said. Half an hour before curtain call, they will gather in Mendes' dressing room. "I had to put on a wig and make-up and the boys didn't, so they came to my room and we just sat and talked."
As the show wraps up in July, she will hold on to these private, personal moments with Radcliffe and Grove rather than the pain of her first three months performing. "We liked each other very much, but once we got into the show we couldn't really do it," the actor explained. “So that time (before the call) was just for us to check in with each other and have a laugh .”
Below, Mendes reflects on naps, goldfish, and her new favorite foundation.
On her favorite celebrity beauty brands:
I had never tried this look before, but they offered me this show and I really loved it. This is Lady Gaga's brand Haus Labs. I use her foundation and powder and they are really good.
About midfield sugar:
During intermission, I sit with my feet up and usually have a snack, something I can look forward to during the first act, like a little cookie or some fruit. I also always have goldfish and fruit snacks in my dressing room for my daughter. My daughter comes to the theater a few times a week, so now I mainly give her snacks.
Preparing her pipe:
I always try to warm up [my voice] with whatever show I’m doing. So I usually sing the intro, and [with Merrily ] at the beginning of the show I'll sing with the ensemble from offstage to the warm-up. Then luckily I started screaming and roaring like a crazy drunk person, so that got me there too.
On her rituals for getting through pregnancy:
I always take a nap between shows. Especially now that I'm pregnant. I have a cute little couch in my room that I take naps on, and I would say I probably nap for about an hour between shows. I have to do this or I will die.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity .
