Shoshanna Bean had never played a mother before Hell's Kitchen , but she quickly took on the role of Jersey—even if she couldn't believe she'd entered the realm of "someone's mother."
"It wasn't hard, just because I felt like I knew this woman," Bean, 46, said of the character, who is loosely based on Alicia Keys' mother, Teresa Augello . "Alicia's mother (and I), we're very similar people, and I feel like I'm modeled after my own mother as well. A lot of my parenting on this show is the way I was raised by a single mother, so that It’s natural. The biggest challenge is adjusting to my own feelings about aging in the industry.”
But as Bean's friend Billy Porter told her, "This is not the white mom we've seen on stage before, you know? You're rewriting a paradigm."
In "Hell's Kitchen ," a semi-autobiographical musical set in Keys' early life in New York, Jersey is both the protagonist of her daughter, 17-year-old Ali (Maria Joy Moon), and Her rival, the boundary she strives to fulfill her mother's wishes, is born of love. A smaller series might have tried to make Jersey a shrewish, one-note character, but instead she's gone through just as much growth as Ali.
At one point, Jersey reported Ali's boyfriend, Nack, a young black man, to the police, fearing that he would be a bad influence. Nack escapes the ordeal physically unscathed but emotionally scarred, and Jersey comes to understand that she must think differently about raising a black daughter.
Bean was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance when the show transferred from the Public Theater to Broadway earlier this year, as were Moon and her castmates, Brandon Victor Dixon and Keysia Lewis. The show received a total of 13 nominations, tying with Stereophonic for the most nominations this year.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” said Bean, a 2022 Mr. Saturday Night nominee. "There were a lot of celebrations [ in Hell's Kitchen ]. We had champagne, we had balloons, but my favorite celebration was after the 'Meet the Nominees' press conference. The night after the show, Alicia and My chief of staff and her assistant came to my dressing room with Maria and Jade (Milan), one of Ali’s understudies and our assistant director. We drank some whiskey, toasted, and then we were on set. Intoxicated by it.”
“A few weeks ago, I was doing some improv [on one of my songs] — it was a cappella — and someone in the audience said, ‘Sing it again.’ So I sang it again because I can . ” I love those things.
She and Keys also celebrated the number of nominations the show has received — yes, because the number is so high, but also because "13" has special meaning to "Hell's Kitchen." "It took them 13 years to make the show, and we got 13 nominations," Bean explained. "The album came out on 6/7, which is 13. And the Tony Awards are on 6/16, which adds up to 13. So we're always looking for our lucky number 13, and it keeps showing up everywhere."
Below, Bean shares her backstage routine, dressing room essentials and tips for dealing with rowdy crowds.
On her dressing room staples:
I have ketchup and Tabasco sauce in my refrigerator because those are two of my favorite condiments. I also stock up on apple cider vinegar, honey, cayenne pepper, and lemon in case I need it to protect my voice. I keep some baby food bags when I'm hungry because it relieves stress but doesn't keep you full on stage.
The most important things in my dressing room are my tea, my electrolyte packs, and my coffee packs. Those are the main things I consume. I've got some whiskey here because, you know - there's eight shows a week, okay?
On her proven throat remedies:
Orbas gummies are my go-to. Then the mixture is honey, lemon, apple cider vinegar and a little bit of cayenne pepper. This is how you eliminate junk. But if I have a hoarse voice, it's because [my throat] is dry and tired, so just drink a lot of water. Then when I get home in the evening, I steam.
About halftime work:
time flies. Sometimes it’s socializing and hanging out. Sometimes this is my time to catch up on email. Sometimes I make [The Ladies Club], which is my line of handmade golf apparel for women. This is an upcycled second-hand vintage piece. I sewed all of these patches, and I sewed them all by hand. So sometimes I sew.
On dealing with loud crowds:
Let me tell you a secret – this is my favorite part of the job. In 2009, I did a show in Las Vegas called "Peepshow," and during this part of the show, I had to call the audience out of the auditorium and bring them to the stage. Remember, this is Vegas so people are drunk and stupid and you never know what you're going to get. That was a crash course in being able to handle anything.
I've performed on stage with people like Harvey Fierstein and Billy Crystal, and I've done my own solo concerts over the decades, so I feel like I've Be prepared for whatever happens. I live for this. I know the audience is wired for this too.
A few weeks ago, I was doing some improv [on one of my songs]—it was a cappella—and someone in the audience said, “Sing it again.” So I sang it again, because I can. I love that stuff.
Where to hang out after her shows:
The boys' locker room is really big and has a big terrace. I made it sound fancy - it was a fire escape. But they have inflatable furniture to rest on. So they had a lot of parties. [If] it's someone's birthday, we'll have pizza. I've made cupcakes and champagne for the cast before.
On preparing for the Tony Awards:
I haven't had a day off in months because we're doing so many other events and press coverage and there's so much going on. Honestly, I like that. Staying busy is one of my toxic traits.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity .
