Susan Lucci Reveals Unconventional Ritual She Still Follows as She Returns to Broadway (Exclusive)
The legendary actress is part of the second cast of My First Ex-Husband, a new comedy play from Joy Behar and directed by Randal Myler, now playing at the MMAC Theater in New York City.
The play features a rotating lineup of luminaries from theater, television, and film, bringing fresh voices and perspectives to stories about the messy truths of love, marriage, and divorce, revealing the chaotic, funny, and often eye-opening realities of relationships.
Speaking with PEOPLE about her role, the Emmy-winning actress, 78, says she's excited to be on stage in a comedy.
"First of all, I love doing comedy and the material, I love the material. Joy Behar called and asked if I would do this. When I saw the material, I realized Joy and I were so on the same page. I thought, 'Of course I'm going to do this.' "
"The material is so funny," she continued. "It's true material, too... They're stories written by individual women who have been in bad marriages. And I don't think they meant them necessarily to be funny. They are just true."
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Related: Susan Lucci Reveals the 3 Foods She Eats Every Day Since Having 2 Heart Operations
Lucci is no stranger to the stage, having been in Annie Get Your Gun on Broadway in 1999. The idea of being back in front of a live audience is thrilling for the actress.
"Performing live comes with its own set of excitement and involvement. The audiences gets engaged, and it's terrific. I think especially when you —well, anytime, but especially with comedy — anytime the audience gets engaged, it's really nice. You're in this together. The audience is there to laugh, and you're there to find the laughs. It's very fun to get the response from the audience."
As for rituals, Lucci has one she's adopted as a rule and one she unconsciously developed.
"I don't eat before I perform. That's always the case," she says. "And I love to eat, but I have no desire to before I go on stage, so that works out."
"I found out a ritual I wasn't even aware of when I was doing Annie Get Your Gun," she continues. "There were some very quick changes backstage, and one involved changing my shoes and my top. There were two dressers there and when it came time, she asked me, 'Do you put your left shoe on first or your right shoe?' "
Lucci continues, "I frankly had never thought of it before, but I thought, oh, oh, I could think I'm in the right business here. Okay, it's my left. I realized at the time then, I do put on my left shoe first. So I have continued that ritual."
From February 26 to March 23, Lucci will appear alongside Judy Gold, Tonya Pinkins and Cathy Moriarty in My First Ex-Husband.
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