Wendie Malick is happy medium in 'Blithe Spirit' at Williamstown
"Hello, this is Wendie."
Even over the phone, actress Wendie Malick's voice is distinctive. It's deep and sultry, but with a playful lilt that keeps it from turning lugubrious.
"Oh yeah, my voice has been very good to me," says Malick, who's best known for her comic turns in the TV series "Dream On" and "Just Shoot Me" and has also done voice work for animation. "Even kids know me as Beautiful Gorgeous," from "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," she adds. "I smoked until I was about 35, and then I thought this is deep enough," she says. "You know, Lauren Bacall sounded sexy when she was young, but you don't want to end up sounding like Humphrey Bogart."
Malick's utter lack of pretension and comfort in her own skin are what make her appealing to casting directors. She's currently at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where she is appearing in Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" through July 29.
Director Maria Mileaf says having Malick in her cast is a gift. "I had worked with George Segal, and in 2001 he invited me to watch a taping of 'Just Shoot Me,' " in which he played the publisher of a fashion magazine and Malick played an over-the-hill ex-model working as an editor. "The entire cast was terrific, but it was amazing to watch Wendie's energy and discipline. I've wanted to work with her ever since."
In "Blithe Spirit," Malick plays the zany medium Madame Arcati, who may or may not be a fake. The plot centers around the novelist Charles Condomine, who invites Madame Arcati to give a seance as part of his research for a new book, but when the medium manages to call up the spirit of his first wife, chaos and comedy ensue.
Having now played two memorably nutty characters on TV, Malick says she tends to steer away from comedy when she heads to the stage, primarily in Los Angeles. But she says "Blithe Spirit" was an opportunity she didn't want to miss.
"You know, early in my career, because I'm tall and dark, I was always cast in these serious roles," says the 5-foot-10-inch former model. "But in the middle of working on 'Dream On' I turned 40, and it was so liberating. I finally felt like I could relax and be the character actress I was always meant to be."
Madame Arcati is a lot of fun, but she's not a frivolous character, says Malick. "She's serious about what she does, even if she's not sure she can pull it off. Almost in spite of her best efforts, she conjures this ghost, and everyone has to deal with the consequences.
"She's full of contradictions, which makes her more interesting," Malick continues. "This play is really about a crowd of silly, self-involved, catty people who discover they can't go back to those tried-and-true recipes for solving their problems."
Malick says she loves playing these slightly skewed women. "But they have to be grounded. When ['Just Shoot Me' creator] Steve Levitan told me the character was kind of glamorous, but with a bit of a wack to her, I thought great, as long as she's not bitter. If she's going to drink, she should be having a good time."
Malick just finished shooting the pilot for a comedy called "The Hill," in which she plays a Democratic senator from New York ("but not that one," she says with a laugh), who's very liberal and somewhat outrageous. Her counterpoint is a conservative senator from Arizona, and the focus is on their staffs.
"We're hoping it will be a present-day 'All in the Family,' " she says. "Sometimes you can't talk about these polarizing issues unless you're laughing." The best part about working on the show, she says, has been playing opposite 6-foot-4-inch Eric Christian Olsen, who towers over her. "When you get to a certain age," she says, "you just don't want to look down on people."
Although "Blithe Spirit" is a staple of high school drama programs, director Mileaf had never read the play or seen a production. "Without the luxury or albatross of having seen it before, I was able to see that the issues of the play, the state of marriage, the ambitions of the characters, are compelling and topical."
Mileaf also has the advantage of working with her husband, designer Neil Patel. "We've had a long professional relationship," she says, "but it's been a lot of fun to make the magic happen. Because it's a farce, we also had a lot of fun working out the entrances and exits."
And since she's reset the time of the play to 1973, will there be shag rugs?
"Oh, I don't know," says Mileaf, sounding a little like Madame Arcati. "I can't give away all the magic."
Tickets: $48-$57 . 413-597-3400 , wtfestival.org .
"A Marvelous Party! The Noel Coward Celebration"
In the chic club setting at Zero Arrow Theatre that housed "The Onion Cellar," American Repertory Theatre regulars Remo Airaldi, Thomas Derrah, Will LeBow, and Karen MacDonald uncork the musical champagne, elegantly accompanied by Will McGarrahan in Scott Edmiston's stylish, soulful production. Through July 29. 617-547-8300 , amrep.org -- Louise Kennedy
"Misalliance"
The Publick Theatre opens its season with a brisk, funny staging of George Bernard Shaw's most acrobatic play -- both verbally and physically, with the arrival of an "aviatrix" in the garden -- on the outdoor stage at Christian Herter Park. Through Sept. 9. 617-782-5425 , publicktheatre.com -- L.K.
