-Do you miss it?
Do you desperately miss not having been
on stage this last year?
-I've been doing TV for all of these years.
I miss the stage, that's for sure,
but I've been doing "Good Fight now for 12 years
and I just started doing "The Gilded Age" for HBO.
So I've been lucky because if you work on film,
we've somehow managed to go back to work.
We wear masks, and, you know, when they say action,
we take the mask off and we act and everybody
is all covered up, and then when they say cut,
we have to put the masks back on,
but we've managed.
It's people who work on stages that haven't had --
really had it rough.
But that said, a lot of these great theater actors have found
a place working in New York -- in New York TV shows.
-Now, "Gilded Age," I believe, Cynthia Nixon is in. Correct?
-Yes, she plays my sister.
-And you have been on Broadway together in the past.
-She played my daughter in "The Real Thing back in 1984.
She was a student at Barnard and I played her mother.
Now she's my sister.
I'm like, "Okay."
-[ Laughs ] That's good.
That means you're doing doing great, by the way.
-Okay. -If your daughter is aged
into your sister, you're doing great.
It's when it's the other way around, you're like "Oh, no."
-I agree. -And then also, you know,
you mentioned "The Good Fight is a show, obviously,
that multiple Broadway people...
-Oh, my God. It's a revolving door.
We have -- now, this episode, we have Stephen Lang
and Mandy Patinkin and Jane Curtin
is playing a judge. It's a hoot.
We have the most wonderful character actors come on,
and they are all theater trained,
so it's like a repertory company.
-And Audrey -- you mentioned Audra,
and you presented her with her first Tony.
-Yes, the young Audra McDonald,
now my colleague on "The Good Fight." Yeah
-Do you remember who gave you your first Tony?
-Yes, and my second.
Um, my sec...
-[ Laughs ]
-I can't remember who gave me my 15th, but...
-The first two. You never forget the first two.
[ Laughter ]
-John Lithgow. -Oh, what a perfect person.
-Yeah, it was great. Yeah.
-You must have felt lucky the second time
Lithgow was handing them out.
-No.
It's always amazing to win a Tony award, but the first time
was just like it was Mike Nickels
and Tom Stoppard wrote this play
and Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close,
and we all won Tonys.
It was just...
-Do you remember that night afterwards?
Was it just sort of night you dream of the first time
you win an award like that?
-I can't --
Julie Andrews and Robert Preston hosted the event.
I mean, two legends, and I came off stage
just having won the Tony, and they grab it from you
because they have to put your name on it.
So they grab it from me. -I was so worried
because there's only one Tony.
[ Laughter ]
-Yeah. -Just to speak to why
we need the actors fund.
There's only -- Do you know there's one Tony?
-And it just revolves, yeah.
Anyway, I remember leaning against a wall
because it's like, you go into --
it's an out of body experience.
The adrenaline rush is so strong, and this woman
kind went past me and went, "Congratulations."
She was in black velvet and diamonds, and it was like,
it was Julie Andrews.
She was about to, you know, continue her hostess duties,
but it was such a night.
It was such -- yeah, I remember the party.
I remember everything.
-And we, you know, we have talked before
about the fact that the great thing about the Tonys
is I think you were telling me you grew up in Buffalo, right?
-Yeah, and I used to watch the Tonys.
-Yeah. -And I watched -- the first time
I watched the Tonys, Lauren Bacall won
for "Applause," then all those years later
I got to honor her at the Kennedy Center
and stand center stage.
She was honored with Bob Dylan. I was remember Bob --
Bob and Loren sitting next to each other,
and I was singing "Welcome To The Theatre"
to Lauren Bacall.
Just there's nothing more terrifying then looking up
and seeing Bob Dylan watching you sing and Lauren Bacall.
-Yeah. So, do the you still -- do you still get nervous?
-Yeah, I do.
-Do you think nerves are good as a performer?
When people ask me about butterflies,
I do think for certain things butterflies are a very helpful
reminder that it's time focus.
-I would worry if I weren't nervous.
The trick is that you don't want your fear to choke you.
You must know as a performer.
The worst thing that can happen is you clutch
and then you can't think.
You have to kind of make friends with your fear,
and that's something that comes with age.
-[ Laughs ]
[ Laughter ]
They give it to you with your second Tony.
[ Laughter ]
-But yeah, I'm always.
I'm nervous by they say action when I'm filming.
I think it's a good thing.
Adrenaline helps focus the mind.
Too much of it chokes you, but just enough
gives you that -- that lovely buzz.
-Well, thank you so much for being here.
-Oh, thank you.
Thank you for letting me talk about the auction.
It would mean so much to raise lots of money
for all my theater pals and all the people
in the performer arts. -It's weird you e-mailed Loren
for Tina's number and not mine.
Christine Baranski, everyone. [ Laughter ]
The Stage & Screen auction hosted by Doyle auctioneers
and appraises will begin at 10:00 A.M.
on Wednesday April, 28th.
We'll be right back with Melissa Villasenor.