David talks La Bete

Here’s another neat hometown interview with David, this time by the Albany Times Union. He shares some thoughts on La Bete and his dinner plans with Kelsey Grammer!

David Hyde Pierce, best-known for his role as Niles Crane on the TV sitcom Frasier, will return to his hometown, Saratoga Springs, to appear at a benefit Saturday for Home Made Theater. Born in Albany, Pierce grew up in Saratoga Springs, where his father and his father before him lived. The family lived at Fifth and East avenues in the large white house with columns, and Pierce attended Caroline Street Elementary, the former junior high school on Lake Avenue (now Lake Avenue Elementary) and Saratoga Springs High School.

Home Made Theater is celebrating its 25th season with a benefit and party at Spa Little Theater, where it puts on its plays, in Saratoga Spa State Park. Billing itself as community theater with a professional edge, Home Made Theater produces four plays per season and conducts workshops and summer camps for young people interested in acting and the theater. We spoke with Pierce last week by phone.

What brings you to Saratoga Springs for a Home Made Theater benefit?

My dad was an actor. His profession was insurance salesman. But he acted all the time in community theater in Saratoga. He did it for many years in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. And it was very important to him. So I’m really doing this in honor of him.

That was before Home Made Theater …

He was not connected to Home Made Theater. But he performed many times at Spa Little Theater. And although I don’t have a direct connection to Home Made Theater, I know that because they’ve been around for such a long time that they’re providing a service that the community needs. I think theater is so important. And Saratoga is so important to me. So it seemed like that was the right combination to bring me home.

Do you still have family here? How often do you get back?

Mom and Dad passed away. I have no family there anymore. My brother and sisters and I love to come back when we can. We were just back last October for the dedication of a pipe organ at our family church. That was the first time in many years that the four siblings had been able to be together in Saratoga. And that was a great time. And we vowed to try to do that more often. For me, it’s mainly a question of schedule. I’ve had a couple of invitations from the Philadelphia Orchestra to do something at SPAC with them, both this summer and last summer. And both times, because of my other work, I haven’t been able to do it. I still hope that someday I’ll be able to, because that would be a lot of fun.

You’ve done theater, movies and TV. Which do you prefer?

I prefer the theater. I’ve had a very good time doing all three, but the connection with an audience and the spontaneity of live theater and the challenge of live theater, the challenge of keeping something fresh over a long run, and the collaboration of live theater, I just think there’s nothing better.

You’re preparing for a new play, aren’t you?

In May I go to London. We’re rehearsing in London and then running through the summer, and then we bring it to Broadway in the fall. The play is La Bête. It’s a comedy. It was written in 1991 and was very briefly on Broadway and was not successful. But then it was done in England and was hugely successful. It’s written in the style of Molière, the French playwright. It’s inverse. It’s set back in Molière’s time, the 1600s. It’s very funny and gets into issues of high art and low art and when sticking to your ideals is foolish and when it’s the right thing to do.

What’s your role?

I play the head of a theater troupe, and we have a very wealthy patron, a princess, who has demanded that we take on a new actor. And the actor is an obnoxious boor. And so I’m trying to reconcile our obligation to our patron with our obligation to our art.

How do you feel about your 11 years on Frasier?

I’m very proud of them. I love the show. I love hearing from people that they love the show. Although it’s been a while now since I’ve seen an episode, I know that whenever I’ve happened upon one I’ve been very pleased to see how well it holds up. I think the writing is so smart, and the show’s not dated at all. It was a wonderful time in my life, and I have nothing but fond memories of Frasier. You know, Kelsey Grammer is actually here in New York. He’s in rehearsals for a musical, La Cage aux Folles. I just e-mailed him today, and we’re going to have dinner next week.

Are you anything like the character Niles Crane?

Whenever you play a role, you draw on the parts of yourself that fit the role. But in terms of just about every distinguishing characteristic of Niles, I’d say I’m almost the opposite. I’m sloppy. Most of my meals out I would have in the Greek coffeehouse downstairs. But I love classical music, as he does. Actually, I learned a lot about wine from him that I didn’t know.

The role was created for you, wasn’t it?

It was, yes. Some of the creators of the show and the casting director had seen me in theater in New York, and they were talking about the possibility of having a brother. And because I have a physical resemblance to Kelsey, they thought I might be good for that. So we had a meeting where they talked about some of their ideas for the brother. And I went away, and then they wrote the part.

You just hosted Sondheim: The Birthday Concert, the 80th birthday of Stephen Sondheim, in New York. You seem incredibly busy …

I think that’s a fair perception. I have set aside the month of April, because I’m going to England, and the play is set to run from May, and if you include the Broadway run, it will go clear through the following February. So I’ve taken April and said no to everything so that I can have time off to prepare and to have a little breather. I have been very busy, but believe me, I have no complaints.