Madwomen, Melissa, Millie, and More...
A video interview with actor/director Melanie Mayron about her current role in Sandra Tsing Loh's off-Broadway play, "Madwomen of the West", and some of her other memorable parts.
Readers,
A big deal for me: this week I got to interview Melanie Mayron, a veteran actor and director whose work I’ve long admired, and whose characters have often resonated with me, and inspired me.
Right now Mayron, 71, is starring with Marilu Henner, Caroline Aaron, and Brooke Adams in Mad Women of the West, an off-Broadway comedy by Sandra Tsing Loh, playing at The Actor’s Temple on West 47th Street in Manhattan through Sunday, December 31, 2023. Mayron plays Claudia, a depressed single mom and once-acclaimed photographer who’s struggling now, and whose young adult child has stopped responding to her calls.
I went to see the play earlier this month and found it thought-provoking, funny, and delightful. My 83-year-old mom enjoyed it, too. If you’re in the New York City area, catch it in the next two weeks if you can.
The play, originally workshopped in L.A., is about four women friends in late-midlife who reunite for brunch. The characters quickly go from sharing pleasantries to surfacing old resentments, and revealing their struggles with men, money, sexism, ageism, and keeping up with changing attitudes in the culture.
They also discover that among them they have some conflicting attitudes, and it makes for interesting tension. Those moments especially render the show relatable and current. Go see it.
I couldn’t have Mayron on my, er, “show,” without also talking about some of her other stage and screen roles. It’s a long, impressive list, but here are some of her performances I’ve especially loved: In the mid-70s she appeared in Car Wash, and as Brenda’s friend on Rhoda. She starred as Susan Weinblatt in Claudia Weill’s 1978 film Girlfriends, with Christopher Guest, Eli Wallach, and Bob Balaban among others.
More recently I’ve enjoyed her performances as Janes’s prickly editor on Jane the Virgin, a 100-episode comedy/spoof of a telenovela that I’ve now watched from beginning to end twice, and identical twins Millie and Tillie on Julia on HBO/Max—two shows for which Mayron has also directed many episodes.
But the role of Mayron’s that had the greatest impact on me and several other women I know was that of Melissa Steadman on thirtysomething, which aired from 1987 to 1991—artsy-funky photographer cousin to Michael Steadman (Ken Olin), a free spirit who seemed to define herself through her creative work, rather than a marriage or motherhood.
I was intrigued by everything about Melissa: her off-beat style, a late-80s answer to the mid-70s’ Annie Hall…her informality…her career as an artist…her seeming young for her age, and somewhat out of step with her more mainstream peers…her unusual digs—some sort of loft in a non-residential area.
As I tell Mayron during our interview, at the time the show ran, I was in my first marriage—from 23-26—and was basically cosplaying earnest, staid wife Hope (Mel Harris), because that’s who I thought I was supposed to grow up to be. When I got separated, I identified more with the character of Nancy (Patricia Wettig), who separates from her husband, Elliott (Timothy Busfield).
After my divorce, I fully embraced my inner Melissa Steadman, leaving the suburbs for a precarious, messy, but more fulfilling creative life as a writer in the East Village of the 90s. Deep in my heart, though, I have always truly been “a Melissa.” (I talk about these parts as if they’re pop culture archetypes, the way others talk about Sex and the City characters. As in, “Are you a Carrie? A Samantha? A Miranda? A Charlotte?” but instead, “Are you a Hope? A Nancy? An Ellyn? A Melissa? A Susannah?”)
Mayron’s thirtysomething character exuded a playful, nonconformist expression of femininity that appealed to me, and seemed accessible and real. In a way, she gave me permission, and a blueprint, for becoming The Real Me..
Maybe some of you can relate. If so, tell me in the comments.
God, I loved thirtysomething. How did I miss the March, 2021 cast reunion? And that the whole series is now finally being streamed, on Amazon Prime? I can’t wait to rewatch. (Correction: thirtysomething is not available for streaming in the U.S. yet.)
Mayron and I also took a moment to talk about her natural skin care line, Mayron’s Goods & Supply, which she started with her late father, a chemist, and which features products for women and men, and babies, too. (It was inspired by her sister Gale’s natural skincare line, Jao Brand, also created in collaboration their father.) I’ll be ordering some of the products soon, and look forward to trying them.
Okay, that’s enough preamble. Here’s my interview with Melanie Mayron:
P.S. Forgive me—I was so excited that at moments that I got a little flustered and gushy, like Chris Farley interviewing Paul McCartney on SNL.
-Sari
I *loved* Melissa and thirtysomething. I wanted an asymmetrical haircut from the moment she first appeared on the show!
I was in college during the thirtysomething years and missed it--but I will check out the streaming. I did want to let you know that you and I are both in the saw-Jane-the-Virgin-twice-through club! I love that show.