Debra Messing on Perfecting Her Irish Brogue & Drinking Bone Marrow for Outside Mullingar

We're sure Irish eyes are smiling on the hardworking Debra Messing! The Outside Mullingar star is apparently still mastering her Irish brogue for the production, according to MSN Entertainment. However, we know that she'll have it down by the time she makes her Broadway debut in Tony winner John Patrick Shanley’s new romantic comedy when it opens January 23 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Messing reveals that the Irish accent is the biggest obstacle for her: "My script's covered with dialect notes. I'm nervous about the challenges, and the brogue's not quite there yet.” The Smash star is making use of her training at New York University: “I'd learned the phonetic alphabet in a three-year speech class, so I knew how it needed to be. And I've met with a dialect coach, who's perfecting the Midlands Ireland sound."

Messing also revealed that she is on an odd interesting “strengthening” diet consisting of high protein quinoa grain for breakfast, drinking bone marrow broth and omitting coffee, alcohol, sugar and gluten to get her body in eight-shows-a-week-shape.

Directed by Tony winner Doug Hughes, Outside Mullingar also stars Tony winner Brian F. O’Bryne, Peter Maloney and Dearbhla Molloy.