Lost Lake Stars Tracie Thoms & John Hawkes on First Impressions, Scary Movies & Hot Dates at Chipotle

Getting along with your co-star is important in any production, but when you're starring in a two-hander, it's imperative. Luckily, Lost Lake stars Tracie Thoms and John Hawkes became fast friends early on in the rehearsal process, and are having lots of fun cracking each other up onstage and off during the play’s limited engagement at New York City Center. The Manhattan Theatre Club production tells the story of Veronica (Thoms), a no-nonsense single mom who rents the rundown cabin of eccentric loner Hogan (Hawkes) for the summer. Broadway.com spent the evening with the pair to chat about meeting for the first time, their undying love of Chipotle and why working on David Auburn’s new play is such a moving experience.

Q: When you guys met, what were your first impressions of one another?

TRACIE THOMS: I didn’t know what to expect at all. I try to be as neutral as I can, but I had a feeling it was gonna be good. When I met John, it was way better than I imagined. I was like, “Wow, I can’t wait to work with this guy!”

JOHN HAWKES: I felt really supported by Tracie from the get-go. It’s a painful process, rehearsing a play, particularly a new play. But I feel lucky to be on a team with Tracie. I feel like the luckiest actor in New York.

THOMS: Aww... [Sniffles.]

Q: Are you getting choked up over there, Tracie?

HAWKES: Oh, I tell you that all the time.

THOMS: Yeah, but still!

Q: What do you admire the most about each other?

THOMS: If I bought a ticket and I was just in the audience watching John, I’d be like, “How are you doing that?” The layers of his work, it’s daunting. I mean, the guy from Deadwood?! I don’t wanna know how I got here—somebody else must have said no. I don’t know who it was. I don’t wanna know, but he's stuck with me now!

HAWKES: I don’t think there were any no’s!

THOMS: Right before we started working together, I had an impulse to start watching all of John’s movies. So I watched Winter’s Bone two days before we started rehearsal...

HAWKES: What do I owe ya? [Laughs.]

THOMS: It’s amazing how he can accomplish so much by doing so little. I’ve been aspiring to do more of that in my own work, because I came from musical theater—dinner theater. The bigger the lashes, the better, honey! Get out there and do it, BAM! [Laughs.]

Q: Have you guys bonded over anything during this process?

HAWKES: Oh, we talk about food.

THOMS: We talk about food a lot. Chipotle! Oh my God, I love Chipotle.

Q: So do you grab Chipotle for each other before the show?

THOMS: We’ve gone to Chipotle together.

HAWKES: We have!

Q: Hot date at Chipotle?

THOMS: Hot date at Chipotle!

HAWKES: Oh, and Tracie also loves horror films. I’m not against them, but she has a real weakness for that.

THOMS: We were rehearsing in October and every night I’d go home and watch a different horror movie, and I’d come in and act out the whole movie for John: “And then she ran...and the closet opened...and then the people jumped out of the closet!”

Q: Lost Lake runs the gamut from heartbreaking to hilarious. What do you hope the audience will walk away thinking about?

THOMS: It’s about these two flawed people who would probably never under any circumstances meet, and they’re both drawn to each other and feel an impulse to take care of each other. I think it really shows the humanity of these people. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together.

HAWKES: I just want people to feel something. Hopefully the audience has seen us connect and we’ve connected with them on some level. Whether they feel more alive or less alone, or just laugh, I want them to feel something.

See Lost Lake through December 21 at New York City Center.