Big Love's Rebecca Naomi Jones & Bobby Steggert on Getting Messy, Being Naked & Why They Hate Karaoke

Big Love is making a big bang at off-Broadway’s Pershing Square Signature Center, where fists, fake blood and cake frosting fly in a supersized wedding gone wrong. Loosely inspired by The Danaids by Aeschylus, the "wildly theatrical" extravaganza written by Charles Mee and helmed by Tina Landau tells the story of fifty brides who flee their grooms and seek refuge in an Italian villa. Broadway favorites Rebecca Naomi Jones and Bobby Steggert lead the pack—and don’t worry, even though it’s a play, not a musical, there’s plenty of impromptu singing. Broadway.com spent the afternoon with Steggert and Jones to find out why they’ve been ordered to drink booze after the show and what it’s like to bare it all onstage.

Q: Is Big Love the first time you guys are working together?

BOBBY STEGGERT: Yeah, but I’ve always been an admirer—

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: Well, we did a reading together of Pretty Filthy.

BOBBY STEGGERT: Oh my god, you’re right! I completely forgot about that. I played a corn-fed Iowa boy who got into porn.

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: And I played a bunch of different porn stars. [Laughs.]

Q: When did you first see Rebecca onstage, Bobby?

BOBBY STEGGERT: Passing Strange. I was like, “Who the f*ck is that girl?!” Her spirit was so undeniable.

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: [Laughs.]



Q: You both have really cool entrances in Big Love—Rebecca, you’re completely naked. Is that scary?

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: It’s the first time I’ve ever been naked onstage, but the fact that it happens right away in the show is helpful in terms of my stress level. I just get it over with. In my dressing room and on my way to the stage, I’m going through a lot of self-loathing and all that body image nonsense. But when I’m actually doing the play, I’m luckily not too caught up in it.

Q: Not to be outdone by Bobby, who climbs down a rope from the ceiling in his first scene.

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: Bobby’s really good at climbing things.

BOBBY STEGGERT: I was such a tree climber when I was a kid. If I saw a tree, I’d be off, my parents wouldn’t know where I was, and they’d find me in the boughs of a tree.

Q: This is a really physical show—you guys are literally slamming yourselves into walls. How are you holding up?

BOBBY STEGGERT: I’m sore all the time.

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: Yep, all the time.

BOBBY STEGGERT: I take a bath and drink every night. Alcohol, not water.

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: Which actually, [fight director] Rick Sordelet suggested.

Q: Really?

BOBBY STEGGERT: Yeah, and the massage therapist said, “Have a Guinness.” It’s known for helping your muscles.

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: I should probably drink more.

BOBBY STEGGERT: Alcohol or water?

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: Um, alcohol! [Laughs.]



Q: You guys sing so many great cover songs in this play, from Michael Jackson to Jason Mraz—what are your go-to karaoke songs?

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: Bjork’s “It’s Oh So Quiet.” Or sometimes I like to do a little Stevie Nicks.

BOBBY STEGGERT: I will not sing karaoke, I refuse!

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: Well, I just sort of lied. Because it’s after much teeth pulling that I will even sing karaoke.

BOBBY STEGGERT: I’m scared to! I’d probably be terrible at it. I’d take it too seriously and judge myself.

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: Me too, I don’t find it fun. It’s stressful because it feels like we’re supposed to be really good at it.

Q: You guys get filthy in this show—between fake blood and dirt and paint, how do you ever get it off?

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: When I get home I have so much cake icing and rice in my hair.

BOBBY STEGGERT: Wow yeah, how do you get that stuff out of your hair?

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: I do a lot of shaking and digging.

Q: Big Love is set in sunny Italy. If you could escape this sludgy NYC winter, where would you want to go?

BOBBY STEGGERT: I’d love to be skiing right now. I want to take the winter and make it mine! [Laughs.]

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: I wouldn’t mind being in Greece, or maybe the south of France. Is It cold there right now? Or Thailand. I’ve got options, but I don’t have money, so it’s not happening!

BOBBY STEGGERT: Yeah, we make about three dollars a week and we’re basically breaking our bodies.

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: All for the theater! [Laughs.]

Q: Big Love is really an indescribable evening—but will you take a shot at describing it?

REBECCA NAOMI JONES: This show is wildly theatrical. It forces both the cast and the audience to have an emotional experience. It's something we all in the room can share together at the same time. It’s almost a weird...dance-like event. And like, your guts get stabbed.



See Bobby Steggert and Rebecca Naomi Jones in Big Love at the Pershing Square Signature Center through March 15.