Women on the Verge Cabbie Danny Burstein on Moonlighting in Boardwalk Empire

Danny Burstein can’t share any scoop about the December 5 season finale of HBO’s hot new drama Boardwalk Empire, in which he plays the recurring role of casino boss Lolly Steinman. “I can’t even say whether I’m in the episode,” Burstein says with a laugh. “They’re very secretive.” But the two-time Tony nominee, now on Broadway as the comedic Taxi Driver in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, is happy to chat about what makes Boardwalk special: “the brilliant writing by Terence Winter and the fact that Martin Scorsese set the style of the show by directing the pilot.”

Burstein appeared in that initial episode after Scorsese’s casting director, Ellen Lewis, spotted him in The Drowsy Chaperone and South Pacific. “I thought that everyone would be terribly nervous about working with Scorsese, but it was just the opposite: He makes such a calm, relaxed atmosphere that you can go in and do great work.” Afterward, the Oscar-winning director caught Burstein’s performance as Billis in South Pacific "and he could not have been nicer."

Lolly’s most dramatic moments in Boardwalk Empire came in episode eight, when lead character Nucky Thompson’s sheriff brother, Eli, was shot in the casino. “All of my scenes so far have been with Steve Buscemi (as gangster/politico Nucky), who happens to be one of the great people on the planet,” Burstein says. “He is such a smart, warm, generous actor. You can’t picture anyone else playing the role.”

Filmed in Brooklyn (and already renewed by HBO), Boardwalk Empire has featured plenty of stage actors, from leads Michael Shannon and Michael Stulhbarg to featured players Dana Ivey, Virginia Kull and Burstein. “They love theater people," he says, "and it’s given New York actors a wonderful new place to work.”

As for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Burstein says, “The more we do it, the better the show plays. This was a roller-coaster journey, but nobody was ever in panic mode. We’ve found our rhythm now, and it’s just a fun, fun show for the audience and fun for us to play. I mean, I’m on stage every day with Patti LuPone and Brian Stokes Mitchell! It’s ridiculous.”