Ben Stiller Shares His Blue Leaves Family Tree With Matt Lauer on Today

Ben Stiller has a long and happy history with John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves: His mom, Anne Meara, played Bunny Flingus in the original 1971 off-Broadway production, Stiller made his Broadway debut in 1986 as young Ronnie Shaughnessy, and now he’s starring as would-be songwriter Artie Shaughnessy in the current Broadway revival. Matt Lauer summed things up a bit differently when Stiller appeared on the April 21 edition of Today, pointing out that the star is currently having an affair with a character once played by his own mother. “Yes, eww, Matt," Stiller quipped. "My mom and I are doing some therapy together." Kidding aside, Stiller praised the “invigorating, challenging” experience of acting onstage. Click on to see the conversation, then head to the Walter Kerr Theatre to see Stiller in the show, which opens on April 25.