Exclusive! The Stars of Dinner With Friends Dish About Fork Fetishes, Cold Pizza & Party Must-Haves

Heather Burns, Darren Pettie, Marin Hinkle and Jeremy Shamos are coming for Dinner! The four stage and screen favorites are currently starring in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Donald Margulies' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Dinner With Friends, playing two married couples trying to maintain their close friendship as they get older and grow apart. What starts off as a friendship full of decadent dinners and trips to Martha's Vineyard becomes strained when Tom (Darren Pettie) decides he wants to get a divorce. Below, the four stars chatted with Broadway.com about their own lasting friendships, favorite "serious talk" foods, dinner party necessities and more.


HEATHER BURNS

Current Role: Beth, an artist who must reimagine her life as a single woman when her husband, Tom, decides to call it quits.

Stage and screen cred: Romantic flicks You've Got Mail and Miss Congeniality and off-Broadway's Lobby Hero.

Don’t share a summer house with me if... you don't have one of your own, because I don't have one!

My longest friendship has lasted... since the sixth grade with my friend Olen. We went on a date to see A Fish Called Wanda. Our romance didn't survive, but we're thick as thieves to this day.

The best meal for a serious talk is... pizza. If the talk happens to go into the wee hours, pizza is still good cold.

At a dinner party, I’m the one who... brings the wine and cheese.


DARREN PETTIE

Current Role: Tom, a once-devoted husband who decides he's not happy in his relationship with his wife Beth.

Stage and Screen Cred: Ghost Town, The International, TV's Mad Men and the 2006 revival of Butley on Broadway.

Don’t share a summer house with me if you... snore.

My longest friendship has lasted... 30 years.

The best meal for a serious talk is... fried chicken.

At a dinner party, I’m the one who... steals the silverware. I can't help it. I have a fork fetish.


MARIN HINKLE

Current Role: Karen, a food and wine enthusiast who feels forced to choose sides when her best friends break up.

Stage and screen cred: TV's Two and a Half Men and Deception, as well as Broadway appearances in Electra and A Thousand Clowns.

Don’t share a summer house with me if... you have a problem with sand. I love playing with the kids at the beach so inevitably there will be sand in the house after a day of swimming in the ocean, collecting sea glass and building castles. It comes with the territory.

My longest friendship has lasted... for decades. I have two best friends from elementary school. They are like my "bonus" siblings. Actually, let's face it, they are family.

The best meal for a serious talk is... a huge healthy salad. That way you can deflect any tension by crunching on the leaves or alternatively picking through the veggies when the conversation needs a moment of repose.

At a dinner party, I’m the one who... is most excited about the dessert. I love baking. I love chocolate. And I have very little willpower.


JEREMY SHAMOS

Current Role: Gabe, who shares Karen's passion for food and is heartbroken when his two best friends decide to get a divorce.

Stage and screen cred: Broadway stints in The Assembled Parties, Glengarry Glen Ross and The Rivals, and a Tony-nominated turn in Clybourne Park.

Don’t share a summer house with me if... you are not willing to pay for everything. Meals also. And if you are buying orange juice, get fresh-squeezed. And get whole coffee beans. You don't have a coffee grinder? Wait, you expect me to come up here on weekends during the summer and you don't have the decency to have a coffee grinder? I'm not offended, actually, I'm just hurt.

My longest friendship... was with my friend Joel whom I met on the first day of first grade. Even though he lives in San Francisco, we keep in close touch. We've discovered electronic mail recently. No stamps, not even envelopes. I can't really explain it here, but it is so fast and easy. I'm not getting paid to advertise it, by the way. I just think it's a real time saver and reccommend it.

The best meal for a serious talk is... not scrambled eggs. You would think that because the egg is both a symbol of new life and also used in so many important metaphors ("don't put all your eggs in one basket," "walking on eggshells," "leggo my Eggo") that it would be an ideal meal for getting deep with a friend. In reality, they are just so jiggly it is hard to keep a straight face.

At a dinner party, I’m the one who... they forgot to invite but I come anyway and watch TV in the other room.

See Dinner With Friends at the Laura Pels Theatre through April 6!