Emily Skeggs on Her Canine Childhood & Making Her Broadway Debut (in Tighty-Whities) in Fun Home

Age: “I’m 35. No, actually I’m 12.”

Hometown: New York, NY

Current Role: A heartfelt and hilarious Broadway debut as Medium Alison, a college student exploring her sexual identity and navigating her relationship with her father in the musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home.

“I grew up seeing Broadway shows with my parents. When I was four, we saw Guys and Dolls and then I went around the house singing ‘Take Back Your Mink.’ My parents were like, 'What have we done to her?!'”

“My parents used to call me the Wolf Child, because I was a really rambunctious kid. I would get into these horrible temper tantrums where I would snarl and bite people. I was just crazy. My mom would say, 'Emily, don't bite.' And I'd say, 'I might bite...'”

“I admire Jeff Bridges and Frances McDormand because they have a lot of cross-disciplinary careers. He’s an accomplished guitarist and visual artist, and when she won her Emmy, she plugged her show at the Wooster Group. I love that so much.”

“Getting cast in Fun Home off-Broadway was really abrupt. I got a call on Monday, I went in the next day for the audition, got the role Wednesday morning and started working that night. The stars aligned!”

“It’s definitely awkward being onstage in my underwear—in boys’ tighty-whities. There are some days I forget, and I suddenly realize, oh my god, I’m in front of a bunch of people and I don’t have my pants on! I spent the last couple of months doing a lot of squats.”

“Playing a real person going through this very big moment, there's a little bit of pressure. I want Alison Bechdel to feel that she’s properly represented. But I do get to ask her directly, “How do you feel?” And she gets to say to me, ‘I feel great,’ which is so amazing.”