Andréa Burns on Why The Rose Tattoo Resonates Today and Her New Character in the Upcoming West Side Story Movie

Andréa Burns is getting ready to open The Rose Tattoo, which marks her seventh Broadway production. The Roundabout Theatre Company production is set to officially open at the American Airlines Theatre on October 15, and Burns stopped by Broadway.com's #LiveatFive to get the celebrations started early and talk about bringing the Tennesse Williams play back to Broadway. "Tennessee Williams plays never feel dusty because they're so poetic," Burns said to Paul Wontorek. "But it really felt like someone really took the script and literally blew off any dust that may be there."

With Trip Cullman helming the revival, Burns feels even more excited about bringing this piece to Broadway audiences in 2019. "Trip has been so passionate about this telling of The Rose Tattoo. It's such a story of a woman discovering her sensuality, a woman who formerly is defined by her husband, stepping into actually who she is. There's an overall feeling of the toppling of the patriarchy here. I think in 2019 it really resonates."

Burns appears on stage alongside Oscar winner Marisa Tomei, who was last seen on Broadway in 2014's The Realistic Joneses. "Marisa is warm and wonderful," Burns, who also serves as Tomei's standby for the role of Serafina Delle Rose, said. "When I met her, there was something oddly familiar to me. I'm half Jewish, and Jews and Italians are the like the same pasta with different sauce. It's been amazing and familiar. I can't wait for the show to open and for everyone to be able to rest and just focus on telling the story."

Not only has Burns been preparing to open a Broadway play, she also recently wrapped filming the upcoming West Side Story movie. "I play a new character. Her name is Fausta," she said. The greatest thing that I took away from this is the generosity and collaboration that [Steven Spielberg] showed us. I think is something that I will never forget. I'm a theater creature, I never thought I was going to be hanging with Spielberg. Tony Kushner wrote this part of Fausta, and all I can say is that she's Maria's boss, but not the way you would know in the original. I'm a Maria from way back. There's no way I could've ever imagined that in my 40s being in West Side Story. It's truly excellent."

See Burns in The Rose Tattoo, now playing at the American Airlines Theatre.

Watch the full #LiveatFive episode below!