Elizabeth Stanley on Not Pressuring Herself Creatively in Quarantine & the Jagged Little Pill Fan Family

Though pottery classes and trips to Connecticut Muffin are currently out of the question due to social distancing, Jagged Little Pill beltress Elizabeth Stanley is finding ways to fill her time in quarantine. The talented performer is hunkered down at her fiancé's family's house in Maryland, she has been enjoying tie dying t-shirts and Zoom parties. Unlike her troubled character Mary Jane Healy, she's been taking care of herself with yoga, meditation and phone therapy. "Especially with the official announcement that things are going to be postponed at least until June, it feels good to put [Mary Jane] away for a little bit," Stanley told Paul Wontorek in a recent interview on #LiveatFive: Home Edition. "That's a long way away to be keeping a grip on something. I think it's better to let it go and then come back fresh."

This is not to say Stanley doesn't miss Jagged Little Pill deeply. "It's special to feel like you're telling a story that's really speaking to people," she said of the musical, which features the songs of Alanis Morissette and tells the story of the seemingly picture-perfect Healy family. "I was on such a freight train—an exciting one! Then the emergency brake got pulled." Since opening at the Broadhurst Theatre on December 5, 2019, the musical has developed a dedicated fan base: "It feels like a bigger family than just the people that you see at work every day."

Stanley shared her reaction to the news of the Broadway shutdown on March 13 and the recent report that this will continue through June 7: "It's so different and so personal for each one of us because every person's life is unique to them, but I felt like I let myself be sad right away," Stanley said. "Right when Broadway was like, 'Don't come to work. It's over,' I was like, 'Wow.' I definitely shed some tears. I spent a couple days feeling really sad. I think it's just a slow acceptance that this is happening. It just is. I'm trying to make it feel like the way that it felt after we did [Jagged Little Pill] at ART, when there was a little bit of like, 'Are we coming in this season or next season?' Here we are again. We're waiting."

Some days are more challenging than others during this crisis. Stanley spoke about Adam Schlesinger, Cry-Baby's Tony-nominated songwriter who passed away from complications with coronavirus. "I always felt sort of intimidated by him when we were doing Cry-Baby. I was just young enough and he was sort of rock and roll. I was like, 'You're very cool,'" she recalled with a laugh. "We recorded the Cry-Baby cast album much later, a couple of years ago. It was so good to reconnect with him then. I'm really grateful that I have that memory of that time with him. I think his songwriting is so smart."

Stanley shared that she is trying not to pressure herself to force her own creative work during this difficult time. "I'm trying not to beat myself up about not necessarily being super creatively productive. I think I will be, but right now. I still feel like I've been adjusting," she said. "I love painting and watercolor. I've always wanted to write a children's book. I just moved in with my fiancé. We've been trying to figure out different artwork for our apartment. Maybe we need something here, and I'm like, 'Oh, well maybe I can make that.'" The most important project of all? "I started working on making humorous Easter bonnets. We have a family Zoom scheduled for Sunday, and the deal is that everyone has to have something on their head," she joked. "Interpret that how you will." Pics or it didn't happen, El Stans!

Watch Stanley talk about Jagged Little Pill and more in the full episode below!