Mr. Saturday Night's Shoshana Bean on Her Billy Crystal 'Masterclass' & Looking Back on Her Broadway Career

Shoshana Bean is back on Broadway in the Billy Crystal-led Mr. Saturday Night, which opens at the Nederlander Theatre on April 27. Bean sat down with Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek on The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal at the Civilian Hotel to talk about her Broadway return and more.

"I'm terrified of him because he is who he is. He's a legend—but he's lovely!" Bean said of Crystal. "I'm watching a genius at work. It's a masterclass."

Bean made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Hairspray—20 years ago this summer. "I'm proud of that number," she said. "I think that that girl would be over the moon if she could get a sneak peek at what was coming for her."

As theater fans know well, the golden-voiced favorite went on to play Elphaba in Wicked. After her time in Oz, Bean was away from the Broadway for over a decade, keeping busy with the release of music, performing alongside Ariana Grande and wowing audiences across the country in shows like the stage adaptation of Beaches, Funny Girl and Songs for a New World.

"[Broadway] never was not a focus or an interest. I just have so many goals and so many things I want to do. After Wicked, it just felt like, 'Well, I can check that off the list.' That was a massive undertaking," she said. "Waitress was a gift from the heavens, and this is another gift that dropped in my lap. It's really just based on what I feel like I can bring myself and my heart to. I don't know how I got so lucky—truly!"

Watch the interview below, and head here to check your local listings for The Broadway Show. Hosted by Emmy-winning anchor Tamsen Fadal, it is the only nationally syndicated weekly theater news program.