The West Wing Alums Share Favorite Allison Janney Memories on Opening Night of Broadway’s Other Desert Cities

The opening night red carpet of Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities Broadway revival turned into a The West Wing reunion as stars turned up to celebrate the play's cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lily Rabe, Joe Keery, Ed Harris and Allison Janney.

Janney, who earned four of her eight Emmy Awards for her work as White House press secretary C.J. Cregg on The West Wing, had a slew of former co-stars show up to celebrate her return to Broadway, including Emmy winner Richard Schiff, Emmy nominee Janel Moloney and Emmy winner Bradley Whitford, who also returns to the boards this season in Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men.

"There's no such thing as too much Alison Janney," says Whitford, who can be seen back on screen with Janney in the hit Netflix series The Diplomat. "I remember very specifically, not to sound corny, but first year of West Wing, wondering what it was about her that made her so great," he says. "And it was a couple of things; one is, she's not acting. And the other is, when she has a comic moment, she digs into the truth, and when she has an emotional moment, she finds the humor. And she doesn't know it, it's just an instinct she has. She never, in the most dire circumstances, has an irony deficiency. It's amazing because when I met her, she was very unknown, she'd just done an off-Broadway show and she was somebody who only the casting directors knew about and now she's this institution."

Schiff, known for playing White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler on The West Wing, reveals that his relationship with Janney predates their work together on screen. "I remember being a fan of hers when she was off-Broadway," he says. "I saw her at the auditions for The West Wing and I remember thinking, 'Wow, if these guys hire her, they know what they're doing.' And sure enough we became very, very, very good friends very quickly. There's no one I enjoyed working with more than Allison."

Moloney, who won hearts as Donna Moss on The West Wing, describes Janney as "the most major, lovely, kind person" and shares what she learned from working with her over the years. "It's hard to describe how much I learned from her, but mostly just the ease in which she works," she says. "She's very loosey-goosey and she's such a natural. I'm not sure how hard she's working at it in that she's just so naturally gifted, but she's incredibly kind to people."

Janney is a two-time Tony nominee for her work in 9 to 5 and A View From the Bridge. Her other Broadway credits include Six Degrees of Separation and Present Laughter.

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