Quotable Quotes: An Ovation for Sarah Jones' B'way Opening of Bridge & Tunnel

WHERE: Bows at the Helen Hayes Theatre, Opening Night Party at the U.N.

WHEN: Thursday, January 26, 2006

"All of the ideas come from real people. I don't base any one character on any one person, but the people I meet inspire me everyday, so it's really hard not to be in that mode. I meet so many people who are really inspirational--not because they're rich and famous, but because they're not a household name." --Sarah Jones, Bridge & Tunnel's performer, writer and co-conceiver on the basis for her show

"Like everybody else, I saw Sarah and flipped out. Once you see Sarah for the first time, there's nothing quite like it. It's almost like your first girlfriend or something." --Director Tony Taccone

"I guess I'm kind of an editor, a muse; I sit around, like most partners, and say, 'I like that, or I don't like that.' And then she writes everything. The characters--I couldn't write for them, because they write themselves. And they're so real that anything I try doesn't really fit. I may have a line, at most, or a few words, but it's all Sarah." --Bridge & Tunnel co-conceiver Steve Colman, who is married to Jones

"I really pay attention to people. So when I say, 'Oh, I really care about other people, it's not just this hokey, 'We Are the World' type of thing. It really is that I find my fellow human beings very interesting. So I study, I watch how people walk, or how the hand might shake… I watch all of those things, and then I just practice them." --Sarah Jones on the origin and evolution of her characters

"The first time you see Sarah, the first character's always very engaging. The second character, you're like, 'Wow, what is this?' By the third character, you're like, 'I can't believe what I'm seeing!' Because she disappears inside the characters. You can't find her. Usually, especially nowadays with the emphasis on film acting and playing persona, you're conscious of watching the person playing these parts. With Sarah, you're sitting there going, Where is she? Not only that, but she's astonishingly funny, and smart, and politically engaged, and courageous, and all these factors combined make her an extraordinary presence on stage." --Tony Taccone

"The characters are always present and always so real. Even when we're out in our apartment alone together, and I'm hanging out with Rasheed [laughs]. I have a lot of people in the apartment, and it never gets lonely." --Steve Colman on being surrounded by Jones' characters

"Having a champion like Meryl [Streep, the show's original off-Broadway producer]--that's not something you would ever bank on as a young artist. It just goes to show, if you follow the things you believe in, you never know who you'll meet along the way." --Sarah Jones

"[Director] Tony [Taccone] is fantastic. He is a deeply spiritual kind of guide as a director, and that's really important. I haven't worked with a lot of directors; I'm an untrained actor, and he really respects my boundaries and understands how unique it is to be an untrained actor doing this kind of work. So he really helps me tap into all of the inner strength that I need to do this." --Sarah Jones

"I really can't say that I have a favorite [character]. I love Lorraine because she's been with Sarah for so long, and so I feel like she's my grandmother. But it's kind of like picking your favorite child. I feel a little bad saying who's my favorite in public." --Steve Colman

"I'm probably one of the only people on Broadway who hopes you don't remember me, right?" --Sarah Jones

"Directing Sarah Jones is like managing the New York Yankees. You get outta the way and let 'em play." --Tony Taccone