Key Takeaways
- Laurie Metcalf openly discusses the emotional difficulty of working again with producer Scott Rudin after his 2021 bullying and workplace‑abuse allegations.
- She cites Rudin’s public apology and therapy work as evidence of possible rehabilitation, arguing that denying people a chance to change would be unjust.
- Metcalf’s desire to stage Little Bear Ridge Road on Broadway sparked a conflict with her longtime artistic home, Steppenwolf Theatre, which refused to associate with Rudin.
- To allow the Broadway transfer, Metcalf threatened to leave Steppenwolf unless the theater relinquished the play’s rights, a move that left her feeling torn about her relationship with the company.
- The profile also revisits Metcalf’s early TV breakthrough on Roseanne, her admiration for Roseanne Barr’s self‑made career, and the painful aftermath of Barr’s racist tweet that led to the show’s cancellation.
- Metcalf expresses lingering sadness over the broken friendship with Barr, noting she has not spoken to her since the reboot ended, yet she refrains from assigning simple blame.
- Throughout the interview, Metcalf underscores a yearning for artistic daring and a nostalgic wish to reunite with the “Old Guard” who taught her to be brave, even if it means courting controversy.
Laurie Metcalf’s recent appearance in the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman has placed her back in the spotlight, not only for her performance alongside Nathan Lane but also for the candid reflections she offered in a lengthy New Yorker profile. The piece, written by Michael Schulman, captures a moment when Metcalf became visibly emotional while discussing her renewed collaboration with producer Scott Rudin, a figure whose professional reputation underwent a turbulent period in 2021. Following multiple allegations of bullying and workplace abuse from former staff members, Rudin stepped back from Broadway productions. His hiatus proved temporary; he returned last fall as the producer of Little Bear Ridge Road, a play that premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and later transferred to New York under his guidance, alongside co‑producer Barry Diller and director Joe Mantello—who also helms the current Death of a Salesman revival.
When Schulman asked Metcalf why she chose to work with Rudin again, she hesitated, pulling a scrap of notebook paper from her fanny pack. She had reread Rudin’s recent New York Times interview, in which he discussed his therapy, apologized for past behavior, and expressed a commitment to personal change. Metcalf summarized those points haltingly: “He talked about his therapy, he apologized, he owned what he said, he reflected on it… He was in the process of rehabilitation.” She then voiced a broader philosophical stance, suggesting that unless society categorically rejects the possibility of genuine rehabilitation, it would be unfair to deny individuals the opportunity to try. Her voice trailed off, and she admitted uncertainty, noting that she anticipated the question and felt uneasy about answering it.
The tension surrounding Rudin’s involvement extended beyond personal sentiment into institutional loyalty. Little Bear Ridge Road had been developed at Steppenwolf, the theater where Metcalf launched her career decades earlier. When Rudin expressed interest in moving the production to Broadway, Steppenwolf balked at collaborating with him given the recent allegations. Metcalf, deeply attached to the company, found herself at a crossroads. According to the New Yorker, she told Steppenwolf that she would quit her longtime theatrical home unless it surrendered the rights to the play, allowing the Broadway staging to proceed. The theater ultimately conceded, and the show moved forward with Rudin as producer. Reflecting on the episode, Metcalf became tearful, saying she could not fully articulate her feelings about the rift, describing it as something she “hasn’t even figured out for myself.” She expressed a longing to celebrate her Steppenwolf roots with the “Old Guard,” the mentors who taught her to be daring, without being overly constrained by contemporary sensitivities. In a nostalgic turn, she likened the desired reunion to “getting the band back together for one last tour,” preferring to avoid labeling it a 50th‑anniversary celebration and instead framing it as a spontaneous, bold gathering.
The profile also revisits Metcalf’s early television success on Roseanne, where she played Jackie, the sister of Roseanne Barr’s titular character. She recalls being initially intimidated by Barr, admiring her self‑made trajectory in the entertainment industry. The two developed a strong working relationship, which led to their reunion for the 2018 revival of Roseanne. That revival was abruptly canceled after nine episodes when Barr posted a racist tweet targeting Valerie Jarrett, an adviser to former President Barack Obama, and subsequently engaged in a series of QAnon‑inflected rants. Metcalf learned of the cancellation while performing in Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women in New York, seeing the news flash across a television chyron. When she returned for the re‑branded spin‑off The Conners, she recalls a pervasive sadness among the cast and crew. She has not spoken to Barr since the original show ended, describing their parting as a simple goodbye without ongoing conflict. When asked whether she feels anger toward Barr for “blowing up her own show,” Metcalf laughed ruefully, saying she does not know how to answer the question.
Throughout the interview, Metcalf’s reflections reveal a performer grappling with the complexities of loyalty, forgiveness, and artistic freedom. She navigates the fraught terrain of working with a controversial producer, the ache of potentially severing ties with a formative theater institution, and the bittersweet memory of a television partnership that ended amid public scandal. Her narrative underscores a desire to honor the past while remaining open to the possibility of change—both in others and in herself—while still craving the daring, unfiltered spirit that defined her early years in theater.