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FROZEN's Patti Murin discusses starring in the Disney hit, truth-telling on Twitter, the musical she and hubby Colin Donnell want to lead and more.
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
"In the age of social media, there is much more of an opportunity to present yourself as you really are. In the last eight to 10 years, you have the ability to be who you want to be. I hate the word ‘brand’ so much, but you’re able to be yourself if you want to. I am not known for keeping my thoughts to myself, and I guess I never have been. I find positivity in Twitter. I really like connecting with people."
ON FAN SUPPORT
"People need to know that they are not alone and that people that they admire for their talent are also humans dealing with things. This past April, I called out of a show. I had a panic attack and was not fit to go to work. It doesn’t matter if I was working at a clothing store, on Broadway, an accounting firm-so I called out and the next day I posted about it. It felt a tiny bit scary when I pressed ‘send’ but it didn’t feel like something huge where I was like, ‘I’m going to change the world.’ It was just honesty. And the response from that was truly overwhelming. It got picked up by international news sites. I have binders full of letters that I get at the theater. I save all of the ones that are from mostly women who suffer from some sort of mental health situation. It’s important for me to get them too because this is how I know that I am not alone."
ON WANTING TO STAR IN THE PRINCESS BRIDE WITH HUBBY COLIN DONNELL
"I always knew that it was a property that people wanted to make a musical. It’s both of our favorite movies. It’s something we bonded over very, very early on, and now it is being developed."
ON ALMOST QUITTING THE BIZ
"I was at a wedding with Bobby [Lopez] and Kristen [Anderson-Lopez]. I was doing a show at Goodspeed. I was in a place where I was like, ‘Do I want to do this after this is over?’ I want to say it’s the first and only time I’ve ever been in that [mindset]. I was working; it wasn’t like I was unemployed. I went to the wedding, and they were like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to work with you.’ I was like, ‘Well, I guess I can’t quit the business if Bobby and Kristen Lopez want to work with me.’"
ON NERDS' BROADWAY CANCELLATION
"It was the last day in the studio before we were supposed to go into the theater. We were literally singing through a number. I think we were singing the lyric, ‘Live your dream.’ It’s hard not to find the comedy in that. They were like, ‘Stop!’ It was rough for everybody, but I felt especially bad for the people who were going to be making their Broadway debuts with this. Everyone was so, so good. I just wanted everyone to be able to see what these people could do. I loved it so much, and it was such a good group of people. Our interns automatically went out and got bottles of wine. Then, I think we got brown liquor and pizza. We leaned on each other. We went back the next day and did a run-through for our creative team and our guests, and then we all just went our separate ways."
ON A RELUCTANT INVITATION
“Two nights before we started rehearsal for LOVE LABOUR'S LOST, I had a small party at my house. [Colin Donnell] lived two blocks away, and I was like, ‘I guess I should invite him.’ He came and was one of the last ones to leave. I walked him out to the elevator and just kissed him. I was drunk, and he was cute. I went back inside, and my best friend was there. I was like, ‘Oh, he’s really cute, isn’t he?’ And she was like, ‘Uhhhhh yeah!’ We had met when we were babies. I was in XANADU; he was in JERSEY BOYS. We were children. We started rehearsals after that for LOVE LABOUR'S LOST. We were like, ‘All right, I guess we’ll go get some sushi.’ It was the exact opposite of every relationship I’ve been in which is why I think it worked.”