Ivy’s famous Broadway mom will make her debut in Monday’s episode of Smash — much to her overshadowed daughter’s dismay — and it looks like she’s also reserved tickets to opening night.
Bernadette Peters, who plays Mama Rose, er, Leigh Conroy, tells TVGuide.com that she’ll return to the set of Smash next week to film the season finale. Is that because she’s attending Ivy’s big night as Marilyn? “I’m in the finale. I come to see my daughter, yes,” Peters says, coyly. (No word on whether it’s a conciliatory visit because, we suspect, Karen winds up clinching the role.)
We talked to Peters about her role on Smash, Karen’s lack of desperation (shouldn’t she be wanting that part a whole lot more?) and the perilous life of a theater performer:
In Smash, you play Ivy’s mom Leigh, a theater grand dame. When she visits a rehearsal for Marilyn, the cast and crew go wild and beg you to perform on the spot. I have to know: Does that happen to you every time you do a new show?
Bernadette Peters: (Laughs.) Well, people don’t say, “Get up and sing me a song!” Actually, people usually a have a lot on their minds when they’re about to start a new show. They’re very gracious and very sweet but they’re concentrating on what they need to do. Now kids, on the other hand, who have less to focus on, can get very, very excited. I can’t recall singing on command for any though.
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