Mrs. Maisel at the Y

On February 18, Prime Video will release the much-anticipated Season 4 of the award-winning hit The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a show with 54 Emmy nominations and 20 wins to date. Set in the 1950s and 1960s, the story centers on a well heeled, Upper West Side housewife who, reacting to her husband’s infidelity, accidentally discovers she has a flair for stand-up comedy and decides to make a career of it against considerable odds.

Stars Rachel Brosnahan (Miriam “Midge” Maisel), Tony Shalhoub (her father, Abe Weissman), Marin Hinkle (her mother, Rose Weissman) Michael Zegen (her ex-husband, Michael Maisel) Caroline Aaron (Midge’s mother-in-law Shirley) and Luke Kirby (Lenny Bruce) appeared at the 92Y interviewed by journalist Jackie Cutler. Missing from the terrific ensemble was Kevin Pollack (who plays Shirley’s husband), and the great Alex Borstein (Midge’s agent, Susie Myerson)

At the end of last season, Midge has lost her tour job for haplessly outing the artist whose stage she shared. Brosnahan tells us the new chapter starts with the comic and her agent “fueled by desperation, with nothing to lose…She returns to that indescribable spark that makes her her.”

Rachel Brosnahan

Now all but homeless in Queens, Abe has gone from being a tenured Columbia professor to writing for The Village Voice which pays almost nothing. Shaloub is gratified the writers don’t make his character a “functionary.”  Upheaval, he says, “shakes us out of our complacency, giving the characters a chance to reinvent themselves.” Having lost their classic six apartment – “never let that happen,” warns Hinkle, raising an eyebrow – Rose has had to find a way to support herself. She becomes a matchmaker, something with which the actress has apparently had real life experience. Hinkle volunteers her services to the audience. One woman takes her up on it with a submitted question at the end.

It’s clear the host assumes Joel wants to and will get back with Midge. Zegen counters that the two seem to be doing perfectly well on their own. “Why mess it up? There’s always going to be love, but for now…Unlike other shows, romantic entanglements are not the main driver in Midge’s life.” True and exemplary. Aaron/Shirley confirms the cast is having as much fun as they seem to be. “Early on, Kevin (Kevin Pollack who plays her husband) said to me, “’You know what? We’re the comic relief in a comedy.”

Kirby is the only actor playing a real person. Cutler asks how he prepared. As there’s considerable material (including video) on Lenny Bruce, he had much to reference. His reply is that though they honor the artist, details are not slavishly adhered to. Later this evening, however, Kirby refers to watching and duplicating the artist’s pauses and interjections – “ah” “hmm” – a prime example of brushed over modesty vis-à-vis attention paid.

Tony Shaloub

This season opens in 1960. The host inquires what each actor imagines will happen with their character over the next few years. Kirby, of course, doesn’t have to imagine. “Lenny Bruce was looking to get high a lot…He fought hard against outdated mores.” Aaron thinks Shirley, who has confidence in her values, won’t change at all. “Already liberated, she may feel women’s lib is unnecessary. Everybody will be catching up to her by the time the 60s are over.”

“I just hope they don’t kill me off,” Zegen/Michael says with a laugh. “I stopped trying to predict some time ago.” Hinkle suggests Rose might go back to Paris (as shed did when trying to find herself earlier in the series) even taking the matchmaking business abroad (spinoff?). Shaloub likes to imagine Abe might expand his writing, perhaps into op-eds and that he end up leading political protests. “I have this fantasy he gets a lot more facial hair…”

Brosnahan is decisive. “I just know that Midge is gonna drop some acid and burn her bra at a women’s lib protest. She didn’t intend to become a feminist, but when her life fell apart, she realized she had rose-colored glasses on… Midge starts out cutting new paths for herself, then realizes her voice might be used to help others.”

Marin Hinkle

Affection for their characters and each other is palpable. One gets no sense of affectation with this group of veterans. They’re quick to praise in specifically observant terms. Humor is omnipresent.

Cutler asks about the reaction of each actor’s parents when they committed to the business. Brosnahan/Midge says hers were “horrified,” that her father thought it was going to be a hobby. It was not until a massage therapist recognized his last name and praised Rachel as “that girl from House of Cards,’ he realized people were watching her perform. Shaloub/Abe dispatches the question quickly. “I was the second youngest of ten children. By the time I was making life choices, my parents were over it, over me. They didn’t care much.” This is the only time the self-possessed actor appears if momentarily uncomfortable.

Hinkle/Rose says theater wasn’t a part of her home life, but when she started regaling her serious mother (a judge) with stories from school productions that made her laugh, acting seemed plausible. Still, “to this day, when l come home and talk about what I’m doing, my dad says, ‘Have you thought about teaching?’” Zegen/Michael also gets “the teaching thing” at home. It was “beat into” his head that he needed a backup plan. As a result of this, he spent a regretful year working in his father’s law firm. In the end, support was forthcoming.

The droll Aaron/Shirley has a sign up in her kitchen: Don’t tell my mother I’m an actor. She thinks I play piano in a whorehouse. She attended a summer camp where the choice was to climb a mountain or act in a bunk show. “That’s true.” Her mother taught her, “Never take away someone’s song.”

Luke Kirby

Kirby/Lenny Bruce declares himself shy. His mom told him later that when he announced his choice she “had to work very hard not to laugh in my face.” During one trip home the actor discovered an old diary where he imagined himself in the future “an exceptionally famous actor who won a Tony for Waiting for Godot with Nicholas Cage.” Then it said, “he’ll be returning to New York this fall to play Lenny Bruce in Lenny. Isn’t that wild?!” He swears it’s true.

“One of the joys of the series is that it’s old New York,” the host says. Have you learned anything about the time/city?” Shaloub/Abe, who didn’t grow up here, comments that what was a massive amount of mom and pop businesses has been homogenized so it’s bittersweet to be on location in the period. Hinkle/Rose notes that “we all had a beginning that came on a boat to this country.”  Zegen/Michael remarks that it’s a pleasure to escape cell phones and social media.

“Who’s the actual funniest person in the cast,” Cutler asks. “That would be me,” Shaloub quips, “‘going out on a limb.” Aaron/Shirley seconds that. Brosnahan suggests it’s a tie between Alex Borstein (as Midge’s agent) and Shaloub. “Borstein,” Shaloub chimes in with a grin, is “the most irreverent, foul-mouthed person.” “Tony delights in the comedy,” Brosnahan adds. “No one laughs at his own jokes like he does.” Zegen/Michael notes. “He has the ability to take a throw-away line and get a laugh out of it.”

Michael Zegen

Audience questions include: Which love interest do you think Midge belongs with? Hinkle/Rose answers, “Susie.” Shaloub tells us Abe started by assuming the couple should stay together, then as his own marriage falls apart, he realizes sometimes you just have to let it go. Shaloub then answers, “What was Abe’s most empowering moment – quitting Bell Labs, seeing your byline or exercising in a unitard?” “I have to say the romper,” come the response.

The company is asked if each could play a different character in the series, who would it be? Brosnahan/Midge would be Susie. Shaloub/Abe would be Lenny Bruce. Hinkle/Rose would be Shirley -“for a day.” Zegen/Michael would like to be Midge “for a day and have everyone paid to laugh.” Aaron/Shirley would like to know what it’s like to be her own child i.e.Joel. And Kirby/Lenny has “a real sweet spot” for Rose. “How can you not blush,” Hinkle responds.

In closing, each actor is asked what they would like to take from the set: Brosnahan – Midge’s coats. Shaloub – “Alex Borstein, a one of a kind item.” Hinkle – “Rose’s hats.” Zegen – Joel’s snazzy suits from this season. Aaron -“Shirley’s mink. I remember when my dad bought my mom a mink. I said, ‘Daddy can we afford it?’ He said, ‘No, but we can pay for it.’” Kirby – “Oh, you know, just a nice pair of socks…”

A thoroughly entertaining evening with an eminently talented and likeable cast.

Top photo courtesy of 92Y
All other photos, Bigstock