I’ll See You in My Dreams, directed by Brett Haley, had its World Premiere earlier this year at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival where it received a standing ovation for its star, Blythe Danner. The film stars Danner as a widow who’s settled into her life and her age, until a series of events propel her into a renewed engagement with the people and the world around her. The film also stars Martin Starr, Sam Elliott, Malin Akerman, and, as her three longtime friends, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, and the wonderful June Squibb. I had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with Squibb, who was nominated for an Oscar last year for her excellent portrayal of Bruce Dern’s wife, Kate, in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska. But, as much as I loved her in that movie and this one, as well as a slew of other films she’s made in the past few years, it was her role in the original company of Gypsy with Ethel Merman that, as a musical theater lover, made me want to bow down to her as true theater royalty.
Danny Miller: You were such a delight as Georgina in this film. I can’t think of two more different women than Georgina and Kate from Nebraska.
June Squibb: Oh, I brought parts of myself to both of those roles, trust me!
I immediately felt the rapport between you, Blythe Danner, Mary Kay Place, and Rhea Perlman — I really believed that you were all old friends. Did you feel in sync with those great actresses right from the start?
I did. You know, there was really no rehearsal period before we started shooting, but we all just sort of understood each other. It was a great group to work with, we had so much fun!
June, as a lifelong musical theater fanatic, I have to talk to you about doing Gypsy with Ethel Merman. I feel like I should genuflect or kiss your ring since you were a member of that original production! How long did you do that show?
(Laughs.) I took over the part of Electra on Broadway — one of the three strippers who sing “You Gotta Get a Gimmick.”
One of the greatest numbers in the history of musical theater!
You can pull all the stops out
Till they call the cops out;
Grind your behind till you’re banned.
But you gotta get a gimmick
If you wanna get a hand.
It’s an amazing number! And after we finished on Broadway, I went on the road with Merman. That was an incredible experience. With our reviews on the road, it was always Merman, and then it was a toss-up of whether they would talk about us or the gal playing Gypsy Rose Lee! It was great — they loved us!
Did you tour with it for a while?
As long as Ethel was in it. I think we were out for about eight months but not in that many cities, we played each city for a while — I think we were in Chicago for 10 weeks. It was heaven working with Ethel Merman, she was one of a kind!
You can sacrifice your saccro
Working in the back row.
Bump in a dump till you’re dead.
Kid, you gotta have a gimmick
If you wanna get ahead.
Did being in Gypsy have a similar effect on your stage career that getting an Oscar nomination for Nebraska had on your movie career?
Yes, as far as musicals were concerned, I guess it did! That’s mostly what I was doing back then. It was a different time — people would suggest that I try out for straight plays but they just were not interested in hiring musical theater people. So at one point, I had to turn down jobs and stop doing musicals completely to try desperately to get work as an actress in non-musical plays. I finally did it through Off-Off-Broadway which was just coming into being and also through regional theater.
What were some of your favorite non-musical parts?
I did something called The Workroom with the American Theater Alliance which was a French play that I just loved. And a great production of Our Town that was wonderful to do.
Do you miss working on the stage?
Oh, I still do it. Not as much now that I’m working so much in film and TV. I was recently supposed to do Driving Miss Daisy in Dallas recently but something else came up, unfortunately, and I couldn’t.
June, do you think if I put a gun to your head right now you could sing and dance your way through “You Gotta Get a Gimmick” even though it was well over 50 years ago?
(Laughs.) NO!
Oh come on, it’s not still in there?
I doubt it, Danny, I really don’t retain things like that.
I don’t believe you. I think as soon as you heard those iconic opening bars —
Well, the trumpet at the beginning is phenomenal. Okay, maybe it would come back!
I’m electrifying’,
And I ain’t even tryin’;
I never have to sweat to get paid;
‘Cause if you got a gimmick,
Gypsy girl, you got it made.If you wanna make it,
Twinkle while you shake it.
If you wanna grind it,
Wait till you’ve refined it.
If you wanna stump it,
Bump it with a trumpet!
So get yourself a gimmick and you, too,
Can be a STAR!
Did your Oscar nomination last year change your movie career in a big way?
I get a lot of scripts now, which is great. But, as you know, there aren’t all that many roles for older women. That’s why this movie was such a treat.
And you have a few other movies coming out, don’t you?
I just shot two wonderful films: one I did in Pittsburgh called Love the Coopers with a phenomenal cast: Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Marisa Tomei, Olivia Wilde, Anthony Mackie, Ed Helms…
Holy crap, that’s insane!
It was wild, absolutely wild. We had a great time even though we almost froze to death! And then I was just in Atlanta doing a smaller film called Table 19 about a table of misfits at a wedding and that’s with Anna Kendrick, Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson.
Ooh, I can’t wait!
Do you know the show Getting On?
With Laurie Metcalf? Yes, I love that show!
I was on some episodes the first two years — so was Mary Kay Place. It’s a wonderful show. Now they’re doing one last season and I’ll be doing that again this summer.
Oh God, speaking of the stage, did you ever get a chance to see Laurie Metcalf in any of her plays at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago? Some of the greatest acting I’ve ever seen.
Oh yes, I have seen her a bunch of times on the stage. She’s phenomenal!
I’m hoping that we’ll see you back in a musical now that that absurd stigma about musical theater people doing straight dramatic work is long gone. I’m seeing you as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. How about it?
(Laughs!) I’ll think about it!