Maria Friedman: British musical theatre is the “poor cousin” of serious drama

In an interview with the British newspaper The Independent, renowned stage artist Maria Friedman has opened a fierce debate over the status of musical theatre in the United Kingdom. “In this country, musical theatre is the ‘poor cousin’ of ‘serious drama’,” Friedman said. “It is not respected enough in this country, full stop,” she added.

Friedman, who is currently playing the lead role in the UK premiere of the Tony-winning musical “Kimberly Akimbo” at London’s Hampstead Theatre, says things are quite different in the United States. “The atmosphere of being an actor in musical theatre is taken in a completely different way in America,” she declared. “You don’t go to Manhattan to see Buckingham Palace or the House of Commons. You go to see Broadway. If you’ve won a Tony on Broadway, people stop. People in the lift stop. The guy in the shop stops. It matters. Whereas here [in Britain] they only care if you work with someone famous.”

Friedman’s remarks come from a position of unquestionable authority: she is a three-time Olivier Award winner — for the cabaret “Maria Friedman By Special Arrangement,” for the role of Fosca in Stephen Sondheim’s “Passion,” and for the role of the mother in the original London production of “Ragtime.” As a director, her 2013 West End production of “Merrily We Roll Along” won the Olivier for Best Revival of a Musical, while the 2024 Broadway revival with Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez earned her a Tony nomination for best direction.

According to BroadwayWorld, which carried the interview on September 23, Friedman is currently playing Kimberly Levaco in the musical by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori, running until November 7. “There aren’t many roles for women of my age, so when one like this comes along, you don’t want to lose it,” she told The Independent. “It’s beautiful to be the caretaker of a story that feels very important these days, about kindness and living in the present… it’s what we always strive for, isn’t it, to be present?”

Source: BroadwayWorld — https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Maria-Friedman-Says-Musical-Theater-Is-Not-Respected-Enough-in-the-UK-Its-the-Poor-Cousin-20260923