As rabid followers of Man in Chair know, Man in Chair is a rabid follower of [title of show]. Although there is no [title of show] show for this week, Susan Blackwell, original [title of show] cast member and self-described weirdo, has popped up at Playbill.com’s Cue & A to give us some insight into her world.

Cue & A is one of my favorite theatre geekish indulgences. It’s kind of like that series of questions James Lipton asks at the end of Inside the Actor’s Studio, but less pretentious. Susan’s wacky answers (and shameless plugs) were right up there with Avenue Q’s Rod’s in my estimation.

Highlights:

Favorite board/card game:
Years ago, a German friend taught me a game called “Uncle Fritz Sits Happily in the Tub.” It’s the perfect weekend-in-the-country game for our group, and all you need is paper, pencils and a filthy imagination. The game ends when someone laughs so hard that something comes out of their nose. Everybody wins.

Worst onstage mishap:
During the final dress rehearsal for The Mousetrap on the University of Minnesota Centennial Showboat, I was running for a quick change when the heel of my right shoe got caught in the cuff of my left pant leg at the top of a set of stairs. When I catapulted face-first down the stairs, I put my arms straight out to catch myself and broke ‘em both. I didn’t miss a single show that summer and performed the role of the mysterious Miss Casewell with a cast on each arm. Reedonkulous.

Who have you played on “Law & Order”?:
For years, I’ve been playing public defense attorneys with names like Gabriella Ruffino (because of my strong Italian features?) and Lydia Fernands (because of my strong Latin features?). For this year’s season premiere episode, I was called in to play the presiding judge. I thought there had been some sort of mistake—certainly I’m much too young to play the judge. Cut to me, being all “gavel, gavel, gavel.”

Thanks, Susan. U R 2 awesome 2 B 4 gotten!

Check out Susan at the Roundabout’s Speech and Debate running through December 16.

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