**We Had a World**—a funny, moving, and at times strikingly intimate new memory play by Joshua Harmon (*Prayer for the French Republic*), now playing off-Broadway at New York City Center Stage II—stars Joanna Gleason as Renee, a woman as charming and whimsical as she is… well, a bit of a handful. As the doting, worldly grandmother to young Josh (Andrew Barth Feldman, of *Saturday Night* and *No Hard Feelings*), she introduces him to all kinds of art: Robert Mapplethorpe, *Dances with Wolves*, revivals of *Medea* with Diana Rigg and *The Heiress* with Cherry Jones, Tom Friedman’s *Soap*. But her relationship with his mother, Ellen (Jeanine Serralles), is far more complicated—and far less fun—especially as Renee approaches the end of her life.

*Andrew Barth Feldman and Joanna Gleason in Manhattan Theatre Club’s* We Had a World
*Photo: Jeremy Daniel*

Gleason, celebrated for her Tony-winning role in *Into the Woods*, as well as performances in *A Day in the Death of Joe Egg*, *Dirty Rotten Scoundrels*, films like *Hannah and Her Sisters* and *Boogie Nights*, and TV shows like *The West Wing* and *The Good Wife*, is extraordinary in the role. “I thought it was so beautifully written that I couldn’t pass it up,” she says, speaking over Zoom from her Connecticut home, where she commutes daily to the city. “It’s been nearly eight years since I lost my parents. They were 94 and 96—and Renee goes from 60 to 94, experiencing almost exactly what I watched my mother go through. This felt like a chance for catharsis, a way to honor her perspective.”

*Jeanine Serralles and Gleason in* We Had a World
*Photo: Jeremy Daniel*

It’s also an opportunity to collaborate with two remarkable actors, Feldman and Serralles (both equally brilliant). “The play has three protagonists—and three antagonists—as written,” Gleason explains. “They’re both incredibly skilled actors who dig deep. Nothing’s superficial. Every night, we leave the stage and fall into each other’s arms. You can’t fake that kind of connection.”

In a nod to *We Had a World*’s exploration of Harmon’s artistic upbringing, Gleason shares the shows, artists, and experiences that shaped her as an artist.

**On first falling in love with theater**
*Robert Morse and Michele Lee in the 1967 film adaptation of* How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
*Photo: Getty Images*

“We lived in New Rochelle, New York, and my parents took my brother and me to a matinee of *How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying*, with Robert Morse, Michele Lee, and Rudy Vallée. We even stayed overnight in a hotel—a big deal at the time. That night, I locked myself in the bathroom and sang the entire score back. I was maybe 11 or 12, and something just clicked. I threw myself into theater programs in high school and college. Years later, I got to understudy Rosemary in a revival of *How to Succeed* with Rudy Vallée and Robert Morse—meeting him felt like coming full circle.

My parents played show tunes constantly while I was growing up. We moved a lot, so theater became my constant. The curtain goes up, and there’s this family onstage—they don’t move, they just tell their story, night after night. For such an unpredictable career, it felt more stable than my own life at the time.”

**On immersing herself in New York’s art scene**
“It was like a finishing school for me. I felt a bit out of place at first—my then-husband’s family had lived in France after the war. They knew art, collected it. One sister had paintings she’d sell when she needed money; the other had pieces she could donate to museums worldwide. My own exposure to art was…”Here’s the rewritten text in clear, natural English:

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**On the art world and her exposure to it:**
“I was suddenly immersed in this glamorous circle—Hal Prince, since my then-husband had grown up with Judy Prince, and Leonard Bernstein, who we even had dinner with at Elaine’s. I remember thinking, *Whoa, I’m just a small-town girl from California. I need to keep up.* The energy was fast, smart, and sophisticated. It was all about exposure, so I embraced it. I started going to museums, art shows, and hanging around galleries owned by my husband’s friends. And I loved what I saw.”

**On the first painting she ever bought:**
“When I first moved to New York, I was doing *I Love My Wife* and making about $700 a week—maybe $750. My apartment cost $250 a week (times have changed!). One day, walking up Madison Avenue, I saw a framed painting by Erica Morley in a poster shop window. It showed two kids playing in a yard, with a forest, a red barn, a house, a garden, and animals. Something inside me said, *This is where I want to live.* I’d never lived anywhere like that. I bought it for $125, and 48 years later, I still have it. Since then, many of the artists I’ve collected are women—Leigh Behnke, Candace Jans, Jessica Rice.”

**On her first experiences directing:**
“Diane English, who created *Murphy Brown*, gave me my first shot—an episode of *Love & War*, the series I was on, plus three episodes of another show. She was the first to say, *I’ll show you how.* Later, I directed for Lifetime. So I had TV experience, but I’d also written a screenplay (*The Grotto*, my feature debut) years ago and was too afraid to show anyone. You know that voice: *Who do you think you are? You didn’t go to film school. You’re too old. Aren’t you happy with what you’ve already got?* But I finally shared it with my friend Todd Shotz, who runs a production company. He said, *We’re making this movie.* And we did. A single producer, Laure Sudreau of Ouroboros Entertainment, funded it—and turns out, she lives nearby. That’s providence. That’s magic.”

(*We Had a World* runs through May 11.)

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