With 'The Cottage,' Playwright Sandy Rustin Looks at Classic British Farce through a Feminist Lens

When "The Cottage" first appeared in a basement of a Korean church in Queens, playwright Sandy Rustin never thought her play would end up in a Broadway theater a decade later. But such was the journey of her comedy, patterned after the classic farces by Noel Coward, that recently opened at the Helen Hayes Theater directed by Jason Alexander with a starry cast led by Laura Bell Bundy, Lilli Cooper, and Dana Steingold in the plays' three female roles, and by Eric McCormack, Nehal Joshi, and Alex Moffat in the three male ones.

While the play is inspired by Coward, most notably his 1925 "Hay Fever," in which the romantic complications of its characters play out in a cottage in the British countryside. But with difference. As Emlyn Travis writes in her Entertainment Weekly review: "The play is a sensational, feminist twist on a classic British period drama that features knockout performances, melodramatic reveals, and some seriously outrageous one-liners. If home is where the heart is, then 'The Cottage' is where the mind's deepest, darkest, and most salacious secrets go to fight and frolic in the fresh air."

And "The Cottage" isn't the only play that the prolific Rustin has on the boards. She named to American Theatre's list of "Most Produced" Playwrights of the 2022-2023 season and to the Broadway Women's Fund's "Women to Watch" list. Her adaption of the film "CLUE" broke records in regional theater productions across the country. It was recently scheduled for a national tour that will begin in January, 2024.

She also has written the books for the musical version of "Mystic Pizza," that premiered at the Ogunquit Playhouse in 2021, as well as a well-received version of "Dear World" that played at Encores with Donna Murphy this past March. As an actress, Sandy regularly appeared at New York's The Upright Citizen's Brigade in "Gravid Water" (named "Best Improv Show" by Time Out NY) for 15 years. For more on Rustin's career, visit her website.

EDGE spoke to Rustin recently as "The Cottage" settles into is Broadway run about her comedy's roots, her feminist approach to classic farce, and what it is like to find her comedy on Broadway.

EDGE: This is your Broadway debut. How's the show doing?

Sandy Rustin: It's going really well. Audiences are loving it. Tickets are selling and it's been wonderful.

EDGE: What inspired you to write "The Cottage?"

Sandy Rustin: When I was at Northwestern, I was in a production of Noël Coward's play "Hay Fever." It was really fun as a performer to be in it. When I set out to write this new play, I was really looking to do something that I would think was fun as a performer. I just remembered really loving that genre. So, I went down a rabbit hole of that style of British comedy and realized that many of the female characters were really there in service of the male characters or in service of the male forwarded storyline. I imagined what would happen if I tried to spin that genre on its head and create a world where the female characters and the female stories were really central.

EDGE: So, to offer women an alternative vision?

Sandy Rustin: Yes, I think so.

EDGE: Jason Alexander is directing. What do you look for in a collaborator/director?

Sandy Rustin: Jason was looking to make his Broadway debut as a director, and we had the same agency. He was looking for a new comedy and they gave him a stack of them. He gravitated towards "The Cottage" and asked to meet with me. I went out to LA, and we had a really lovely dinner and hit it off. We talked about the play, about theater, and about making comedy. We just connected and had a hunch about each other.

EDGE: The Cottage is filled with an incredible cast: Eric McCormack ("Will & Grace"), Laura Bell Bundy ("Legally Blonde,"), and Lilli Cooper ("Spring Awakening"). What has it been like working with them?

Sandy Rustin: It's amazing to have a group of comedians and actors as we do in this company, because everybody comes to the project with a yes and spirit, which is the tenet of improv comedy. They all truly are there to support each other and to serve it up when it needs serving up and to take the ball when it's their turn. They're a really generous group and it has been a thrill to get to watch them in action.

EDGE: Now that you have seen these actors in their roles, can you see anyone else playing them?

Sandy Rustin: That's the joy of working with these actors is they are so perfect for these roles and they're just glorious. It's also the joy of being a playwright knowing that this play will hopefully play all over for many years to come with many different iterations of a cast. My hope is always that each person who fills the role feels just right and just perfect. For this maiden voyage on Broadway to have Laura Bell Bundy in the role of Sylvia, I could ask for nothing more. She's just spectacular.

EDGE: While writing, did you have these actors in mind?

Sandy Rustin: When I first wrote this play, I didn't even have Broadway stars or Broadway Dreams in my eyes. I was writing it as an exercise for myself for the sake of writing a new play. I could never have imagined that I would one day be in this position to have this level of wonderful performers performing this play. So, I never really write plays with individual actors in mind. I am delighted to welcome the right actor when the right actor finds the project. It does feel wonderful when the actor connects with the character.

EDGE: Ultimately, what do you hope the audience will take away from "The Cottage?"

Sandy Rustin: On the flip side of this pandemic experience, there seems to be a collective need and want for laughter, joy, and ease of an emotional experience. My hope is that "The Cottage" provides a respite from the seriousness of our day-to-day. There's also a real message of feminism throughout the play that I hope audiences absorb and take with them, but the show is designed to be a fun night out.

EDGE: If you could live the life of any character that you have created, who would it be and why?

Sandy Rustin: What a great question. I am going through my rolodex of characters. It's interesting because I'm a sketch comedic actress, so often in an evening of a show I play a million different characters and that's my favorite kind of character to play be as an actor. I think it's so fun to have an opportunity to inhabit so many different roles. So, I don't know that I've ever grabbed onto any one character as my most favorite. For me, it's more about the experience of performing and getting to play a thousand different people. That for me is the joy of being a performer.

EDGE: Any upcoming projects that you would like to promote?

Sandy Rustin: Definitely! I have a new play that's called "The Suffragettes Murder," which is another period piece. It's a feminist farce that takes place in 1857 in the Bowery of New York City. That will premiere at the Denver Center for Performing Arts next season. My production of "Clue," the adaptation of the film, is going to launch a national tour in early 2024, as is my production of "Mystic Pizza," which is an adaptation of the film, will launch a tour at the start of 2024. I'm working on a new project with Edie Brickell. She's writing the music for a play that I wrote called "Houston." I'm excited about that as well.

For more on "The Cottage" on Broadway, follow this link.

For more on Sandy Rustin, visit her website.