Calista Flockhart on Returning to the New York Stage in ‘Curse of the Starving Class’

For Calista Flockhart, that live-wire quality is part of what makes the show so worth doing. “That’s the beauty of off Broadway,” she says. “You have room to experiment a little more and take more risks.”

Best known for her starring role on Ally McBeal from 1997 to 2002, Flockhart—who was also directed by Elliott in a starry production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters on Broadway in 1997—has long been a fan of Shepard’s portrayals of dysfunctional family relationships. Vogue spoke to the actor about Shepard, the emotional toll of playing Ella Tate each night, and what it’s like to work on such a dynamic set.

Vogue: What drew you to this production? Had you read much of Sam Shepard’s work previously?

Calista Flockhart: I’ve always admired and loved Sam Shepard’s plays, and I’ve always wanted to do one. So this opportunity arose and I didn’t really think much about it. I just said yes. I love the poetry. The challenge of figuring out a Sam Shepherd play is pretty difficult at times; it’s many, many layers. And ultimately, his plays are funny and dark. There are people who are longing for a better life. His characters are meaningful—I love his characters. I love his writing.

In what ways do you see the subject matter of the play—which was written in 1977—echoing our current moment?

I think that the play feels incredibly relevant because it captures all the challenges of inequality. It captures family dysfunction and human beings yearning for a better life. It’s an exploration of systemic failure, really. And I think that the personal desperation that these people feel can reflect the realities of our world today.

Your character Ella is in a state of denial and exhaustion for much of the play. She seems to believe she has some semblance of control over her daughter, and she has these grandiose ideas about selling their house and moving to Europe. Do you connect at all to her personally, or is playing Ella very much an exercise in putting on a persona?

Fortunately, I’ve never been in that circumstance. Her husband is a serious alcoholic, and that takes an emotional and physical toll on a human. I use my imagination and imagine what it would be like to be her, and she does think that she has some semblance of control. In this incredibly chaotic household, she comes up with a scheme and decides she is going to sell their house and their farm. And it might seem very desperate and unrealistic to people who are watching the play, and even naive, but when I’m playing it, I believe wholeheartedly that it’s going to work. I believe that she believes. She needs to believe that it’s going to work out.