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Michael McKean may be best known for his role as Lenny on TV's "Laverne & Shirley," for his starring turn in the mock documentary "This Is Spinal Tap" with director Rob Reiner, or for any of his dozens of other film and television credits. Broadway audiences have recently seen him as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray in 2004, and co-starring as Hines in The Pajama Game in 2006.

Mr. McKean is currently starring in the revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, a 1967 Tony Award® winner for Best Play, at the Cort Theatre on Broadway. This edgy and compelling play tells the story of a dysfunctional family that welcomes the homecoming of its estranged brother and competes for the attention of his dangerously alluring wife. We recently caught up with Mr. McKean by phone.

What made you interested in taking on the role of Sam in The Homecoming?

Michael McKean: I've been an admirer of Pinter's for years. He is an amazing artist and certainly one of the five great playwrights of the 20th Century. I also knew that Dan Sullivan was directing, who is someone I admire very much. So it just sounded like a good idea to me! The original production of The Homecoming was actually playing on Broadway when I was going to NYU here, but I didn't get a chance to see it.

It's such a funny production; did you and your cast-mates set out specifically to emphasize the comedy?

No, not specifically. I think it's a brilliantly funny play. It's dark, but it does have this great comic notion of a group of men who assume that they rule the roost just because they're men. They think that this poor little butterfly has fallen into their trap, but it turns out to be more of a black widow situation. The comedy is there, but we never at any moment made a conscious effort to bring it out. We just set out to follow the words on the page. Occasionally we would have questions that we'd give to [director] Dan [Sullivan] who would e-mail Pinter. He helped us put things in context but also encouraged us to use our imaginations.

Pinter is famous for indicating in his plays where the characters are expected to pause. How do you as an actor approach these moments?

I think that even if the pauses were not written, you would probably find them yourself. Sometimes there are moments when a silence is an eloquent way of stating something. The fact that Pinter writes them in is just him wanting the scenes to have a certain dynamic. There are a million different reasons for every pause. If I say something my wife doesn't like and I hear, instead of an answer, silence, I know I've said something wrong! [laughs] It's part of life.

I have always been in the realm of comedy. After "Laverne & Shirley," I realized if I made the mistake of accepting jobs that were too similar to what I was doing on that show, I'd vanish without a trace in a very short time. I saw that happen to people all around me. So I was both lucky and smart I think. The next two jobs I did were a movie called "Young Doctors in Love" which was very different, and then there was "Spinal Tap." That film we created ourselves and it was a long process of getting people to believe in the idea of making improvisational film. I don't mind being known as a comic actor, as long as people don't say that I only did one thing.

Jujamcyn Theaters, which operates five Broadway playhouses in New York City, has announced the launch of Givenik.com. At Givenik.com, theatregoers can give and get (thus becoming "giveniks") by getting discounted tickets to dozens of Broadway and Off Broadway shows and simultaneously giving back to charity. Five percent of the ticket price goes directly to a not-for-profit organization. Ticket buyers can both save money and support charitable organizations that join Givenik.com, which gives those organizations a novel, year-round fundraising mechanism. For more information, visit www.givenik.com.

It’s Winter on Broadway!

See a play or musical this winter. Visit ILoveNYTheater.com today for special offers on Broadway shows now playing in New York City.

Introducing The Broadway League

Last month Broadway’s national trade association changed its name to The Broadway League. The organization behind consumer numerous programs including the Broadway Fan Club and Kids’ Night on Broadway was formerly known as The League of American Theatres and Producers. "As Broadway has a main street named after it in over 25 cities (that we know of), and as we have a Broadway series in over 150 cities, it is clear that Broadway really is the longest street in America,” commented Broadway League Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin. “This makes our new name even more appropriate across the country.” The new name better reflects the composition of our membership, which includes producers, presenters of touring Broadway shows, and suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry.

Sweeney Todd: From Stage to Film

Hollywood has once again tapped Broadway for content. The 1979 Tony Award®-winning Best Musical Sweeney Todd is now a DreamWorks/Warner Bros. film that opened on December 21. Tim Burton directs, with Johnny Depp in the title role of a 19th-century barber who sets out to avenge the destruction of his family. This Stephen Sondheim musical was seen most recently on Broadway in 2005, staring Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone. That production of Sweeney, in which the actors played their own instruments, is currently on tour across North America. Other recent Hollywood hits based on Broadway musicals include Dreamgirls and Hairspray.

Galloping Across the Pond

Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths will headline on Broadway in a new production of Peter Shaffer's Equus, reprising their acclaimed London performances. Equus opens on Broadway in September 2008. This drama won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1975, starring Anthony Hopkins. Equus tells the story of a young man (Radcliffe) who blinds six horses, and the psychiatrist (Griffiths) who tries to understand the cause of the young man's actions.

Shows receive 2008 Grammy Nominations

A Chorus Line, Company, Grey Gardens, and Spring Awakening were nominated in the Best Musical Show Album category for the 2008 Grammy Awards, along with a studio recording of West Side Story. Awards will be given out February 10, 2008.

The Buzz

Anika Noni Rose, Terrence Howard, James Earl Jones, and Phylicia Rashad will star in a new production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof this spring, the first time an all African-American cast appears on Broadway in a Tennessee Williams play...Patti LuPone will star as Mama Rose in Gypsy this spring. She played the role in a City Center Encores presentation of the classic musical this past summer.