♪ and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> when angela lansbury of last in this -- was last in this studio you about a year ago, she was heading to london to bring "blithe spirit" to the west end. the comedy just opened in los angeles, thankfully, and will continue on tour next year. let's start our conversation with a look at "blithe spirit." [ laughter ] >> stop it -- [ laughter ] >> we'll be in in a minute. >> will you think me woozy if i retire to the dining room for a moment? my first wife tops speak to me alone. -- wants to speak to me alone. only for a few minutes, i promise she'll be here when you come back. >> miriam? [ laughter ] >> darling, darling -- >> i'm glad you need back across the pond. >> yes, i surely did. >> it is good to see you again. >> thank you very much. >> i feel fortunate to see you twice in less than 13 or 14 months. >> it's hard to believe that, but i was of here just before i went to london. do you remember? >> uh-huh. >> of course i spent six months there in the rain. but i had a wonderful time. and the show was wonderfully well received by the british audience. and i had a ball. i really did. >> this question might be silly -- not my first or last silly question. is there a detectible difference to you as an actor on stage performing in front of a british audience and american audience? >> that's a good question because i thought there would be. >> yeah? >> i didn't believe for a minute the audience would react as strongly and with such vigor and humor as they did from my production. i decided, well, this is just like home, you know. and i felt as at home in london, strangely enough after all these years, and it was of at least 30 years since i had played on the london theater. yet, it was -- i felt the same warmth and excitement and fun as a new york audience. so i felt very much at home. you could say it was of different. the interesting thing about the audience in london is that it's filled with people from every country of western europe. and also the far east. so you had italians, french, you had chinese, japanese, everybody was there. and they loved the show. they know me from television. thank goodness, you know. television is -- >> "murder she wrote" seen around the world. >> absolutely seen around the world along with "bed knobs and broom sticks." from that point of view i felt very much at home. >> i know they appreciated you because the reviews said they did. and yet, there is also in that part of the world certainly an appreciation for noel coward's work. >> very much so. and "blithe spirit" is played almost all over britain somewhere at all times because it is such a unique and ridiculously funny show. it's also in fact under those layers of humor, a very serious show. it's quite misogynistic. it has all kinds of qualities that are not immediate inherent. so it -- it appeals to people in many different ways. >> i'm glad you said that because i wanted to ask, if i could now. when you mentioned how diverse, how internationally, how globally diverse the audience was in london, westen, what make this particular -- west end, what makes this particular play, "blithe spirit," so accessible to people of different beliefs, different traditions, different experiences the world over? >> i think it deals with the question of the other side, you know. and people all over the world have an idea of what might be in store for them, ghosts, you know, there's -- there are qualities there that are quite worldwidely accept. and this woman, this ridiculous woman, madam arcati is total believable. and what she is offering to these people who want to get in touch with the other side, she -- they recognize her, which doctors and which witches, they're all inherently involved, although she's completely sincere in what she does and how she presents and what she's going to do. there's nothing phony about her. i've never -- i don't play her that way. i play her as an extremely sensitive and serious-mined woman. and that's what makes her funny. >> yeah. what is it that you think -- i'm asking you to set your modesty aside now. what is it that you think you bring to this role uniquely different than what others bring given that it is a play that is put on so often -- so many supreme played this character. -- so many people have played this character. >> all actresses are going to bring something. geraldine page, i discovered, the last show she did in new york was playing madam arcati. can you believe it? and she was one of our prime, great actresses before she passed on. we all want to have a crack at arcati. you tell me why. i'm not quite sure why. we all want to infuse her with something of our own. and i don't quite know why. it is a good question, and i really can't answer it. >> let me ask, what is the joy for you as one actor in playing the character? >> oh, the laughter of the audience. >> okay. >> let me tell you. [ laughter ] >> without any modesty, you love a good laugh, huh? you love a good laugh? >> oh, yes, of course. to make an audience feel uplifted and full of fun and -- and when they see what's going on, watching these people, you know, on stage with this woman who is just winding around her little finger in her own way. this is -- this is a moment in theater that you never forget as an otheris ist-- as an artist. you just don't. bringing humor and happiness and joy to an audience is a wonderful opportunity in life, believe me. >> i've talked to many artists who -- i think they know what this feels like. it's not always easy to describe. i'm going to ask you to describe it the best you can, this feeling of being on stage if you're a musical artist or performing artist, dancer, whatever it might be. there are these moments when you're on stage when i'm going to say this immodestly, when you know you have the aweyents in your hand, when everything is clicking, everything is working, the laughs are coming in the right spaces and the right places. the points being gotten by the audience. what does that feel like when you're in the moment when you know it's clicking with a particular character? >> it's a lovely way you've put it. and it is something that we as actors know when it's happening. we feel buoyed up as it were, we feel supported by -- we know we're getting across -- we're sending across the message we want, and we're getting back. we're getting the feedback back to us. that is so supportive, and it's like magic. it really, really is. and it doesn't happen every night. >> yeah. >> you know, you hope that it will will. and you know you're getting through and they're with you and you together with them are enjoying the moment. and when you can share that with an audience, that's a tremendous feeling. very powerful. very powerful, indeed. and it's the thing that wednesday weds us to the theater actors. we yearn to achieve what you're describing. >> the converse or inverse of that is to have played a character who on any given night you were not sure, after all the rehearsal and all the run-throughs and the previews and all that, there's something that lets you -- makes you feel like i'm not sure if i'm getting through to the awed dwreudience. how do you process that when it's not clicking or you feel like they're not connecting? >> well, through years and years of playing to various audiences, what i've learned is -- and i think quite a few actors will agree with me, we're not all the best judge of that audience's reaction. >> uh-huh. >> or not. and we discovered to our amazement at the end of the show, they bring the house down with applause. and we thought, oh -- >> yeah -- >> no way tonight, you know. >> right. >> yet, they were so wrapped, were so concentrated on what they were viewing and listening to and understanding, the story, et cetera, they had a fantastic evening. and that's what you want to give an audience, you know. it doesn't always happen. but most of the time you can be sure, unless it's a bad play and the cast is no good -- that ain't going to happen, you know, if we have anything to do with it. don't know -- no way, jose. from that point of view, we -- >> yeah. as i think about this, i guess the difference is if you are a musical artist -- and i've talked to so many on this set for so many years -- if you're a musical artist, and i know this because i've seen it happy with friend of mine. they're on stage, and the audience isn't quite -- they haven't gotten the audience quite where they want them. musical audience has an opportunity to change the playlist. they can decide we're going to go this direction, i'm going to play this next, i'm going to move this song. they can do what what they want to do. when you're in a play, you can't like -- >> oh, no. sno no. >> what do you do? >> you keep plugging on. and you hope that you'll get back -- that the play will get back on track, the momentum will -- you know, you're just going to bring them around, you know. we're talking -- if you're talking about comedy now, yes. oh, my goodness, yes. if you feel the thing is just dropping, you know, and everything you do doesn't work, this is dire, you know. it's dire to the actors. but it's no good going overboard, taking it a step too far or trying any means to bring them back. you're not going to get it. you're not going to make it. it's not your night. what can you they? we did the best we -- what can you say? we did the best we. most casts will agree, they usually will get together and say, my god, what happened in the sex act? i thought -- i was afraid they were going to walk out. you know, it isn't necessarily the case. as i said earlier, they are going to receive it the way they want to receive it. it isn't always going to give us the kind of applause or ha, ha, ha, ha, ha that we're looking for. it's not going to happen that way. doesn't mean they're not enjoying it. people react in their own way. you don't know what they had for dinner. you don't know that their mother-in-law gave them a bad time earlier. i mean, you don't know all these things. and yet, that's what that audience sitting there and those poor -- people i'm really sorry for with the businessmen who sit there with their wives dressed to the hilt, and they've had one hell of a day. they're sitting there and nodding off. how about that? >> you can't see that, though, can you? >> no, no. i never liked -- i never do. but there are actors who make a point to say, you know, there was a woman in the third row on the right-hand side. did you see what she was doing? she was eating a sandwich. i will never -- i dare not step out of character long enough to notice the woman eating the sandwich. but it happens. and people bring drink into the house nowadays, it's accepted. >> phones -- >> phones go off. we do make announcements. >> of course you do, and they still go off every night. >> yes, they do. they do. everybody says, oh, there's a phone going off. crazy. >> with all that going on to your point that every actor has a different way of processing this and working his or her gift on the stage, what can you tell me? what tidbit can you tell me about how to stay focused? if there's anything you you do extremely well, you know, you step into that character, and from the curtain up to the curtain down, you stay focused. you stay in character. >> well, i must. >> yeah. >> i mean, it isn't a question of do i want to, do i feel like it. i have to, and i want to. when i come from stage right or left, make an enhance through a door, i am that character. i'm not angela lansbury. i'm not an actor, an actress. i am that lady. now she's dressed differently than i would dress. everything about her is filled with everything that i want to put into her character. i want to sell you the audience on the idea that this is not angela lansbury. in this case, it's madam arcat i. and she is everything that i'm not. she is everything that i'm not. that's where the skill of the artist, the actor comes into play. that's when we do our stuff. the minute we walk out on the stage. absolutely in -- imbued with all of those qualities that having to to do with me. they're simply my understanding of what i believe this woman is made of. you know? >> tell me from your perspective, we only have your perspective, which is whether -- [ laughter ] >> i'll walk -- i'll walk into that one chin up, booty out. i walked right into that. is it more challenging, is it more fun? you fill in the blanks. to play someone,k@o; as you sai moment ago, who is absolutely nothing like you. >> i have a propensity for comedy. i love kbhedcomedy. i love bringing curious quirky things to a woman that are totally unlike anything that i as a known person would do. to me that's part of the craft of acting, particularly of playing a comedy. i love comedy. always have since i was of a kid. even though i've played dramatic roles in the course of my career, and those are very demanding and very interesting to play. and i can't say that i don't adore it or things like that. anything as far from arcati i can't imagine. that is fun to do that. but i know that my forte is in comedy. i really do believe that. >> yeah. what hassal will loued you to be so well-known -- has allowed you to be so well-known as the character jessica fletcher on television and not have that get in the way of us seeing you as arcati or anybody else on the stage? what's the phrase, typecast? some people are type cast, and the audience can never quite see them as anybody else. and you for 12 seasons played this person we know and love. yet, when we see you on stage in "blithe spirit" or anything else, i go right to where you're taking me. >> i hope so. i think that jessica is a woman who as a woman not an actress, but just as a woman, i loved playing because it was simple. there was of nothing extraordinary about her. she was every woman. and for that reason, i could step right away there her and go into all the madness that i have. and yet, i know that the most comforting and comfortable character i've ever played is jessica. she was an incredible listener. she listened to people. she gleaned from them what she needed to know. and through that very subtle ability that she had to make friends, to talk and to be able to get feedback from people because she was so ordinary. so it's nothing kind of perky, anything -- it was of just an absolute quality of reality about her, you know. and this is a thing that women have, women -- women who are mothers, women who are wives, who -- who are businesswomen. each one has it in a different way. it's the difference between men and women. by golly. >> yeah. i want to follow up on that. >> be careful now. >> i'm not sure where that's going to go. i'm going to leave that alone for the moment. but i -- i do want to pick up on something you said a moment ago. i think you're right, and i'm pleased to hear you say that it was jessica fletcher's ability to be such a generous listener that you found so comfortable. i was giving a colletalk at northwestern university the other day, and of asked what i think makes for a good talk show host. it's not just talk show hosts, i worn how much better the world might be if we, all learn how to be more generous in listening. that's -- this a gift in many ways. it's a gift in many ways to be able to sit and listen generously to what the other person is saying. >> uh-huh. i agree with you. and we're all guilty of not doing this at all times. obviously, we pick the moments when we're going to listen because we're interested. you know, we're -- our imagination is tweaked. we want to hear more. and certainly that was where she got all her expertise in amateur sleuth was about listening. anda we pointed out now, we can learn so much about the people we meet. the people we want to meet again by listening. and it doesn't -- it isn't all that easy to find that person, you know. i mean, that's why -- the older we get, it's more and more difficult, okay? >> more difficult or more easy. >> why more sdmfl. >> simply because i think it's because at a certain age we have so much preconception of how life is and what we want to believe and where we want to go and who we are and how we feel. that you will just all packed in to us with age. therefore, as we get older, it's harder and harder to allow new thought and new interest into ourselves. we're all too set. i mean, ethe expression set in our ways. yes, as older people we tend to be not easy. there are a great many people who aren't, who are out there still searching, wanting to find the answers, fine the reason why. why we're here, what we're doing and all the rest of it. but few and far between. as we get older, we ten to reduce our desires to very few. >> well, as a man who is aging, i'm going to be on the lookout for the advice you just offered me about how to listen better and not be a -- >> well, you never have to worry. you're the great listener of all time, and you digest everything we tell you. you bring it back and remind us. it's a wonderful gift you have. >> i'm always honored to have you on this program. i do have a bone to pick with you before you leave. how dare you leave us for 30 years in los angeles without appearing on the stage? we're glad to have you back, but three decade is a long time to desert us, angela lansbury. >> well, i was always here in spirit. [ laughter ] >> i was here for 12 years doing -- >> yeah, it's a blessing to have you back on the stage here in l.a. can i just say congratulations. when you were here last, you were headed to london to get this play on stage in the westen. but you also left me and went to the queen and that investiture. oh, my. that's heady stuff. >> that was heady stuff. it was lovely. >> you had a great time? >> oh, full of -- i don't know. it was amazing. there we were in windsor great national park windsor castle. i wasn't in buckingham palace which suited me much betterment there's a beautiful house during the day and gorgeous, trees were bursting. the chestnut trees were beginning to get their white candle. and the queen was her dear self, you know. she's an extraordinary lady. quite wonderful. we didn't have a conversation, no. but she did say to me i understand you doing live spirit in the west end. and i said, yes, i am, your majesty. thank you. she pin this thing on me. and i backed off and did my little bob and curtsy, and off i went. and that was it, you know. that's all -- that's all you get time for because there are about 50 other people who are on there -- >> it's still a big deal. >> it's a big deal. my family was with me. it was lovely. >> you deserved it, you earned it. >> listen, it's like a little dream. >> so modest. but she is dame angela lansbury. and thankfully after three decades, she is back in l.a. on the stage in "blithe spirit" if you can get in. the good news, she'll be here until mid-january. she's got a few more days to try and check her out. i am honored always to have you on the set. have a great run in l.a. people are anxious to see you, it's going to be a great time. >> thank you very much. it's so sweet of you to ask me back. thank you. >> you're welcome any time. that's our show. thanks for watching, and as always, keep the faith. ♪ >> for more information on to's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. >> hi, i'm name unanymously. join me next time -- i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a talk with microsoft billionaire steve ballmer. that's next time. we'll see you then. ♪ before ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> narrator: welcome to "film school shorts," a showcase of the most exciting new talent from across the country. experience the future of film, next on "film school shorts." "film school shorts" is made possible by a grant from maurice kanbar, celebrating the vitality and power of the moving image, and by the members of kqed. [ wings flapping ] >> girl: you know why i call you monster? because you behave like a monster. what am i supposed to do? huh? what? you tell me. because i'm out of ideas. i'm sick of this [bleep].

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