Alex Borstein loves the word cunt.
“That’s my favorite word. I like to call people a cunt; I like to be called a cunt. The Emmy Award-winning actress recently adored The Daily Beast’s Obsessed. Interspersed with Borstein’s new Prime Video comedy soundtrack special, Corsets and Clowns. However, seeing it resembles a verbal slap. Gorgeous Miss Maisel character Susie Myerson says this four-letter word, and Susie’s client and best friend Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) is on the receiving end in this week’s Susie-centric episode of the series.
fifth and final season Miss Maisel unfolds non-linearly, revealing early on that Midge’s dreams of becoming a global sensation have come true. At some point along the way, we learn that his close bond with principal Susie has been severed. By the mid-’80s, the couple no longer spoke. This week’s episode of “The Test-Roastial” reveals exactly when and why this friendship broke down, while offering a glimpse of hope that reconciliation is possible.
Midge’s meteoric rise 60 minutes In the second episode of this season, the interview chronicles the key moments to come in his career. There’s a lot of drama in the line, from getting arrested during a sold-out Carnegie Hall set to a number of famous boyfriends (and husbands). The most significant reveal, however, is his big breakup with Susie, and “The Test-Rostial” begins in 1985 with Midge describing this inner explosion on stage – but avoiding any nuanced details.
Elton John’s movie “Susie (Dramas)” takes us to the home of the comedy world’s famous Friars Club in Manhattan. The year is 1990 and Susie is honored with the title of “Testi-Rositial” in which Midge’s absence is expected. What emerged was an insightful, funny and emotional portrayal of Susie’s professional rise and many rumors about her first client.
Borstein chatted about the daunting episode that revealed Susie’s past (and future), the final season, and the familiar location she was filming. Corsets and Clowns. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Celebrating Susie
“This scenario is very unique. It is unique in our series. We’ve never done anything like this before; it has a different taste and tone,” says Borstein. “So it was scary in some ways; You are not left to your usual resources. I don’t have Rachel with me in every scene. It’s different.” Susie not only takes center stage, she also flies solo on this journey down the lane of memories.
“Playing with time” is a daunting deviation from the norm, both physically and mentally. “You try to embody a character at different times, how they sit, move, talk,” he says. Borstein talks about keeping track of the various years in Susie’s life as “sometimes confusing” but also “eye-opening and exciting.” In show business, it’s only been three years since Susie and Midge first met (Midge’s Gaslight debut was in 1958, and this season mainly took place in 1961), so it was “fun to shake things up” and dived into Susie’s big making a hit.
Susie’s rise includes elements of the woman she shares her initials with. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino told Borstein about her connection to first super agent Sue Mengers before auditioning. Borstein has disabled additional research. Reason? “I was afraid that I would lock onto something and then start faking something. I didn’t want to know how someone looked or how they talked, so I tried to stay away.”
Borstein wanted to stick with Sherman-Palladino’s words because “I think what makes a character great is that everything is on the page. It doesn’t require someone to sit down with you and explain more.” While Susie’s origins differ from Mengers’ one resemblance, she is a star client and a close friend who will continue to leave them. For Mengers, that was Barbara Streisand. In Susie’s case, Midge broke up their decades-old partnership after discovering the truth about her manager’s deal with the mob and the effect it had on Midge’s family.
Susie and Midge’s Breakup
“It was troubling to learn how deeply Susie had betrayed him. Susie betrayed him on many levels; was there too much It is not shared with his partner,” he says. Borstein admits it’s a love story, which is why this storyline hits so hard. There are many secrets Susie keeps from Midge, whether it’s details about her personal life or the deal her ex-husband Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen) makes to ensure that Midge doesn’t become part of Susie’s less palatable business arrangements. Borstein understands why Susie didn’t tell Midge: “She wanted to heal, to deliver, to protect her from the truth.”
Unfortunately for everyone involved, in 1985, while the Maisel family was at the synagogue, the FBI came looking for Joel; There is nothing Susie can do to hide it from her anymore. Susie finds Midge alone, holding a letter from Joel explaining the reason for her arrest. This pivotal scene presented a challenge for both actors. The first five episodes were shot sequentially, but all feature scenes from the timeline. “You’ve been shooting extraordinary for decades, and what happens – you flashforward, you flashback – so this fight came at a very different time in our shooting schedule and caught us both off guard. It was difficult to shoot,” says Borstein.
Anger over years of back-to-back dating at the casinos and rumors of Susie’s gambling habits surface in a verbal argument match that hits all the insecurities that both women have. This is nearly 25 years after everything we’ve seen in the main story, but we know these characters so well by now that every single phrase hits hard.
Susie responds to Midge’s accusations, “You ungrateful jerk.” While Borstein likes the word, Susie doesn’t use it affectionately. “I think Susie knows at that point that she betrayed him,” Borstein says. “Susie using that big ugly word. You know, like if you see a bear you have to grow up to scare it. I feel like that’s what Susie is trying to do.
Rather than startle Midge, she responds with an equally instinctive punch: “This is how I’ll remember you, Susie. Small” Of course, the choice of insult is not something he can get arrested for saying on stage, but I tell Borstein it makes him feel that way. path more personal. It looks like this low impact harks back to their conversation about Midge being a stand-up comedian. “It’s the first episode where Susie says ‘I don’t mind being alone. I just don’t want to be unimportant.’ And having Midge say she was small and insignificant is the most hurtful thing she could do to him,” Borstein says.
Peeling Susie’s Layers
In a season filled with revelations about the future, Sherman-Palladino also pulls back layers of Susie’s past, including Gordon Ford’s (Reid Scott) surprise connection with his wife, Hedy (Nina Arianda). Unlike Midge, Susie never discloses her personal relationships and was not thrilled when Midge took her to a lesbian bar last season. While Susie hasn’t outwardly confirmed that she has a love affair with Hedy, it’s clear from a backlit discussion by Radio City Music Hall that it’s more than a platonic affair. It’s been 15 years since they’ve seen each other, and while Hedy tries to keep up, Susie can barely look at him. “This is open to the public. It’s too loud,” Hedy says of Susie’s tone, which trembles with anger and heartbreak.
Borstein says, “That 30 Rock scene was challenging because every time they confuse running with Susie being vulnerable and hurt, it’s tough; trying to keep up with those timings while maintaining that heart-wrenching feeling,” he says. Hedy chased Susie through the iconic building to the sidewalk, and she remembers it was “very late at night and sweltering hot.” In a scene that shows the typically hardened Susie at her most vulnerable, Borstein says she’s “pleasant working with Nina.” “I liked playing that he was hurt, a little bit offended, and a little bit scared,” adds she.
While Susie is not an open book, Borstein does not shy away from the deeply personal. Corsets and Clowns. There is Maisel Instead of shooting at one of New York City’s many locations, Borstein chose Steiner Studios in Brooklyn Navy Yard. More specifically, it stood on the Wolford Theater stage, which Midge has called home since Season 4. “It felt like Amy Sherman-Palladino betrayed me at my own wedding,” Borstein says.
Borstein toured the show publicly, but when it came to filming the Prime Video special, he asked the show manager if they could use the space (“loved the idea”). It’s a unique place and a “beautiful honour”, as it was two weeks after shooting. Corsets and Clowns, The set was demolished: “It was the last thing that was done in that theater – it was very important – and there won’t be another special film shot live from the Wolford Theatre, because it didn’t exist outside of our imagination.”
Work on Gorgeous Miss Maisel It marked Borstein in more ways than one, making him “re-believing in love and opening myself up to possibilities”, just like his character. It’s a bittersweet feeling, and Borstein says it’s “heartbroken” when a show like this ends. But she also portrayed the actress from whom another all-encompassing role could emerge. “You have to hold on, don’t take no for an answer.”
Three more episodes left, but Borstein is already taking lessons. Gorgeous Miss Maisel. “I think my biggest takeaway is the relationship with Midge and Susie, and when one woman has another woman’s back, there’s no end to what’s possible,” she says. “We need to do more than that. I need to do more than that.
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