Rachel McAdams talks Broadway play, 'Mary Jane'

We're here now with Academy Award nominee, Rachel McAdams, who's making her Broadway debut in the new play, Mary Jane. For a minute, though, we were all transfixed by Mufasa. I know. I don't know why I'm here anymore. I just want to see Mufasa. I know. Tell us about Mary Jane. Oh, well, Mary Jane is a, it's a, it's a play about a single mom who lives out in Jackson Heights, New York. And she's raising her young boy, Alex, who's two and a half, and he has very special needs that need a lot of help. And it's about the village that she finds that helps her raise her son and, and keep her going. And she's a really incredible, resilient woman who finds, you know, joy in every aspect of her life, especially with her son. It's been a while since you've been on Broadway. What's it like to be back? I've never been on Broadway. Never? I was told it had been 25 years, but I didn't want to say 25 years. It has been 25 years since I have been on the stage, so that is, yeah, that is correct. But this is my first time on Broadway, so it's really been amazing. That's so exciting for you. And this role perhaps resonates personally for you? It does, yeah. Well, I mean, my mom was a nurse, so I kind of got a small taste of what it is to be a health care worker and to, you know, care deeply and sort of be stuck in a system that maybe isn't always in support of the best care. And there's, it's one thing to do that in a movie setting. It's quite another to, to express, I mean, that's, that's heady stuff. And in front of a live audience. Yeah, it is. It's, it's, it's really rewarding though. You know, she's such an amazing character and this is the part of a lifetime. So I love going out there every night and finding something new with my amazing cast mates. They're all, I think what people have been finding surprising is that, you know, it is heavy material at times, but it's also really funny play. And all the women I work with are just hilarious comedians and they have incredible timing. And so I think you get a little bit of everything, which is reflective of life. I mean, my character says that, you know, someone says to her, Mary Jane, you're going to have good days and bad days, just like everyone, you know, no matter what you're going through. So what do you do with the good ones? Yeah, exactly. Just down the street from here, we have the Notebook adaptation on Broadway. It's been 20 years since the movie debuted. I can't believe that. A lot of people have questions about that rain scene. They thought it was really rain. But what was actually happening there in the in the movie? Yes. Oh, yes. Well, it was it was it didn't rain when we needed it to, you know, cue the rain. The movies. Yeah. So, yeah, they had to pump rain from the bottom of the lake through fire hoses and then pelt us with it. You know, it really, you know, it's really yeah. So no, because I had the lovely cast of the of the musical came to our opening night and I saw Joy Woods and I said, I'm so sorry about all that rain. And she's like, oh, it's fine. I wear my hair up. You know, I threw my hair up because my hair's still wet from the show earlier that day. So but yeah, I hear it's it makes for a great theater, I guess, having all that rain actually on stage and in the show. And I've heard it's amazing. I'm very excited to see it. OK, can we talk about Mean Girls, Regina George? You're just itching. Did you see the new movie? Because I got to tell you, my husband interviewed Renee Rapp and she's obsessed with it. Oh, I love her. I got to do a little bit. I got to introduce her on SNL, which was amazing. And she's incredible. And and so I mean, she's so young and so poised. And so, you know, I just she was awesome. Yeah, but look who else is awesome. Look at you. Yeah. I mean, oh, my gosh. Well, what's the most quoted line from that movie for you? Fetch seems to come up in all kinds of incarnations. But someone just asked me to put on a Mary Jane playbill the other day. Can you write is butter a carb on my playbill? And I was like, these worlds colliding. I was like, whatever you want. Sure. But yeah, thank you for coming in. Mary Jane. Thanks for having me.