Since making her Broadway debut in 2001, theatregoers have been lucky enough to see Nikki M. James onstage almost every year (in fact she’s currently starring in Preludes at Lincoln Center Theatre), and now filmgoers will have the opportunity to see her work her magic in Lucky Stiff, an adaptation of the musical farce that kickstarted the careers of composers Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens in 1988. In the film, James plays Annabel Glick, the idealistic representative of the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn, who is trying to convince a young heir (Dominic Marsh) to give up his fortune and help her cause.

Bringing her no-nonsense charm, luminosity and effortlessly beautiful vocals, the Tony-winning actress turns Annabel into a heroine who can fend off well for herself without any assistance. Like the characters she played in The Book of Mormon, Caesar and Cleopatra and the revival of Les Misérables, Annabel is the kind of romantic heroine who inspires audiences to find all the strength they need within themselves. We sat down with the talented actress to talk about starring in her first big movie musical, working with Flaherty & Ahrens, and what’s up with the rumored Mormon movie adaptation.

You’ve said that you’ve always wanted to play Sarah in Ragtime, so being around Lynn and Stephen all the time, were you sneaking them clues about this?

(Laughs) I wanna do so many of the things that they’ve written! I’d love to do Once on This Island, I worship their work, and before doing the film - just as an example of how weirdly things work in this world - before even doing the audition for the film, I was asked to sing “Times Like These” with The New York Pops at a concert that was honoring Lynn and Stephen. For that concert I sang “Wheels of a Dream” with Norm Lewis, so check Sarah (crosses item off invisible list), and also sang “Times Like This”, so check Annabel (crosses another item). So maybe the next day I got the audition for Lucky Stiff and I had spent some time with them during the rehearsal for the concert, which was incredible. It was sort of this perfect little moment of kismet. I’m sure I took that energy into the audition room. When something feels like the timing is uncanny, it has a way of making you feel the universe is taking care of you, if you’re someone who believes in that. You don’t go into the audition thinking “am I what they want?”, instead you think “I am what I want!”

Lucky Stiff is such a theatre lovers’ dream, so hypothetically let’s say someone gives you the power to run your own movie studio but you’re only allowed to do off-Broadway musical adaptations?

Can’t it be something that started off-Broadway and transferred?

I’ll allow it!

Cause the first thing that comes to my mind is Caroline or Change, I only saw it downtown so I have no idea what happened on Broadway. It would make an incredible movie, it’s sung-through, and the music has such depth, and the characters! Imagine how you could create the illusion of the appliances, I think it could be beautiful and theatrical, and in the climate that we’re in, it would be a really good story to tell.

I’m asking because many people forget that for people who don’t live in New York, movies are how many of us first discover musicals. Can you talk about what were some of your favorite movie musicals growing up?

I’m such a crazy traditionalist, my favorite movie musical of all time is Brigadoon (laughs) I grew up a theatre nerd in Jersey, close, so I saw a lot of shows. My parents were so incredibly indulgent of my whims and whimsy, and luckily TKTS had actually affordable tickets, so my mom and I would see a lot of shows together. I saw a ton of musicals, Friday night movie rentals, my brother is six years older so by the time I was 9 or 10 he wasn’t hanging around for movie night so I didn’t have to watch Full Metal Jacket or things he’d want to rent, so I would go to the musical section of my not-very-well stocked Blockbuster Video, rest in peace, and I would just take whatever they had. I saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a lot of the old Judy Garland stuff, Easter Parade...I love movie musicals, so my top three would be Brigadoon, My Fair Lady and obviously West Side Story. Apparently I like three hour musicals (laugh).

So I can assume you’d like to play parts in all of those?

Oh yeah! If I were a soprano I would be begging someone to produce a My Fair Lady with me to play Eliza.

If they ever make that The Book of Mormon movie I can imagine you’d like to be in it too! Are you protective of parts that you’ve originated?

With Mormon it’s such a part of me, it’s not just something I did, it’s something I created and everything surrounding it, I’m watching what the people in Hamilton are going through and I’m imagining how much fun they’re having, but I’m also remembering how hard it was. It brought us a lot of attention, I created Nabulungi from scratch, I did a lot of the readings and stuff, but by the time I left the show they’d already mounted two other productions, so there were already two girls playing my part simultaneously throughout the country, so I had to let go of it. But if I’m being totally honest, if they make a movie and I’m not in it I’ll throw a major hissy fit, my mom will have to come into the city cause I’ll be crying. They talk about it all the time, I just talked to Trey [Parker] and even he feels it would be weird to do the movie without everyone, but how will we do it when we all keep getting older and older, so I tell him we can make it animated and he was like “that’s a pretty good idea!” But I mean, The Wiz is happening soon, right? I’ve played Dorothy and I’m sure many girls my age, younger, and older, have played Dorothy all over the world too, and all of us think it’s our part. I remember thinking I had to be in The Wiz when I learned they were making it, but then I got realistic about it, the truth of the matter is at some point you’re no longer appropriate for roles you’ve played in the past. There comes a point when you realize that someone else deserves a chance at having this be their thing for a moment. I hope when they do The Wiz they cast some unknown, 18 year old girl from no place and that she nail it and it turns her into a star! But you know, if they offered it to me I wouldn’t say no (laughs).

Are we getting a soundtrack of Lucky Stiff?

I’m not sure how this works because I’d never made a real movie before, so who knows how all of that works? It would be cool, but I would rather have people go see the movie than buy the album! (Laughs) Or do both!

The movie’s going to be available on Demand as well, and being mostly a stage actor where people have to come see you, I wonder what do you think about the idea of people watching your work on their phones or tablets?

I think it’s totally thrilling, I love the idea. There’s something so magical about a theatrical experience for both the audience and the performer, it’s something that happens only in an instant and only with the people and what they’re bringing into the room, with this person’s cough and that person’s phone ringing, and another person’s break up with their boyfriend...and all of us come together and we create whatever it’s going to be today. But then there’s something so magical about being able to be alone and lost with something. I love going to the movie theater by myself, it’s still a communal experience, but a film washes over you in a way that’s different than a theatrical piece where you’re a participant. Also, the idea that my aunt and uncle in North Carolina can see something I’m in, and they don’t have to come all the way to New York, is really cool. It’s also nice to see Dennis Farina and to think that this beautiful moment where we had him in our lives has been recorded for all time. We can revisit and see him and see how brilliant he was. That’s what’s neat about film, the permanence of it is kind of the flip side of the momentariness of theatre. I can’t wait to be sitting on the subway and have someone watching the movie on their phone! I think that would be hilarious.

When you go onstage and you’re not satisfied with your work that night, you know there’s always tomorrow. But in film what’s done is done, how is that feeling as an actor?

I’m super grateful, I love that every time I hear “Times Like This” in the movie I think it sounds great! I sound great (laughs), sometimes you have some hairy moments onstage, and you’re like “wouldn’t it be nice if this was pre-recorded and I just had to move my mouth?” because you know you won’t sound perfect every single time (laughs). I think what’s really cool about film is that the collaboration happens in a row, everyone gets to put their stamp on the project. Someone writes the film, someone designs the set, someone shoots it, they light it, we do our performance, then they take it away and edit it, then they color correct it. Everyone puts their little stamp along the journey, where as in theatre all of that work happens before and then we all do it simultaneously together. When I saw Lucky Stiff for the first time, I could’ve never imagined that this what it was going to be like, thank goodness that I was working with all of these great artists! I’ve always been weird about watching myself, but the first time I watched this I was so proud of it, it was so funny and sweet, it looks gorgeous! I didn’t have moments where I thought “why did I do that like that?” I loved watching it and realized the person I was watching was me. For the first time in a long time I was able to step away, I don’t know if it’s age, a testament to the film itself, or the fact that I was more interested in watching my fellow actors, rather than criticize my own.

What’s next for you?

A few more weeks of Preludes, we’re recording our cast album which is thrilling and such an amazing gift for an off-Broadway play. Then some travel, and then maybe a break, cause I haven’t had one in a while. But I hope it’s a really short break (laughs).

Lucky Stiff will be available in theaters and on Demand on July 24.