In Clinton The Musical, stage veteran Kerry Butler takes on the part of Hillary and gives one of the most exciting performances of her career. Balancing the courage, temper and kindness of Mrs. Clinton, all while singing beautifully, Butler is a true delight. On the eve of the show's opening we had the opportunity to talk with the theatre star about the challenges of playing a real life character, as well as some of her dream roles and real life heroes.

Has Hillary’s official announcement that she is running for President made playing her more intimidating?

It hasn’t made it more intimidating, it’s made it more fun because the audience is so excited now. When I say things like “my first presidency” in the show, they scream and then in the end when I say “vote for me”, sections of the audience scream as well.

The show is especially kind to Monica and Hillary, who were both subjected to very harsh scrutiny by the media, was this part of what attracted you to the show?

It was definitely something that I fought for. Not that it was negative to begin with, but Judy Gold and I, as well as producer Kari Lynn, wanted to make sure that Hillary was portrayed as the smart woman she is. We had to make sure she wasn’t a victim, I feel that Hillary is often attacked for being a woman, so she had to develop this tough skin because she’s competing in a man’s world and we wanted that to come across. I also like what the piece says about why she stayed with him, I don’t know if it’s true, but I like that she stays with Bill for her country. The more research I did on her the more I realized that she wants to change the world and make a difference, she has good intentions, and she’s been doing missionary trips since she was in high school.

I have always loved her, I had Hillary posters as a kid!

Oh wow, I’m so glad you like her! I didn’t want the show to be about her complaining about the affairs.

At the end of the day, with Hillary’s protagonism, it’s easy to ignore the fact that this is a show about a mature woman, do you personally feel that theatre is less ageist than other mediums?

I don’t know, I struggle with that all the time. I lose parts all the time to younger girls, but, but, I worked with Angela Lansbury who is in her eighties and she’s still doing tons of theatre, so I think there are definitely roles for older women in theatre, I don’t know what the percentages are compared to TV and film.

I saw you in Under the Skin which had you play a character who becomes a man, I couldn’t help but wonder if you had borrowed anything from Melody to play Hillary, especially since she’s always accused by her critics of trying to act like a man.

That’s funny because I totally did! (Laughs) When I did that show I learned all of these tricks to raise your testosterone (laughs), like this TED Talk that said that if you stand in a certain way for a certain amount of time that raises your testosterone and makes you feel more powerful. I’ve used some of that body work in this show, because I’ve learned that Hillary is not girly at all, she doesn’t use her sexuality at all. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a soft or sweet side, it just meant they were things I had to take away from me to play her, cause I am girly.

You’re no stranger to political satire since you played Mabel in The Best Man, which was essentially about the Kennedys and how much Gore Vidal detested them, are there any other political figures you find fascinating?

Now I’m a huge Hillary fan, I already liked her because I was a Democrat and volunteered...although I was doing it more for Al Gore honestly (laughs) but through doing this research I love everything Hillary stands for. Also Eleanor Roosevelt, I wanna learn more about her.

In the show Hillary is obsessed with Eleanor Roosevelt who appears to her and gives her advice, who would be Kerry Butler’s Eleanor?

I would say Mother Teresa.

You’ve been in Xanadu, Little Shop of Horrors, Catch Me If You Can, Hairspray, movies and Broadway? Is it easier for you to approach a character that hasn’t been done before or do you find yourself paying homage to the actors who played them before you?

I like originating roles mostly because you have a longer rehearsal period so you can make the character your own, you have input in the process. Like a lot of things in this show for instance, the writer was open to changing things for us, I love trying out things during the preview process and seeing how the audience reacts to these changes. This was the first time I played someone who was actually alive, and that was exciting although at first I didn’t think I could do it. Hillary isn’t someone easy to do, even the impersonations I’ve seen are troublesome because Hillary is so normal, there’s not something that makes you go “oh, that’s Hillary”! So from the footage and having her read her books to me (laughs) I ended up exaggerating her speech patterns a little bit, which used to be stronger in the 90s. Back then she had a thicker Midwestern kind of accent, I watched footage from when Bill was sworn in and saw her with this huge smile and imagined the intensity behind that smile, so that’s what I tapped into. Sometimes she’s really fun, she has a great sense of humor, she has a great laugh...but underneath there is this intense drive which is something I wanted to have some fun with.

Les Miserables is one of your favorite musicals and you said that Russell Crowe is your favorite actor, did you find yourself having to defend him when the film version came out?

I love him, but I haven’t seen much of what he’s done lately. I used to love how he would completely transform himself in the role, where you wouldn’t even recognize him in each movie. That’s the kind of actor I wanted to be, where I’m not relying on my bag of tricks and I’m going out of my comfort zone which sometimes is hard to do. With Hillary I feel I’m doing something I’d never done before...

You’re also doing more non-musical plays.

Yes, I hadn’t done a musical in four years! Be careful what you wish for (laughs) I wanted to do one play and then I got four in a row, but I really missed singing because there’s nothing like doing a musical.

When you were a kid you wanted to play the part of Annie, what are your dream roles as an adult?

Oh…(laughs) my first Broadway show was Blood Brothers where I was an understudy so I never got to go on, so I want to play any of the leads in that show. I just did a stage reading of Big so I’d love to do that show as well! What else? Hmm, oh gosh I saw the revival of Pippin and loved it so much!

Clinton The Musical is playing at New World Stages.