5 questions with '11 to Midnight' star Heather Morris

Best known for playing Brittany Pierce on Glee, Morris makes her NYC stage debut in the dance show co-created by social media stars Austin and Marideth Telenko.

Summary

• Glee star Heather Morris performs in 11 to Midnight off Broadway from April 9 to May 11
• She dances the role of a woman worried that she's behind on life's major milestones
• Morris shares what her Glee fans should know about 11 to Midnight and discusses how her 20-year dance career and personal experiences shaped her approach to the show

Heather Morris has spent the past 20 years dancing her way to stage and screen stardom. From backing up Beyoncé and Tina Turner to appearing on So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars to playing cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce on Glee, she's seemingly done it all — except, almost surprisingly, live theatre. So when the Phoenix, Arizona, resident got the opportunity to join the dance show 11 to Midnight in NYC, it was unexpected — and too good to pass up.

"I never thought I would do Broadway, and this is a version. It's an Off-Broadway production, which is actually quite iconic," Morris said. "It's very off-brand and super cool and niche."

The brainchild of dancers Austin and Marideth Telenko, known to millions of social media followers as Cost n' Mayor, 11 to Midnight follows a group of friends reflecting on their pasts, presents, and futures during the last hour of a New Year's Eve party. As the single roommate of Marideth Telenko's married main character, Morris, almost entirely through choreography, tells the story of a woman worried she's always "two steps behind" on life's major milestones.

Did Morris feel similarly, joining an established cast who've been attached to the show since September? Luckily, no. "I wasn't nervous. I never really feel nowadays that I'm the oddball out," Morris said. "I'm always just like, I hope I don't make anybody feel like I'm taking their spot. I don't want to dim anybody's light. I always want to make sure that we're all feeling seen and feeling heard."

As Morris steps into the show tonight, for six weeks only through May 11, she reflected with New York Theatre Guide on her own personal and professional journey to the Orpheum Theatre.

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How did 11 to Midnight come across your desk?

There are some blessings that come along with being the cool person that I am... no, I'm just kidding. No, Marideth DMed me one night and was like, "Hey, listen, I'm not sure if you'd be interested in coming out to New York and doing this little show we created." And I was like, "Are you kidding? Yes, I would love to. Let me just go ask my husband really quick that he can take care of the children for six weeks." Not that I'm the primary caregiver, but it was just like, "Are we good with this?" And he was like, "Please go. You will never have this chance again."

I had not [met the Telenkos before], but I had been a fan of them for a long time, and we were just missing each other in L.A. They had moved out to North Carolina; I had just moved to Arizona. We never got to get together and do any sort of collaboration, but we knew each other on social media.

The first time we got to meet was during rehearsals, which was really fun. We became, like, instant friends. There's something about dancers. I feel, personally — no offense to everybody else — like we have a secret spoken language. We just connected right away.

What would you want your Glee fans to know about the show?

From the moment you sit down to the moment you leave this theatre, these dancers are going 1,000% the entire time. It's so inspiring to be on stage next to them. It's really fun to be dancing with this generation of dancers. I feel like I'm in a different generation than these 19- and 25-year-olds on stage with me.

But also, you're going to find a personal story within one of the seven characters you're watching on stage. And then Austin and Marideth's [characters'] relationship [...] is so impactful for not only married couples, but just for anybody questioning their love and either their relationship to themselves or to their partner.

How would you describe your 11 to Midnight character?

[The Roommate] is a best friend who will be there for you no matter what, through thick and thin, is a constant in somebody's life — but has a lot of personal self-doubt and isn't quite sure where she fits in in life, within her friends, within her own personal journey.

You find, throughout the arc of her storyline toward the end, that she definitely comes into her own and discovers she doesn't need to be like everybody else. She doesn't need to have the same storyline that she thinks she needs to have.

Was anything about the choreography or character tailored to you when you joined the show?

Some of [the scene work] we improv-ed, and then used what we improv-ed. As far as dancing, dancing is very specific. I know, because I'm a teacher. With Austin and Marideth, we're consistently going through choreography and fine-tuning. Only my solo was something that Marideth was like, "If something doesn't feel right to you, change it."

How have all the different experiences from your dance career informed your work in 11 to Midnight?

It honestly feels more so like Heather's personal informative impact. Who I am inspires how I'm performing. At certain ages in my life, I felt certain ways about performing: the younger I was, the more eager and anxious and like, "I'm going to show off for everybody." Now it's more of, "How do I feel coming into my own [...] as a 39-year-old woman in the theatre, a mom, a wife, a friend?" All those things make me feel a little bit different each and every time.

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Photo credit: Heather Morris. (Photo courtesy of production)