A conversation with Roger Bart
ABC’s hit series “Desperate Housewives” is winding up its first season on May 22. The show focuses on the lives and loves and secrets of a group of women in a suburban neighborhood, whose stories are told by one of their neighbors who committed suicide. The series stars Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Marcia Cross as Bree Van De Kamp, Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis, James Denton as Mike Delfino, Nicollette Sheridan as Edie Britt, Steven Culp as Rex Van De Camp, Mark Moses as Paul Young, Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Carlos Solis, Cody Kasch as Zach Young, Andrea Bowen as Julie Mayer, Jesse Metcalfe as John Rowland, Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young, and Roger Bart (currently shooting the film version of his Broadway play, “The Producers”) in the recurring role of George Williams, the pharmacist who is trying to seduce Bree.
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Tony winner Roger Bart, who plays successful pharmacist and, so far, unsuccessful seducer George Williams on “Desperate Housewives,” will make one of his recurring appearances on the show on May 15.
As fans know, George has been lusting for Bree (Marcia Cross) but as yet has failed to bed the beautiful lady. Poor George.
“Poor George, indeed,” says Bart. “But you know, I don’t think of him as a seducer. I see George as a romantic. A hopeless romantic, perhaps. But no matter, that’s what a romantic is, someone who stays with his dream even if it can never come true.”
Working with so many beautiful women might be a bit intimidating for most male actors. But Bart says, “On the contrary, it’s been one of the greatest experiences I’ve had as an actor. These women are wonderful actresses, and great to work with. And they’re also very nice people.”
After winning his Tony for playing Snoopy in the Broadway revival of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” Roger Bart was cast in the role of the outrageously campy Carmen Ghia in Mel Brooks’ Broadway musical, “The Producers,” starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. He is currently reprising the character in the movie version, also starring Lane and Broderick, expected to be released in December. The role of Carmen Ghia inspired the “The Stepford Wives” filmmakers to create a super-sexy “wife” character for Bart, who, the critics said, stole the film from Nicole Kidman.
“I’ve been very lucky,” Bart says. “I’ve worked with some of our finest actors and have played a lot of wonderful characters, and I get to have a lot of fun, even if, like poor George, some of my characters don’t.”
Finally, asked why he thinks “Desperate Housewives” became such a big hit right from the start, Roger Bart says, “Because it has everything: It’s a hybrid of mystery, romance, humor — and actors who make it work.”
In Focus: In 2003, Cybill Shepherd played Martha Stewart in the successful CBS film “Martha, Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart.” She said then that she was a longtime admirer of Stewart and felt honored to be playing her. At the time, Stewart had not yet been found guilty of the charges brought against her relating to an insider stock transaction. Shepherd told me then that “whether Martha is found innocent or not … I would like to do a film showing how her life had changed since this whole thing started.”
Shepherd got her wish. She’s currently wrapping the follow-up film, which is scheduled to air on CBS some time in the fall, when Ms. Martha will be making her debut in the “Apprentice” series designed for her by Donald Trump and producer Mark Burnett.