Taxi’s Marilu Henner reprises her role in ‘Noises Off’ at Bucks County Playhouse

In 1992, Marilu Henner starred in the movie "Noises Off" along with Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Nicolette Sheridan and Mark Lynn Baker about a group of actors who pull together and put up with each other despite bickering to keep a play going. It was directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

Henner, whom you may remember as Elaine Nardo from the iconic sitcom "Taxi," is performing the play with Richard Klein from "Three's Company" at the Bucks County Playhouse through June 16. She called me on New Jersey 101.5.

You did this movie in 1992. And you've only gotten younger since then? What's up with that? How did that happen?

"I don't know. Dairy. I gave up dairy some time ago,  August 1979, and it changed my life. It really made such a difference in my energy, my movement, everything. I always call it, learn to love the food that loves you. And dairy did not love me"

Tell us about the play.

"It's so much fun. It's about a troupe of English performers who are doing this farce. And it's about the technical and the dress rehearsal," says Henner. "The final night before they're going to open and you get all the intrigue of all the couples and everything that's going on."

"And then the second act is what happens a month later to the troupe. And it's all backstage and how much the relationships have changed. And the audience is just letting on so many great secrets, and they get to see what it's like behind the scenes for our show. And it's just nonstop."

"Every night we hold our breath because there are so many accidents that could have ever been. I mean, even if you saw this play twice, you wouldn't see the same show. It's so different than doing the movie in a way. Because even though we learned the entire piece as a play, we rehearsed it for eight weeks, and then we shot it over the following six weeks. But we do it in piecemeal. And to do it all at once everybody is like drenched in sweat and feeling so good. And you never know there are so many near misses. And the audience goes crazy. Every night, we get a standing ovation every night. The audience is just howling. And it's so much fun to be on stage. Doing a piece that you know the audience loves."

Every night it's a new adventure. This is like your life right now.

"Oh my gosh, completely. It's really something. It's funny because that reminds me of Taxi in a way because Taxi was such an ensemble piece. And it was different all the time. And because we rehearsed it, like it's a play, you know, all week, and then we'd shoot it on Friday nights. And, of course, it was preserved for all time. But this is like every night, something a little different. And it's got really super talented people like we did on Taxi. So I think if you've come to see it, which I hope you will, I hope everybody who comes really will love it the same way they love Taxi."

Do you keep in touch with the Taxi cast?

"Every two or three months, we do a Zoom. And it's unbelievable. You're so current with each other. Some of them are coming out to see me. We've all seen Tony's show. And we all saw Chris Lloyd's show. So you know, we just get together as often as we possibly can. So we're super current with one another."

Did you know when you were doing it how great Taxi was?

"It's funny wrapping up. Jim Brooks, you know, the brilliant Jim Brooks from 'Taxi' and 'Mary Taylor Moore,' 'Cheers' and 'The Simpsons,' he always says that we know that this was a golden time all of our lives. And there was there would never be another thing like Taxi because they knew how special it was so we got it from them as well."

"You know, they did 'Mary Tyler Moore' and 'Phyllis' and wrote it and everything else. But there was something about 'Taxi' that the cast loved each other. We socialized as much as we could. Plus, it was kind of the Golden Age. It was like being on the best college campus, the studio at the time, the Paramount lot, because we had, on that lot. "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley," were everybody's working stiffs. We had "Mork and Mindy;' we had a 'Taxi.'"

"But we were the cool kids because every Friday night, we had a party after our show. Everybody would come to the 'Taxi' soundstage, and they'd be part of the party. So it was like Michael Keaton, and Jim Belushi and Tom Hanks. And of course, Robin Williams and Henry Winkler, you know, everybody would come and hang out at the taxi cab with the 'Taxi' cast."

"Four times here, we have this crazy party in the commissary, and I'd get a playlist for everyone. And we'd have a DJ, and we'd all dance till everybody was just a golden time in television. And in all of our lives."

To see "Noises Offf with Marilu Henner click here.