Larsen Is Happy to Be in ‘Fella’

When Liz Larsen got the part of Cleo in the new production of “The Most Happy Fella” at the Doolittle Theatre, she was thrilled. She was also completely baffled.

“I’d always listened to the album and always loved the music,” says the actress, who plays the best friend of mail-order bride Rosabella--and ends up in her own “big boffo love story” with ranch hand Herman. “But I never in a million years thought I’d do this role. The character’s a Texan, and she’s always been played by tall, big-chested redheads. I’m this dark-haired, 5-foot-2 Jewish person.”

Larsen, who’ll travel with the show when “Fella” goes to Broadway next year, literally grew up in the theater; her mother was the press agent for a pre-Broadway tryout playhouse in Bucks County, Pa. “I was kind of a staff brat,” she admits. “Whenever they needed a kid (for a show), I’d be it. I must’ve seen every play 20 times.” A New Yorker since 1979, Larsen has appeared on and off Broadway and done a lot of show tours, something she’s less fond of lately: “When you’re young, you can bounce back. Now it’s just disconnecting.”

One thing Larsen’s better at bouncing back from is bad reviews. “John Simon has said some really hateful things about me,” she says ruefully of the New York critic. “I think he hates my looks, so it’s always very personal. His first review of me was when I was 23; I took to my bed for two weeks. I can’t wait to go back to New York this time and see what he says.”