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Why Sarah Jessica Parker Was 'Worried' About Doing Broadway Play with Husband Matthew Broderick

Sarah Jessica Parker as "Nora Hubley" and Matthew Broderick as "Roy Hubley" take their first curtain call for Neil Simon's "Plaza Suite" on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre on February 25, 2022 in New York City.
Sarah Jessica Parker as "Nora Hubley" and Matthew Broderick as "Roy Hubley" take their first curtain call for Neil Simon's "Plaza Suite" on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre on February 25, 2022 in New York City.

Bruce Glikas/Getty Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick in Plaza Suite

Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker are two peas in a pod, both in their marriage and onstage together.

The spouses — who are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this week — spoke to The Hollywood Reporter for the magazine's New York Issue about starring in Broadway's Plaza Suite, with Parker, 57, telling the outlet that they didn't "consciously" have any concerns about working together so much, at least not at first.

"I only thought about being concerned when people ask(ed) us, 'Are you concerned that this is going to be harmful to your marriage?' And then I was worried. 'Well, should we be?'," she admitted. "We've never spent this much time together ever, even before we had kids. Even when we were just dating."

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Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick cover of The Hollywood Reporter
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick cover of The Hollywood Reporter

Danielle Levitt for The Hollywood Reporter

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Broderick, 60, said it was "a scary" prospect to consider what might be said in the press about his marriage with Parker amid their costarring gig, but as his wife noted, "I think we've kind of figured out how we can talk about the work and also be coy about us."

"Because it seems fair and right: If I was a person interviewing us, and we were doing a play about marriages and relationships, it would be awfully difficult to not ask where it overlaps with our lives," said the Sex and the City star. "I've always said one of the reasons we've had success is because we don't talk about our marriage."

While the actress insisted she's "not flattering myself that anyone's discussing my marriage," she said that she and Broderick are "certainly not going to add to it by saying, 'Well, this is why it works,' as, "Next thing you know, there'll be a very public divorce."

"So we just try to respect each other. I think I learned early on when I was talking too much. I was like, 'I'm in love. When's he going to marry me?' Oh my God, I'm so sorry about that. I'm still apologizing for that," Parker added, to which her husband responded, "Don't do that."

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This isn't the first time Parker and Broderick have shared the stage. They both appeared in the 1996 cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, before tying the knot the following year.

Plaza Suite officially opened in late March at the Hudson Theater on Broadway. Performances are scheduled through June 26.

In the play, Parker and Broderick play three different couples who all check into the famed New York Plaza Hotel. The Neil Simon comedy's revival was set to commence two years ago, but was pushed to a 2022 date due to COVID-19's impact on Broadway.

Days after Plaza Suite opened, both Parker and Broderick tested positive for the virus. But as Parker told THR of having to be out for 10 days, "We've both been much, much, much sicker and performed. It's anathema to what we're taught as actors, which is that you perform literally with a 102.3 fever, you vomit in the wings, you come back. It's very odd to basically not have any symptoms and not be allowed to return to work."

"Yeah. It's frustrating," Broderick agreed. "In most businesses, after five days you'd be allowed back. But [for Broadway] it's 10, so that last five days when you're testing negative and feeling fine is sort of frustrating. But there's a reason, which I didn't even realize. It's because in our particular business, we can't wear a mask."