Kyra Sedgwick Plays Two Complicated Mothers On Stage (‘All of Me’) and On Screen (‘Bad Shabbos’)

Kyra Sedgwick is having quite a moment.

The award-winning actor-producer-director is currently starring onstage in The New Group’s production of Laura Winters play, All of Me. In addition, her new film, Bad Shabbos, directed by Daniel Robbins, is World Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

All of Me is an honest look at class and disability in today’s America. Sedgwick plays, Connie, the working-class mother of a wheelchaired disabled girl (Madison Ferris) who uses text speech technology to communicate with her rich new beau (Danny J. Gomez), who also happens to be disabled and uses the same technology to speak. Connie is working her ass off to keep her family going, taking on way too much responsibility. Sedgwick manages the perfect balance of comedy and pathos in the difficult role of Connie.

The indie gem, Bad Shabbos, is also quite comedic and centers on an interfaith couple who are about to have their respective parents meet for the very first time over a Shabbat dinner. But things don’t quite go to plan as the groom-to-be’s family become embroiled in dealing with a tragic accident. Sedgwick plays Ellen, the matriarch, who is not so keen on her son marrying a non-Jew, even if the bride-to-be is in the process of converting. The wonderful cast includes David Paymer, Jon Bass, Ashley Zuckerman, Meghan Leathers, Theo Taplitz and Iff “Method Man” Smith.

Both roles allow Sedgwick to play complicated mothers who authentically evolve as the narrative unfolds–fiercely protective mothers who learn to let go…a little.

Sedgwick’s first major studio film was opposite Tom Cruise in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July in 1989 followed by James Ivory’s Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, in 1990. Her other movie credits include Cameron Crowe’s Singles (1992), Ron Underwood’s Heart and Souls (1993), Lasse Hallström’s Something to Talk About (Golden Globe nomination, 1995), Sidney Lumet’s Critical Care (1997), Kevin Bacon’s Loverboy (2005), John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings (2013) and Barry Levinson’s The Humbling (2014), to cite a few. She directed her first film, Space Oddity, in 2023.

The thesp’s TV work includes Miss Rose White (1992), Losing Chase (Bacon’s directorial debut, 1996), Ally McBeal (2002), Something the Lord Made (2004), The Closer (Emmy and Golden Globe Award, 2005-2012), and The Summer I Turned Pretty (2023). She’s directed episodes of Ray Donovan, Grace and Frankie, City on a Hill, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Girls on the Bus as well as her directorial debut, Story of a Girl, which garnered her a DGA nomination.

On stage she’s appeared in the Broadway revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! in 1988 and the Lincoln Center revival of Twelfth Night in 1998. Her Off-Broadway credits include, Maids of Honor (1990), Not Wavering (1997), Stranger (2000) and The Exonerated (2002).

Sedgwick runs her own production company, Big Swing Productions, along with Valerie Stadler and Meredith Baby. They are committed to projects about cultures and communities largely underrepresented on-screen.

All of Me performances run through June 16th. For tickets visit: https://thenewgroup.org/production/all-of-me/tickets/

Bad Shabbos screens at the Tribeca Film Festival through June 15th. For tickets visit: https://tribecafilm.com/films/bad-shabbos-2024

Awards Daily had the pleasure of chatting with her about both projects.