Brandon J. Dirden and Crystal A. Dickinson on Marriage, Molière and Making Theater Together

Brandon J. Dirden and Crystal A. Dickinson have shared a life in the theater since meeting in graduate school. Now, the couple are sharing a Broadway stage in…

Brandon J. Dirden and Crystal A. Dickinson have shared a life in the theater since meeting in graduate school. Now, the couple are sharing a Broadway stage in a new way. Dirden makes his Broadway directorial debut with Roundabout Theatre Company’s The Imaginary Invalid, adapted by and starring their longtime friend Bill Irwin, with Dickinson playing Irwin’s scheming second wife Béline.

The pair sat down at the Todd Haimes Theatre to talk about their early days in New York, working with a comic genius, the ground rules of a theatrical marriage and a rather impressive collection of potato chips. Brandon, you made your Broadway debut in this very theater in Prelude to a Kiss, and now you’re here making your Broadway directorial debut. How does that feel? Brandon J. Dirden: Absolutely ridiculous. I mean, it’s like lightning striking twice, you know?

My first time on a stage in New York was here in this building. My dressing room was one floor from Crystal’s [current] dressing room. Tell me about your early days in New York. Crystal A. Dickinson: We lived in Atlanta before. I was …