For Stephanie J. Block, motherhood fuels new Broadway role

NEW YORK (AP) — She may hit a Broadway stage, as she always does, focused and ready eight times a week, but there's a tiny part of Stephanie J. Block's heart that's missing these days.

That would be the longing to be with her daughter, Vivian, safe in her New Jersey home. Vivian is 18 months old, and mom leaving for work may be harder on Block than the little one.

"I thought it was going to be much smoother as far as the transition. I miss her desperately every day. I think about her every second of the day," she said. "It really does fuel what I'm bringing to this character."

The role Block is playing is also a mom, but that family is somewhat in crisis. Block stars as Trina in "Falsettos ," a musical about a large and eccentric New York family at the end of the 1970s. Trina's husband has left her for a man and she's trying to cope and keep their son connected.

"My family's not fractured or falling apart, but tears are always sitting here. I am so friggin' tired and it just works for what this part is," she said, laughing. "The part came to my life at just the right time."