Jessica Hecht plays complicated women: Ross’ ex-wife’s second wife on “Friends”; Golde, the sharp-tongued matriarch of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and now, the devoted wife of Mark Ruffalo’s policeman in “The Price,” newly revived on Broadway. “All these women want to hold their families together,” says Hecht, 51, who shares a Midtown apartment with her husband, film director Adam Bernstein, and their two children. She tells Barbara Hoffman where she spends her rare days off.
On any given weekend, I’m desperate to get to Sonic Yoga. It’s one of the most unpretentious places in the city — no-frills, all-heart, community-based yoga. My older kid’s leaving for college next year, and I want to do more yoga!
I have a passion for Maison Kayser, a bread shop at Columbus Circle. They have amazing scrambled eggs, and this bread that’s all ends — it’s shaped like a branch. My kids and I will eat the whole bread, then walk into Central Park. For years, we took our kids to the YMCA near 63rd Street and I still see the same people at the corner. That part of the park is also where people get hit the most by tourists who go very fast on their bicycles. I was jogging there last summer and a Mexican Girl Scout plowed into me. She was more upset than I was. I was doing “King Lear” in the park and came to the [Delacorte] Theater all bloody. It was perfect for Shakespeare.
I so rarely have a night out, but we went to see “Romeo et Juliette,” which my friend Bart Sher directed at the Met. We took [“The Price” co-star] Danny DeVito, and he was rapt. It’s nice to go with him because he loves people and he’s a magnet to begin with. If you can imagine someone working the room at the Metropolitan Opera, that would be Danny DeVito.
I love luxury consignment stores. The people who [sell] these clothes have often worn them only once. I buy almost all my clothes from 2nd Time Around. There’s a great one on 72nd between Broadway and West End, and sometimes they’ll tell me if an actor brought the clothes in, which makes me smile. I bought a Rebecca Taylor shirt that Kristin Chenoweth had owned, and it fits me!
My husband says I spend all our money on face cream. There’s this place, Yasmine Djerradine, that does these amazing facials and sells these French creams I just love. They call it an institute of beauty, but it looks like a small apartment with three little rooms where do they do facials. The woman I go to is Anka. She’s Romanian and her accent is so soothing. I’m happy to give her my money and my face.