There is everything to love about Gurgs in Night Court. The third season has brought more laughs and some teases of a darker past.
In Night Court season 3, episode 8, there was a throwaway line about Donna not being Gurgs’s real name. So what is it? We got the interview to hopefully get some answers! We also talked about what it was like to be on most of the original set from the OG series.
Lacretta talks all things Gurgs in Night Court
Hidden Remote: After watching the most recent episode, I have to ask what Donna’s real name is. Will we find out at some point?
Lacretta: That was a surprise to me! There was an episode where she says that “she tried to be a Donna, but it just didn’t quite work out.” Now I want to know! She does prefer to go by Gurgs, because she knows how to be a Gurgs.
HR: I know you were a fan of the original series. What’s it been like being on most of the original set?
Lacretta: It’s an honor. It is such a character in itself. One of our wrap gifts from Melissa [Rauch], I don’t know if you can see it [points to a frame behind her], is the actual blueprint from the show. You’ve got the court room, the cafeteria, all of the specs. All of the stuff they write on there makes no sense to me, but makes total sense to an architect. I hadds another layer of reference to what it is we’re doing.
To have the original chairs in the cafeteria—it’s a replication of the couch—but to know so much magic that happened in all these set pieces. We get to live and play in that world. It’s pretty nice.
HR: What’s it like to still get to perform in front of a live audience?
Lacretta: Fantastic! It’s what I know how to do coming from the theater world. Doing a movie or a single cam was so jarring for me because I was like, “Am I funny? No one’s laughing.” They can’t laugh during the take. They always laughed after cut, but you don’t have what I call signposts. It’ is an immediatel reaction, the laughter or the tension when you’re doing drama.
To have the fourth character, the audience, there and giving you those signposts along the way. It’sa lot more comfortable for me.
HR: You never know what Gurgs is going to say. Do you ever know what she’s going to say?
Lacretta: I know what I’m gonna say, but not how. When I memorize my lines, I write them. So I’m writing, writing, writing, so they are basically tattooed onto my body. I don’t learn them with a sound. I learn them by sight, and that allows me to respond to whoever I’m paired with.
In a way that surprises us all, and that’s nice. None of us give the same line reading each take, so that keeps it fresh.
HR: There are so many great moments between Abby and Gurgs. Is there one that you love the most?
Lacretta: There was a scene where there was a box and there was something inside the box. I don’t think we were ready for whatever it was that was in there to make a sound. There’s a clip somewhere of us getting totally freaked out by this prop.
Anytime I have an interaction with her or John Larroquette or any co-star is always one of my favorites.
HR: There’s something special with John as the only OG cast member in every episode. What’s it like with him adding another layer?
Lacretta: He is like a warm hug. To have him there, I don’t think we could have done this without him, because he is what keeps us grounded to and connected, literally, to the original. He is a voice for the older generation that is valid and needs to be heard, but that also informs how we are as a younger generation. And finding that common ground between us is the art, the magic.
HR: The Wheelers have shown up, and there have been a few other OG guest stars. Are there any originals you would love to see come back?
Lacretta: Yeah, well, Marsha’s [Warfield] definitely coming back. And the Wheelers are definitel coming back. As a huge Star Trek fan, meeting Brent [Spiner], I almost died! I almost didn’t talk to him. I get shy from time to time, and it just so happened that we ended up walking through a door and there was nowhere for me to go, so I had to say hi. He is the loveliest, kindest, gentle human that I’ve met in a long time.
Night Court airs on Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC. Catch up on all the episodes with Peacock.
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