Janeane Garofalo is a tiny thing, but the air around her crackles

One of my favourite romantic comedies was released all the way back in 1996, and while it rarely makes it on to the best-of lists, trust me, The Truth About Cats & Dogs is up there with the greatest. It’s a very loose play on Cyrano De Bergerac, except in this version a man falls in love with the face and body of one woman and the voice of another. That “other woman” is Janeane Garofalo.

As a teen – and even now – I connected instinctively and intensely with her character: a charming, funny, insecure feminist radio host. I have followed Garofalo’s career ever since, but her lower profile in recent years means I haven’t dedicated much brain space to her.

Last week, I went to see her in the Broadway revival of Scott McPherson’s family drama-comedy Marvin’s Room. My findings are as follows: Janeane Garofalo on stage is just as potent as she is on screen. Her character, Lee, is one of life’s strivers: a bit broken and brittle, a little tart, but possessed of an iron will to have survived thus far.

I don’t go to the theatre as often as I would like – 15 months of living in New York has seen only four visits – but every time I am stunned by the intimacy of it. Garofalo’s a tiny thing, still, but the air around her crackles.

Afterwards, I spent hours looking up YouTube clips. She’s done so much! (Please watch The Truth About Cats & Dogs and Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion immediately.) I thought about all Garofalo’s combined experience on screen and stage, and smiled at how lucky I am to have seen her in the flesh. It was a smug smile, yes.