If there’s someone out there who knows about savoring a long-awaited moment, it’s Susan Lucci.

The beloved actress, 78, recently spoke with PEOPLE about her role in the second cast of My First Ex-Husband, a new comedy play from Joy Behar and directed by Randal Myler. The Emmy-winner is “flattered” that people refer to getting a long-awaited win as a “Susan Lucci moment.”

The comment is a nod to Lucci’s 29-year journey playing Erica Kane on All My Children before bringing home the Emmy for her performance. Lucci tells PEOPLE she loves to see others get their wins and was watching during a recent big one for Beyoncé

“I was watching when Beyoncé got her award. I did think about the fact that she had been long overdue,” Lucci says of the wait for the decorated singer, 43, to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.

“Certainly, I was rooting for her. I was so very happy for her.”

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After her theater run, Lucci will have a movie to promote, Apple Original Films’ Outcome. The movie is set to star Keanu Reeves as a man named Reef, described as “a damaged Hollywood star who must dive into the dark depths of his past to confront his demons and make amends after he is extorted with a mysterious video clip from his past.”

Jonah Hill, 40, plans to direct and star in the movie, which he cowrote with screenwriter Ezra Woods. Lucci can’t speak about her role in particular, but hints that, “I took the challenge.”

“I will tell you that it was a spectacular experience. It’s something that’s out of my comfort zone. And I think that’s important to do things that are out of your comfort zone,” she shares.

“I’m so glad that I did this because it was a wonderful experience with brilliant writing, wonderful actors around me. The crew was incredible on every level. This was a fantastic experience.”

For now, Lucci is excited for the opportunity to perform in the theater and get that live audience feedback.

“Performing live comes with its own set of excitement and involvement. The audiences gets engaged and it’s terrific,” the actress says.

“I think especially when you — well, anytime, but especially with comedy — anytime the audience gets engaged, it’s really nice. You’re in this together. The audience is there to laugh and you’re there to find the laughs. It’s very fun to get the response from the audience.”

Through March 23, Lucci will appear alongside Judy Gold, Tonya Pinkins and Cathy Moriarty in My First Ex-Husband at the MMAC Theater in New York City.