If we’re living in a “golden age” of television, Edie Falco is its queen.

After working for years on network shows, she made the jump to HBO to play a troubled prison guard on Oz, then crossed over to the other side of the law as the matriarch of America’s most famous mafia family in The Sopranos. Now Falco finds herself on the other premium television powerhouse, Showtime, playing the title character in Nurse Jackie: a headstrong presence in the emergency room whose personal life is a mess.

The Emmy Award-winning actress thrives portraying troubled, conflicted and hard-headed women.

“I tend to find out what it is about Nurse Jackie or anyone that other people understand,” she said. “At the root of all the stuff I do, you want everyone to feel like they’re not alone.”

Falco has taken on the role of yet another troubled woman recently, this one on stage in The Madrid.

She plays Martha, a happily married mother and kindergarten teacher who walks out on her family and students to live alone in a shabby hotel. The actress stands by Martha’s motivations, but was surprised to find audiences hate her character.

“The mother leaving a family is the last bastion,” she said. “People are not willing to sympathize. It’s been a real learning experience for me.”

Despite the negative reactions, Falco remains undeterred.

“I go to material that moves me,” she said. “For the few people she does reach, it’s all worth it.”

The Madrid is running at the Manhattan Theatre Club through May 5, 2013.