Tony nominee Kristine Nielsen didn't look far for inspiration for her role as Penny Sycamore, the open-minded mom in "You Can't Take It With You," at the Longacre Theatre. "My mother and father were children of the Depression. They had two daughters," she tells the Daily News. "But I say with great love that the doors were always open. A house painter came once, and he stayed for 25 years. Isn't that just like the Sycamores? I think that's why I've always wanted to do this part."