Consideration NYC! It’s two weeks till December 2 and my Seth Rudetsky Sequence comes again to The City Corridor in NYC! My first live performance will star will me, Megan Hilty, and Jessie Mueller. Hilarious interviews, tons of solos and never-before-sung-live duets between Megan and Jessie!
Talking of duets, right here’s me and Megan collectively.
And right here’s Jessie Mueller’s soulful and delightful model of “Each Sides Now” at our occasion supporting foster care, Voices For The Unvoiced.
Come see us! Tickets here!
Talking of Voice For The Unvoiced, we’re doing it once more, and this time it’s the 25th anniversary of You Gotta Consider, the one NYC group that helps older foster youth discover households. If not, these youth age out of the system and 50 % turn out to be homeless or go to jail. You Gotta Consider does such wonderful work and we simply solid our profit; this 12 months we’re going to have Emmy and Tony Award winner Laurie Metcalf, who adopted out of foster care, and Tony Award winner (and woman all the time there to assist out) Kelli O’Hara!
Right here’s so Kelli (and Renee Fleming) for the Vacation season!
Get tickets to Voice for the Voiceless here.
Talking of NYC, I’m escaping the chilly this week by flying to L.A.! Ha, ha suckers! However earlier than I get solar injury, I want to recount final week’s Seth Speaks once I had some super-fun company! First, I had my British pal, Andy Nyman, who simply performed Tevye reverse Judy Kuhn within the Trevor Nunn-directed Fiddler On The Roof. He was simply nominated for an Night Customary Award! However what’s even cooler is he has Ghost Tales operating on the West Finish, which he co-wrote, and he has Derren Brown: Secret, which he additionally co-wrote, operating on Broadway. Yass, Queen (of England)!
Talking of the U.Ok., there’s a present known as Scotland, PA on the Roundabout, which is a musical model of Macbeth that takes place in 1970s Pennsylvania. I had one of many hilarious stars, Megan Lawrence, go to me at SiriusXM, as effectively. We talked about faculty and the way she went to Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. The truth that musical theatre was all she was finding out all day and all night time was an excessive amount of for her. It was making her hate what she cherished! She complained all freshman 12 months after which, on the very starting of her sophomore 12 months, she known as her dad and mom and stated she wished to go away college. Her mother, who believed everybody ought to go to school got here to select her up and drive her again to Baltimore for 10-hour trip dwelling in silence. Megan finally began doing kids’s theatre in her hometown with one other future Tony nominee…Andy Karl! They placed on nice productions, nonetheless, the reveals had been typically early within the morning and she remembers belting excessive E’s at 10 AM and seeing kids watching intently…with their arms over their ears. Thanks on your honesty?
Megan Lawrence
Joseph Marzullo/WENN
By the best way, that’s a catchprase of mine and Paul Castree’s. Our good friend was attempting out for Tommy Tune’s Grease and his 8×10 had a pose like he was leaning on his fist. However, for some purpose, his fist was virtually over his ear. Why was it there? He wasn’t leaning on it. Nobody knew. So, at this audition, Tommy checked out his picture and stated, “That is the worst headshot I’ve ever seen.” To which our good friend replied, all smiles and bizarrely staying constructive, “Thanks on your honesty.” And Paul and I’ve been saying it for the final 25 years.
So, talking of Grease, Megan wound up attempting out for and getting solid within the nationwide tour! She did it with Adrian Zmed as Danny, Sutton Foster as Sandy, and Marissa Jaret Winokur as Jan. I did the present on Broadway, and Megan and I had been commiserating in regards to the continuous put-in rehearsals. If you happen to don’t know, when somebody new joins a present, there’s a run-through the place the brand new individual is “put in” to the present. Nicely, the present was stored operating by celebrities coming into the present—often for brief intervals of time so there have been continuous put-ins.
Once I did it, off the highest of my head we put in Maureen McCormick, Tracy Nelson, MacKenzie Phillips, Debby Boone, Linda Blair, Brooke Shields, Jennifer Holliday, Al Jarreau, Joe Piscopo, Cousin Brucie, Chubby Checker, Donny Most, Micky Dolenz, Dominique Dawes, Jo Anne Worley, Dody Goodman, and Sheena Easton. (That’s simply who I can keep in mind proper this minute.) I performed piano for 90 % of these put-ins.
By the best way, Megan stated that MacKenzie Phillips was the one Rizzo to smoke actual cigarettes through the present. Brava technique performing? Anyhoo, Megan left after six months and, a number of years later, she came visiting Marissa in NYC. Marissa informed her she was going to audition for Les Miz and requested Megan if she’d come alongside. So, they had been each ready to go in and Ron LaRosa got here out and informed everybody to not use their 16 bars, simply to showcase their wonderful excessive notes. It was an excessive amount of relentless belting all afternoon. Megan figured that everybody heard Ron however thought, “Completely get it. However that doesn’t apply to me.” However, proper earlier than she sang, she determined to not do her excessive be aware (the final 16 bars of “Mem’ry”) and as an alternative to sing the mellow and earnest “Sleepy Man,” which Patti LuPone sang in The Robber Bridegroom.
Nicely, instantly the music director was beaming and informed her that was the primary New York present he did and everybody else cherished it, as effectively! Now, these of you who’ve learn my column know that you just by no means ask your good friend to come back alongside to your audition…as a result of your good friend all the time becomes Leroy from Fame.
Megan Lawrence
Marc J. Franklin and Nathan Skethway
Sure, Megan obtained a callback and, within the longstanding Leroy custom, Marissa didn’t. Megan, nonetheless, didn’t know the way excessive the feelings had been on the Broadway Les Miz. The present had been operating for years and since many of the solid was on what’s known as a “pink contract,” they couldn’t get replaced. The powers-that-be determined to herald new solid members for the 10-year anniversary they usually went about it a horrifying method: I heard the solid members lined up and, one after the other, they got an envelope telling them whether or not they had been being changed or not! And there have been a number of who had been requested neither to go nor keep…however to re-audition! When Megan obtained to her callback, she was there with Sarah Uriarte Berry, who had performed the position earlier than, Andréa Burns who was up for Cosette, and a lady who had been taking part in Eponine however was requested to re-audition—this time for Cosette. And Megan stated that nobody ever wished to go from the plum position of Eponine to Cosette, so the girl’s feelings had been excessive.
At one level, she began crying and left the room, however Megan and Andréa had no thought what was unsuitable. Megan stated that Andréa was her rock. She was like “OK…clearly one thing is occurring. Now we have to simply stay centered on our auditions.” Megan stated that Andréa sounded wonderful however wound up not getting Cosette. It went to the previous Eponine, and Sarah obtained Eponine and Megan obtained the understudy. The present went via a full rehearsal course of. However, she stated that the artistic crew was so completely satisfied they didn’t need to spend rehearsal time re-writing stuff and determining what labored. So, they’d a lot of additional time…for theater video games. They really did that when the present first got here to the USA. Judy Kuhn informed me in regards to the preliminary rehearsals for Les Miz the place in the future everybody within the solid needed to faux to be their favourite Saturday morning cartoon character. It was mortifying for a lot of, however the principle was that when you’ve achieved one thing that embarrasses you in entrance of your castmates, it’s simpler to take dangers for the remainder of rehearsals. Being mortified in public pays off? Nonetheless ready for this I-neglected-to-wash-my-hair fifth grade picture to repay.
Don’t neglect about my 20th anniversary Chatterbox arising on Sunday December 1 at three PM. Orfeh, Paige Worth, Paul Castree, Kevin Chamberlin, and Roger Bart. Name 212-757-0788 for go to DontTellMamaNYC.com for reservations!
Right here is considered one of my very first Obsessed! movies with Kevin…ending on a excessive C!!!! Get pleasure from and peace out!