What show recently impressed you?
Drood because anything Chita [Rivera] does makes Broadway better. But it was also so energetic and with unstoppable momentum, and every performance was perfect. I was also impressed that my "bridge & tunnel" parents loved it and want to go back.
What production are you most excited to see?
Cinderella because watching the TV telecast was the event of the year for me as a child. We'd go to my grandmother's house to watch it on her color TV (no, I'm not that old...my parents didn't get a color TV till 1985). When that overture started, I was entranced and giddy with excitement. To see it in person will be ... well confusing since I've only ever seen it sitting cross-legged on the floor looking up at a screen. I'm sure to get a little misty over the memories it conjures up.
What play/musical would you most like to revive on Broadway, and which role would you want to play?
If I could get down to a size eight, I would love to sing Lily Garland in On The Twentieth Century. Believe it or not, it's written in a perfect key for me. I think it's a pretty damned perfect musical. So so so funny...even the overture is funny. I remember singing "Babette" for Adolph Green one afternoon at my friend Michael Lavine's house (Adolph used to go over there, and they'd just sing for hours). He then made a call to Betty Comden and said, "Hello, dear, yes I'm singing some songs at Michael's, and you know that song 'Babette' we wrote ... (pause) ... well it's very good!!!"
What are your current/upcoming projects?
Looking forward to several very exciting NEWSIcal Celebrity Guest Stars. Several cabaret show ideas (I'd love to go to the Adelaide Festival this year) and a few silly YouTube videos plus recording some Comden & Green songs for Lost Broadway...and getting down to a size eight, of course.
