By Andrew Gans
Ted: Playing "Fable" for Vicki for the first time. And teaching "Say it Somehow" for the first time at the Sundance Theater Lab to Celia Keenan-Bolger and Steve Pasquale... that was also thrilling to hear for the first time.
If you could go back in time and star in/cast Vicki in any classic musical, what would it be?
Ted: Well, we're very eager to do Lady in the Dark together, and we're working on it. It's a fantastic show that not a lot of people have actually seen, and we have some good ideas about how to do a fresh production. And Gypsy! I think she'd make an astounding Mama Rose. I guess we may have to wait a while before people are eager to see the show again in NY, but when they are, watch out!
DIVA TIDBITS
A host of theatre favorites will take part in Broadway Wishes, a concert in California to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire, which is "dedicated to granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions." The Oct. 24 concert be held at the OC Pavilion Performing Arts Theater in Santa Ana. Currently scheduled to perform are Eden Espinosa, Megan Hilty, Norm Lewis, Laura Osnes, Kate Shindle, Stephen Tewksbury and Tim Howar. Paul Canaan will host the evening, which will also feature special guest musician Seth Rudetsky. The performance, press notes state, will begin with a "special performance from an exceptional local star." The producers are asking event ticket holders to log on to the "Broadway Wishes" Facebook page and post song requests in the comment box. Tickets are available online by visiting www.broadwaywishes.org.
NEWSical the Musical, which played 215 performances Off-Broadway in 2004, will return to the New York stage next month. The Drama Desk-nominated musical, penned by composer-lyricist Rick Crom, will begin previews Nov. 24 at The 47th Street Theatre with an official opening scheduled for Dec. 9. Drama Desk nominee and Forbidden Broadway alum Christine Pedi will star; additional casting will be announced shortly. NEWSical the Musical, press notes state, "is an ever-evolving mockery of all the news that is fit to spoof!" The 47th Street Theatre is located at 304 West 47th Street, off of Eighth Avenue. Ticket information will be announced shortly.
"Extraordinary eBay," the online fundraising initiative started by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS last summer, continues with a package for the eagerly awaited fundraiser Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares, which will be presented Nov. 9 at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre. Directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, Peters will be backed by a 30-piece orchestra under the musical direction of Marvin Laird and will perform a new repertoire. The Peters package includes the following items: A pair of premium tickets to the Nov. 9 concert; two VIP tickets to the post-performance party at Blue Fin where the winner will meet Peters for a once-in-a-lifetime photo; two tickets to attend the private final dress rehearsal on the afternoon before the concert; and a framed poster for the event signed by Peters and a copy of her New York Times best-selling children's book "Broadway Barks," also signed by Peters. To bid on the auction click here. The auction will end Oct 22.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
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Diva Talk will go on hiatus for several weeks.
16 Oct 2009
What's your favorite Light in the Piazza memory? 
Victoria Clark in The Light in the Piazza photo by Chris Bennion
Vicki: It's got to be Tony night when the sound guys thought my mike went out — that remains a mystery — and Kelli O'Hara saved me from having a coronary right on the stage of Radio City.
Vicki: I don't really look back very much; I'd rather think about the roles that are ahead of me in new shows that will change our world, illuminate the human condition, and make us laugh our faces off!
Two-time Tony Award winner Chita Rivera, who is currently entertaining audiences at the famed Manhattan jazz club Birdland through Oct. 17, will also perform and autograph copies of her new CD Oct. 19 at 7:30 PM at the Barnes & Noble on 66th Street and Broadway. The bookstore performance is free and open to the public. Rivera's new CD, "And Now I Swing," was released earlier this week on the Yellow Sound label.
Chita Rivera photo by Laura Marie Duncan
The original cast recording of the short-lived Off-Broadway musical Rooms: a rock romance, which co-starred Leslie Kritzer and Doug Kreeger, is due on iTunes Dec. 8. The single disc will arrive in stores in early 2010 at a date to be announced. The recording is produced by Grammy nominee Robert Sher; producing associate is Brandon Wardell. The musical, about an ambitious singer/songwriter and a reclusive rocker, features music and lyrics by Paul Scott Goodman and book by Goodman and Miriam Gordon. Scott Schwartz directed.
Christine Pedi
DIVA TALK: She Said/He Said with Tony Winners Victoria Clark and Ted Sperling
[Show times at Feinstein's will be Tuesday-Thursday at 8:30 PM and Friday and Saturday at 8 and 10:30 PM. All shows have a $60 cover with $75 premium seats available; there is also a $40 food and beverage minimum. Feinstein's is located at 540 Park Avenue at 61st Street in New York City. For ticket reservations call (212) 339-4095 or visit feinsteinsatloewsregency.com and TicketWeb.com.]
