DIVA TALK: Catching Up with Tony Winner Chita Rivera Plus Baldwin, Callaway, Luker on CD
By Andrew Gans
Rivera and George Hearn in The Visit photo by Scott Suchman
Question: Is there anything happening with
The Visit at this point?
Rivera: From your mouth to God's ear. That's the one thing. I've really tried my whole life not to
really want something. When you really want it, you get kind of crazy and if you don't get it, you get really upset. So I've really put my head most of the time into, "Well, if I'm not supposed to do that, I'm not supposed to do it." But I have to tell you, I have fallen. I really would love for
The Visit to be done. Not only do I think that it's a wonderful piece… Freddy and John, their score is wonderful, and Terrence [McNally's] book, and of course the original story. And Frank Galati's direction and [co-star] George Hearn… I think it's really worthwhile. We don't have many original pieces right now, and that's what we're famous for. Nobody does musical scores and books and putting them all together like we do in this country, and this is an original piece. Everybody involved with it, whether it means anything or not, they're all Tony winners. So they've been around. It's dark and it's interesting and it's different. So I want that. [Laughs.]
Question: Are there any producers attached at this point? Rivera: At this point, no. But you never know. Spider Woman was dropped, Garth [Drabinsky] picked it up, we went on to win Tonys. I'm trying to be patient, I swear to you, but I don't know how patient I can be.
FOR THE RECORD Liz Callaway, Rebecca Luker and Kate Baldwin . Callaway, who has been seen on Broadway in Baby, Miss Saigon and Cats , offers an eclectic mix of tunes by pop and theatre writers. Luker, who can currently be seen as Mrs. Banks in the New York staging of Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam, devotes much of her solo recording to up-and-coming songwriters but also includes tunes by Jule Styne, Maury Yeston and John Kander. Kate Baldwin, who may be less familiar to theatre audiences—although she is currently starring in the Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow at the St. James Theatre — performs the songs of Burton Lane and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg on her debut solo disc.
Callaway boasts one of the most glorious belts in the business, and nearly three decades since she made her Broadway debut in
Merrily We Roll Along , her sound is as powerful and clear as ever. The singing actress begins her recording, "Passage of Time," with a wonderful new song by
Ragtime 's Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens entitled "Nothing to Lose (But Your Heart)." Callaway sends the melodic and touching tune soaring and works similar wonders with songs by Lennon and McCartney ("Eleanor Rigby"), Stephen Sondheim ("Children Will Listen" and a passionate "Being Alive") and James Taylor ("Secret o' Life"). Theatre fans will be anxious to hear Callaway's wonderful rendition of "Patterns" (a song cut from
Baby that was originally sung by Callaway's co-star, Beth Fowler) and a pairing of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Perfect Year" and "Memory" (Callaway performed the latter for several years in the long-running
Cats ). Ann Hampton Callaway also joins her sister for a great rendition of the Carly Simon-Jacob Brackman hit "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be."
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Luker, a shining presence in
The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden and revivals of
Show Boat, The Sound of Music and
The Music Man , possesses one of great sopranos in the musical theatre, and on her new solo CD "Greenwich Time," she showcases both that rangy soprano and her lower register. The three-time Tony nominee starts her 14-track disc with Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman's "On My Way to You" and then presents several tunes by lesser-known composers. The highlights of the disc, however, are a beautiful rendition of Maury Yeston's "Unusual Way," a tune Luker performed in the Tony-winning revival of
Nine ; and the terrific new John Kander song, "Summer with You."
Kate Baldwin has been thrilling audiences at regional theatres around the country for years — this diva lover still recalls her zesty, Helen Hayes-nominated performance as Nellie in Arena Stage's
South Pacific —and she now has Broadway audiences enthralled with her first major role: Sharon McLonergan in
Finian's Rainbow . Baldwin pays tribute to the composer (Burton Lane) and lyricist (E.Y. Harburg) of that classic musical on her solo disc, "Let's See What Happens." What happens, it should be noted, is something terrific: a perfect melding of singer and songs. The highlight is a superb "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?"
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
