By Seth Rudetsky
22 Feb 2010

Back to Broadway. Last Monday, I interviewed Tony Award winner Karen Olivo for the Broadway Artist Alliance, which is a theatre training program for kids. Karen told us that she turned down the audition for Anita in West Side Story because she knew she couldn't dance the original choreography. They finally told her that they wanted to see what she could do and would modify steps if they had to. She met with the assistant choreographer and learned one section of "America." Since she was able to do it, she asked to learn another. After that one, the assistant told her that if she learned one more, they'd bring her to get seen by Arthur Laurents. I asked how many call-backs she had after that, and she said none. Turns out, she had her first audition one week before rehearsals began! Once she got it, they put her in severe training: one hour of pilates every morning followed by one hour of ballet. On top of that, she's become a vegan. She loves doing the role, but it is exhausting. I'm obsessed with what she told one of my friends. Right after previews for West Side Story began, she lamented, "It's hard being a triple threat! It's so much easier to be a double threat with potential." Hilarious.

I'm now on my way back from Canada. Matt Grue, who runs The Matchbox Theater, and his staff treated me amazingly! When I got to the hotel in Red Deer, they not only had all different kinds of food in my room that my manager told them I liked, but they also had four Broadway-themed cupcakes, especially made by the Babycakes Cupcakery. There was Avenue Q, Phantom, Legally Blonde and Hair. Check out the side picture (taken after I ate the Hair one. So sue me. It looked delicious).

When I got to Canada, I was still feeling a little D-listy, so I was excited when I stopped for coffee at a Calgary Starbucks and the guy behind the counter recognized me! I was being chauffeured around by Clayton who works at the theatre, and while we were on line, the barista said, "Wait a minute…I recognize you!" I smiled kindly because I noticed he was not comfortable looking me in the eye. I assumed he was so cowed by my fame that he had to address me while looking to my left. As I was about to list my credits so he could figure from where he knew me (Legally Blonde reality show? Six lines on Law and Order: C.S.I.? four years ago?) I took a quick glance to my left. Turns out, he actually was looking there. Clayton, who was standing next to me, used to be a Starbucks manager, and the barista recognized him from a regional conference. I was horrified, mortified and devastated. And, my personal shopper is the worst.

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Seth Rudetsky has played piano in the pits of many Broadway shows including Ragtime, Grease and The Phantom of the Opera. He was the artistic producer/conductor for the first five Actors Fund concerts including Dreamgirls and Hair, which were both recorded. As a performer, he appeared on Broadway in The Ritz and on TV in "All My Children," "Law and Order C.I." and on MTV's "Made" and "Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods." He has written the books "The Q Guide to Broadway" and "Broadway Nights," which was recorded as an audio book on Audible.com. He is currently the afternoon Broadway host on Sirius/XM radio and tours the country doing his comedy show, "Deconstructing Broadway." He can contacted at his website SethRudetsky.com, where he has posted many video deconstructions.