DIVA TALK: Catching Up with Avenue Q's Ann Harada; Family Night at the Cabaret Convention and Showstoppers!

By Andrew Gans
October 22, 2004

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

ANN HARADA

Audiences know they're going to have a good time at Avenue Q as soon as the Tony-winning musical begins, but I think they realize they're going to have a terrific time once Ann Harada takes to the stage as Christmas Eve and announces, "It sucka-sucka-sucka-sucka-sucka- sucka-sucka-sucka sucka-sucka-sucka-sucka suck! It suck to be me." Not only a gifted comedic actress, Harada also possesses one of the best voices in the show, a rangy, powerful belt that she controls with astonishing precision. Harada also scores in all her onstage moments, whether she's berating her unemployed husband, tossing Nicky out of her apartment, advising Republican investment banker Rod or belting out her second-act showstopper, "The More You Ruv Someone." The actress, who has also appeared on Broadway in M. Butterfly and Seussical, will be taking a three-month break from the Jeff Marx-Robert Lopez-Jeff Whitty musical after this Sunday's performance. The reason? Harada is eight months pregnant with her first child . . . and, it's a boy! I had the chance to speak with the delightful and multi-talented singer-actress this past week; that interview follows.

Question: When's your due date?
Ann Harada: Well, it keeps changing. [Laughs.] It was originally the middle of November, but the doctor thinks it's going to come early. It could be really soon.

Q: How long will you be off from the show?
AH: Three months. I'm planning to come back the last week of January.

Q: Do you think it will be strange not doing the show every night?
AH: Yes. [Laughs.] I just can't even imagine not being in Avenue Q. Obviously, it's for a really good reason. [Laughs.]

Q: When did you get involved with Avenue Q?
AH: From the very beginning. When Bobby [Lopez] and Jeff [Marx] were first writing some of the songs, they were looking for somebody to play Christmas Eve. Amanda Green suggested me because they were all doing the BMI [Workshop] together. So, I've been with it from the very beginning when Christmas Eve was basically somebody to come in and do the joke in "[Everyone's a Little Bit] Racist."

Q: When do you think you knew the show was going to be a hit?
AH: I don't think there was ever a stage where I didn't really love it. I think there's something about the songs that's just so infectious. I always loved doing the songs, but at that time there really wasn't much of a script, if any. It was more like a sketch. You don't really know how these things are going to go, but obviously it was material that I just responded to so strongly. . . [In the beginning] we'd get together and do a table read or an informal workshop, and it was just fun to do.

Q: In terms of actors, who was involved at that point?
AH: It was the lead puppeteers, Johnny [Tartaglia] and Stephanie [D'Abruzzo] and Rick [Lyon] . . . and me. Rick was the first one. He started it because he had worked with the boys on "Kermit, Prince of Denmark." But the four of us have always been in it. And then we've had Brian du jour. We went through a stage where every single time we did the show, we had a new guy. [Laughs.] It started out being [writer] Brian Yorkey, because he was also in the BMI Workshop, and that's why [the character's] name is Brian. He's sort of the physical prototype, too. And Amanda Green was Gary Coleman all the way through the O'Neill. . . She's always been a huge cheerleader of the show, a great support system for the boys.

Q: Do you know where the writers came up with your character's name?
AH: No. [Laughs.] Theoretically Jeff Marx has this aunt named Eve . . . it always has sort of been cut out of whole cloth.

Q: Would you say this has been the best year of life?
AH: [Laughs.] Professionally, yes, I would say that this has been the most fantastic year of my life. Just in terms of stuff happening to me, it's been the most interesting year of my life. "Oh, I'm in a Broadway show, and it's doing well." That's the beginning of the year. "Oh, I'm pregnant, but I can't really talk about it. Oh, but it's Tony time, and I can't miss any shows, but I still can't talk about it because it's too early." That whole progression and going through the Tonys and being so excited about how the show was received and so overwhelmed by the positive response from people. And then realizing that my life is gonna change whether I want it to or not. But, really, everything in life is only "for now," and you can't ever live in one place. You've got to keep moving. The Tony win was so unexpected and so lovely.

Q: Do you remember what went through your head when they first announced Avenue Q had won the Best Musical Tony?
AH: I remember exactly how it felt before that. We were standing backstage . . . We were all trying to clear a path for Idina Menzel. "Well, she needs to be up front. What are we doing here?" And, then when they called [Avenue Q], we just couldn't believe it. We were just so overwhelmed, could not believe, still can't sometimes. . . It was just so unexpected. There was just no idea [that we would win]. We never dreamed it.

Q: What was it like the first night back in the show after the Tony win?
AH: Oh, it was exciting. It was so much fun. Everybody got entrance applause. We just felt so grateful to the audience. Even now, we'll hit a landmark and Rick or Stephanie will make a little sign that says, "500 performances," and we'll hold it up.

Q: Do you have a favorite moment in the show for your character?
AH: Yeah, my favorite moment is when I come out and do the scene about throwing Nicky out, because it's the pubic hair/soap scene, and the band does it downstairs. They act out the whole scene. [Laughs.] And, all the subs have to learn it too and do it.

Q: Would you be interested in being part of the Las Vegas cast when Avenue Q opens there?
AH: You know, never say never, but at this point it's just really hard to look that far ahead. I don't know how I'm going to feel with motherhood and uprooting an entire family. [Laughs.] But we'll see. Who knows what other opportunities might come along or where everybody else is going to be, and I think it would be hard to do it without everyone else. We've been together for so long.

Q: Is your husband in the business?
AH: No, he's a consultant. That's why Brian is a consultant!

Q: When did you start performing originally? When did you know that you wanted to make it a career?
AH: I was in plays in high school and college. After college I knew I wanted to be in the theatre, I just didn't know if I had the chops to be a professional actor. So I moved to New York, and I worked for a producer, Suzanne Schwartz, who produced a show called Sleight of Hand, and I really learned what it took to be a Broadway producer, that whole path. It was very interesting, and at the end of it I thought, "Well, I definitely don't want to be a producer!" [Laughs.] But to be able to have access to all those meetings that producers have and the process of casting and raising money, talking to general managers. How a show gets put together and why things happen the way they do was incredibly instructive to me. When you're an actor, you don't see that side of the business, so you're convinced that "They're out to get me!" [Laughs.] When so many times it has nothing to do with that at all, and it's helped me take the whole rejection and all that kind of thing very philosophically. It was a great way to learn about the business.

Q: What were some of the first shows you did in the city?
AH: I did a bunch of shows with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus because they would need a girl. I played Winnifred for them in Once Upon a Mattress. I did my own cabaret act. At some point I did 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 at Manhattan Theatre Club — that was my first Equity job. After that, I felt that this is something I can do professionally. I was working with incredible people, and I just thought, "I'm singing with these people and nobody's throwing me out." [Laughs.] So you get the idea, "Well, I can play at this level." I just didn't know how marketable I was or wasn't. You just don't know until you try!

DIVA TIDBITS

I knew I had a busy week, so I decided to pick just one night of this year's Cabaret Convention to attend. I chose "Family Night," which was presented at New York's Town Hall this past Tuesday evening. The nearly three-hour-long concert featured a host of cabaret/theatre favorites and their less-famous, but also musically inclined family members. The performer line-up comprised Ann Hampton, Liz and mom Shirley Callaway; Andrea and her mom Helen Marcovicci; singer Sandy Stewart and her piano accompanist son Bill Charlap; Heather, Sheila and Bruce MacRae; Ethel Merman aficionado Klea Blackhurst and her mom Winkie Horman; and KT Sullivan and six members of her family. Naturally, some families fared better than others, but if I had to choose one to spend more time with, I'd have to go with the Callaways. Liz and Ann kicked off the evening's proceedings with "Here Come the Callaways," Ann Hampton's witty song that pays homage to previous family acts. The sisters then welcomed their mom to the stage, who soloed on Show Boat's "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man." The voices of the Callaways blended beautifully, and the threesome dazzled with harmonious versions of "Slow Boat to China," "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the great Rodgers and Hart toe-tapper "Sing for Your Supper." I was also impressed by the powerful belt of Helen Marcovicci, who received one of the evening's biggest receptions for her rafter-raising rendition of "Take Me in Your Arms." She and daughter Andrea also shared one of the sweeter, more comical moments. When they were about to launch into a face-to-face duet, Andrea said, "You can't remember the lyrics either? I've forgotten them, and you've forgotten them!" Other highlights: Sandy Stewart delivering a heartfelt "After You, Who?"; Klea Blackhurst forcefully belting out "I'm the Greatest Star" while her likeable mom countered with "[I] Taught Her Everything She Knows"; and an impromptu encore of "Amazing Grace" led by KT Sullivan's mom, Elizabeth.

Monday's (Oct. 25) benefit concert at Avery Fisher Hall for the Gay Men's Health Crisis promises to be a thrilling evening. Entitled Showstoppers: A Salute to the Best of Broadway, the 8 PM concert will feature theatre stars re-creating some of their greatest stage work and will include solos, duets and group numbers. I recently obtained a song list for the night, so I'll warn you there are spoilers ahead. Here are just a few of the expected highlights of the Wayne Cilento-directed performance: Ellen Greene performing Little Shop of Horrors' "Somewhere That's Green"; George Hearn reprising his Tony-winning performance of "I Am What I Am"; Jerry Orbach revisiting the Fantasticks classic "Try to Remember"; Robert Morse singing How to Succeed's "I Believe in You"; Randy Graff belting out her City of Angels showstopper, "You Can Always Count On Me"; original Chicago star, Tony winner Chita Rivera, singing that show's "Nowadays"; Colm Wilkinson letting his tenor soar on "Bring Him Home"; Andrea McArdle delivering her career-making version of "Tomorrow"; and Liz Callaway lending her creamy tones to Baby's "The Story Goes On." The concert will also feature performances by Pamela Myers, Debbie Gravitte, Melissa Errico, Carol Lawrence, Stephen Bogardus, Priscilla Lopez, Deborah Cox, Christine Pedi, Alice Playten, Brian Stokes Mitchell and cast members from The Full Monty. Tickets — priced $55-$200 — are available through Century Charge, (212) 721-6500. Benefit level tickets, which begin at $250, are available by calling (212) 367-1472 or by visiting www.gmhc.org. Avery Fisher Hall is located at the northern end of the Lincoln Center Plaza, at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 65th Street.

Hayley Mills and Brad Oscar will co-host the annual Only Make Believe concert to benefit the charitable organization of the same name, which brings theatre to hospital-bound children. The Nov. 1 benefit at SHOW will feature the talents of Judy Blazer, Harvey Fierstein, Dick Latessa, Euan Morton, Christiane Noll, Alix Korey, Chad Kimball, Kate Shindle, Julia Murney, Anne Runolfsson, Isabel Rose, Anika Larsen and Bon Jovi keyboard player David Bryan. Joe DiPietro will direct the evening with musical direction by Seth Rudetsky. Show time is 7 PM. SHOW is located in Manhattan at 135 West 41st Street. Tickets, priced $150 (show only) and $250 (show and post-performance celebration at Bryant Park Grill), are available by calling (646) 336-1500. Visit www.onlymakebelieve.org for more information.

Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.

(Look for a condensed version of "Diva Talk" in the theatre edition of Playbill Magazine.)