By Andrew Gans
14 Jul 2006
Just how draining is the role for Andreas, whose life echoes the story in so many ways? "I don't know about the role yet," she says, "just about the work process so far. It's as if you totally brushed through your emotional life . . . [It's an] emotional detox, it's totally draining, but you revive because it's cleansing." She is also enjoying exploring Margaret's sense of humor and irony, joking that the character is "the most straitjacketed optimist I've ever met. She's totally put herself in a straitjacket because she can't face her guilt. And yet, she goes to the next day [saying], 'We're going to do this [tomorrow], and we're going to have fun.' And you know what, that is what a special mom does. You look at your problem, and you go, 'Yes, but tomorrow: Tomorrow we'll learn the number 7 and then will go to 8 and . . . ' You just think that way because there's always a possibility [of hope] because you don't know how the mind works."
It was in the early eighties when Andreas, who is blessed with a lush, soaring soprano, received Tony nominations for her performances in Oklahoma! (1980) and On Your Toes (1983), two productions with music by Richard Rodgers. And, now, more than two decades later she is starring in a show featuring music by Rodgers' grandson, the aforementioned Adam Guettel, who Andreas says saw her perform years ago in On Your Toes. "He's never forgotten me since then. . . and he was excited that I was voicing his score. So that's really sweet." Like his grandfather, Andreas says Guettel is a "great craftsman, yet Adam has assimilated a lot more of the modern style. Adam also is a romantic in his writing . . . but he [has] his own voice. Adam really writes to the rhythm of your thinking, the rhythm of your thoughts. And if the thoughts are true, and you put enough of them in a line, something happens and people open up. It kind of hits you right in your solar plexus, in your heart, and people in the company have opened up and had emotional catharses."
Andreas, it should be noted, is also mom to stepdaughter Emilie, who is the same age as her own son Mac. She and husband-composer Martin Silvestri began dating when both their children were four. "In [Emilie's mind] no family was complete without a Mac. That's how she was raised. She's very beautiful about it, always was and still is. Right now, now she's working on a farm in Italy. She's about to go to George Washington University. There's my boy, who can barely write much more than his name, and there's Emilie going to George Washington University to study Japanese."
Asked whether the disparity between her two children can be difficult, Andreas says, "You know what you do, you learn to redefine what perfect is, what success is. You redefine every notion of what it is to be buoyant in life. . . . Margaret's great thing is she still has that sense of beauty, she's able to see beauty in the world. And I have that big time, and I relate to that. Even when it's rough, you can still go to Florence and look at the light. And that is Margaret's saving grace."
DIVA TIDBITS
Tony Award winner Chita Rivera, who was again Tony-nominated this past season for her work in Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, will head Down Under next month. The legendary performer will play her first performances in Australia in August: From Aug. 12-19, the actress-singer-dancer will perform at the Sydney Opera House's intimate The Studio, and she'll then head to Melbourne's Sofitel Supper Club for performances Aug. 26-29. Concertgoers can expect to hear such tunes as "America," "All That Jazz," "Big Spender," "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Carousel," "Our Love Is Here to Stay" and "Every Street's a Boulevard." Rivera will be accompanied on piano by musical director David Krane. Tickets for Rivera's Sydney engagement are available by calling 011 61 2 9250 7777 or by visiting www.sydneyoperahouse.com. Those who wish to see Rivera in Melbourne should call 011 61 3 9653 7744 or visit www.sofitelmelbourne.com.au.
DRG Records is scheduled to release "Liza Minnelli: The Complete Capitol Collection" Aug. 8. The two-CD set contains all the tracks from three vintage Minnelli recordings: "Liza! Liza!," "It Amazes Me" and "There Is a Time" as well as the performer's singles for the Capitol label. The 55-track recording will include Minnelli's early versions of "Maybe This Time," "A Quiet Thing" and "Say Liza," among others. Liner notes detailing Minnelli's entire award-winning career will also be included. For more information visit www.drgrecords.com.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
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This week's column is dedicated to the memory of Claire Kaabe (1929-2006), who passed away earlier this week following a long illness. Claire was my nursery school teacher, my Hebrew teacher and a remarkably kind and generous friend to me and my family. She loved musical theatre as much as anyone, and we enjoyed countless theatrical outings together, including the first time — as a high school student — that I met Bernadette Peters after a performance of Song & Dance. Claire, as a rabbi remarked at her funeral, "lived to give," and the world is a lesser place for her absence.
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