By Andrew Gans
29 Sep 2006

Q: In addition to being in some of the big hits, you were also in one of the more noteworthy flops, Legs Diamond. What was it like working with Peter Allen?
Braxton: We had a good time. I said when we did Dreamgirls, we knew we had a hit, [with Legs Diamond] knew we had a flop. [Laughs.] We knew there were certain problems, but he was just so precious. I had such a good time with him, and I actually went on to do some concerts with him, but we kind of knew, "Oh, God, this is not a good [show.]" It had good elements, and Peter was so great.

Q: You also had the chance to work with Gregory Hines in Jelly's Last Jam. What was that experience like?
Braxton: Oh God, he was my heart — such a gentlemen and so talented and just loving and cool to everybody. He didn't make any bones about this one or that one. He was just wonderful. And working with George Wolfe, too. The whole team was just great.

Q: Did you stay the whole run of Smokey Joe's Café?
Braxton: Oh yeah.

Q: How did you or do you keep your performance fresh in a long run?
Braxton: Well, for one thing, you really tell yourself every night that there are people out there who have never seen this show before. That's one thing I tell myself, and the other thing I tell myself is that someone could be looking at me [thinking], "Oh, I need her in my next movie or sitcom." [Laughs.] And, then, I love it so much that I feel like I'm a whole different person when I get out there, almost like in a world of my own. I get to be someone else, and I love improv-ing and really, really working off of the other actors. . . .

Q: Since you did direct and choreograph the Dreamgirls concert, would you like to do more of that? Is that a goal of yours?
Braxton: I think the reason I did that is because I know the piece so well. I think I would like to do some movie directing. I don't know if I want to do theatre directing so much, although if it came up, and it was a piece that I really believed in and really felt for, I would do it. But it's not something that I'm really pursuing. I'm doing some writing now. I actually did an adaptation of My Fair Lady. I have several people looking at the screenplay. What I did was I changed genders, and I made it more contemporary. Eliza Doolittle is a young hip-hop artist, a guy, and Professor Higgins is an older woman, and it's how they deal with each other in the spoken word, the rap world or the publishing world. A lot of people like it, and it could also be a Broadway show. If that were a Broadway show, I think I would like to play the Professor Higgins role. Her name is Samantha, and it's called In Other Words.

Q: Tell me a little bit more about the project your involved in with your husband. When does that open?
Braxton: Our target opening date right now is November 15, and it's the day after the Chicago anniversary, so hopefully we'll be able to get a lot of the stars who will still be in town [to] get a haircut and see what it's about.

Q: Is this something that's been in the works for a long time?
Braxton: We've been thinking about it for about six years now. It wasn't until I went on the road this last time because it's hard being on the road, and I said, "We need something else" that I can stay in town if I wanted to and still have money coming in.

My husband had read an article about this guy who was dating a woman, and they dated through the winter, and spring came around and he put on his sandals, and she looked at his feet and went, "Oh, no, no, no, no!" And [this guy] was saying he wouldn't mind being groomed that way — with manicure and pedicure — but he didn't want to go to a woman's salon. My husband said, "I wouldn't mind having it done either, but I feel the same way. Maybe we should have something like that up here in Harlem." Very upscale, gentlemen only, get a haircut, a shave, hot towel, manicure, pedicure, shoe shine, facial, but just for men. We started putting it into the works — we got an architect, and it's almost finished now.

Q: Is your husband in show business as well?
Braxton: No, he's a personal trainer, so we're also going to incorporate that into [the store] — nutrition — grooming from the inside out.

Q: Last question. Are you involved in any other projects at the moment?
Braxton: I'm supposed to choreograph Dreamgirls in the spring of 2007 that Jennifer [Holliday] is going to do at a festival.

[Chicago plays the Ambassador Theatre, located in Manhattan at 219 West 49th Street; call (212) 239-6200 for tickets.]

DIVA TIDBITS
Congratulations to Julie Andrews, who will receive the Screen Actors Guild's 43rd Annual Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment during the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will be broadcast live on TNT and TBS Jan. 28, 2007, at 8 PM ET. The Life Achievement Award is bestowed annually on an actor who fosters the "finest ideals of the acting profession." In a statement Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg said, "Julie Andrews is a woman of great generosity, creativity, courage, elegance and wit. She embodies and transcends the memorable roles she has created. Julie has been a positive presence in my life and continues to inspire multiple generations. I believe it is exceptionally significant to be recognized by people who do the same work you do. Julie seems genuinely touched and thrilled to be receiving an award from her fellow actors. I have assured her the honor is ours." For more information visit www.sag.org.

Doubt's Heather Goldenhersh and Spelling Bee's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who can currently be seen on the new CBS sitcom "Class," will co-host an evening featuring the talents of Doubt Tony winner Adriane Lenox. Lenox, who is re-creating her Tony-winning performance in the national tour of Doubt, will perform in concert Oct. 16 at 8:30 PM at the Catalina Bar & Grill. Her evening is titled Beyond Broadway and will also feature the talents of Rufus Bonds Jr., who starred in the Los Angeles production of The Lion King. Lenox's back-up singers will include Gina Taylor, Fuschia and Lynette Dupree. Zane Mark will be the musical director for the evening, which will include songs from the worlds of blues, jazz and R&B. The Catalina Bar & Grill is located at 6725 W. Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. There is a $25 cover charge and a two-drink minimum; call (323) 466-2210 for reservations. (A portion of the evening's proceeds will benefit Educating Young Minds. Visit www.educatingyoungminds.org for more information.)

Helena Blackman, a finalist in the recent BBC-TV reality program "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria," has been cast in the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre's upcoming production of Gypsy. Blackman will star in the title role as famed stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. She will be joined onstage by award-winning actress Julia McKenzie, whose London stage credits include Follies, Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods. McKenzie will play the stripper Mazeppa. Additional casting will be announced shortly. In a statement composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of the producers and judges of the "Maria" reality contest, said, "I'm delighted that the hugely talented Helena is performing the role of Gypsy Rose Lee. This girl has a great future and like everyone I am going to follow her career with great interest." This year's Festival, which is celebrating the centenary of the late Jule Styne, will present Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents' Gypsy Oct. 29 at 7:30 PM at the Wales Millennium Center. The one-night-only event will feature a full orchestra under the baton of Stewart Mackintosh. Gypsy is a co-production of the Festival and the Millennium Center. Tickets, priced £10-£90, are available by calling 08701 283 560. Visit www.cardiffmusicals.com for more information.

Tony Award winners Glenn Close and Jim Dale, who starred in the original Broadway production of Barnum, will reunite for a one-night-only concert version of Busker Alley to benefit the York Theatre Company. Tony Walton, who worked with Close on the 1984 production of The Real Thing, will direct the Nov. 13 concert at Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse. Show time is 8 PM. The evening will also feature the talents of Jessica Grové, Simon Jones, Noah Racey, Greg Mills, Krista Rodriguez, Ann Rogers, Michael Lane Trautman and Jeff Williams. The creative team will include Lisa Shriver (choreography), Richard Pilbrow (lighting design) and Aaron Gandy (musical direction). Based on the 1938 British film "St. Martin’s Lane," Busker Alley features music and lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman and a book by A J Carothers. Tickets, priced $100-$250, are available by calling (212) 772-4448 or by visiting the Kaye Playhouse box office at East 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. Donor seating, priced $500 and $1,000, is available by calling the York Theatre at (212) 935-5820. Donor seating includes a post-show reception with the cast and creative team as well as a limited edition poster and a listing in the program.

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