By Andrew Gans
12 Sep 2008
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| Christopher Jackson and Mandy Gonzalez in In the Heights |
| photo by Joan Marcus |
Gonzalez: We all read… "The Secret" . . . If you put good vibes out there, they will come back to you. All the women — we shared a dressing room. There were 11 of us down in the cellar. We all read "The Secret." I think Andrea brought in the video and made us watch it. So we were like, "We're goin' to Broadway!" And, we put this huge sign on the door that said, "We're going to Broadway," and we all signed it and hoped for the best. But we always put that vibe out there that we were going to go all the way to the top, and we have. It's kind of surreal. Sometimes when we take our company bow at the end, I look out and see the packed house, and I think about where we started in this little room at MTC doing a reading. To be able to go through a process like that is pretty amazing.
Question: It sounds like it's a very close-knit company.
Gonzalez: Oh, yeah. [Laughs.] We're very close. People have gone on vacation this summer, and every time they leave we're like, "Ahhhh…" And when they come back, it's a celebration. We're very tight — you have to be for people that have been together for two years, some of us longer. It's a very tight community, backstage as well as on.
Question: How would you describe Nina?
Gonzalez: I would describe Nina as kind of the star of the neighborhood who people have put all their hopes and dreams into, who asks a lot of herself, but not just for herself… [She] puts a lot of pressure on herself to be the one to rise above and to get out and to prove to herself and to her community that there are better things [out there]. I think there's a little bit of Nina in all of us, that strives for something more. Sometimes we slip on the way up, and that's what my journey is about when I come back to the neighborhood. It's kind of about finding yourself again and finding that, even if you slip, people still love you and it's okay. I relate to Nina so much because of my own life and my own slips and falls and my own striving for something better, not just for myself but for my family. . . . I identify with Nina very strongly.
Question: I love the song "Breathe" and how you sing it. Is it a challenge to perform that song?
Gonzalez: Thank you. It's a challenge in a way [because] I just want to make sure the story is being told.… [The song] "In the Heights" happens, and then it's Nina! I want to make sure that people really get where she's coming from, that she has this secret. So that's the challenge, making sure that you tell the truth in the story in the song.
Gonzalez: Oh, definitely. I have so many moments, but I guess my favorite moments are when I first see Abuela when I come into the neighborhood, and when I first look at Benny after "When You're Home." That's the first moment where a spark happens. He's told me that I can do anything I want, and I just feel so connected with him, so those are my favorite moments.
Question: Have you noticed any change in the audience reaction since the show won the Tony?
Gonzalez: There are just more people. I think that the crazy thing about the show is that sometimes it's like a movie theatre. . . . . When Benny and I come out on the fire escape in the second act, I've had such random things be said, like, "Mmmm, yeah girl!" or "Woooh!" It's like they're talking to us. It's good because they feel they're a part of it. That has not changed since Off-Broadway. The reaction is the same. People love the characters, they love the story, and they love to have fun. It's a show where you feel like you can yell out and say things and be a part of the neighborhood, so that hasn't changed. The amount of people that are seeing the show has changed, and that's fantastic. And the amount of people that are waiting after the show and saying, "Wow, this is my story." I have so many young girls come up to me and say, "That's my story, and I'm leaving home for the first time, and thank you for showing that side." That really touches me because that's what you always dream of as an actor — to do something that touches people. This show really does, and Nina does, so it's really great.
Question: That must be very gratifying to hear comments like that.
Gonzalez: It is. It's very gratifying, and it's girls from all over: Girls from Canada, girls from Australia that say, "I'm leaving home for the first time, and I felt like I had this pressure, and I felt like a failure, and this gives me hope to go back."
Question: Are there any roles in current shows or classic shows that you'd like to play?
Gonzalez: I think that I'm always up for anything. I always like a challenge, as you can tell from my career. [Laughs.] I always like to take chances. . . . I think there are some great roles on Broadway right now that I'd love to play, but then there are great roles that haven't been written yet that I'd love to play. I'm also trying to put together a concert for myself. I like to do that kind of stuff, too. There's a lot of stuff in the works, so I'm very excited. It's an exciting time.
Question: How long do you think you'll stay with In the Heights?
Gonzalez: I don't know — as long as I feel good. We've worked so hard to get here, I can't imagine leaving. I'll stay with it as long as I'm having a good time!
[In the Heights plays the Richard Rodgers Theatre, 226 West 46th Street. For tickets call (212) 307-4100 or visit www.ticketmaster.com]
DIVA TIDBITS
Xanadu's Mary Testa will join Gypsy's Alison Fraser for two upcoming concerts celebrating the work of Fraser's late husband, composer Rusty Magee. The Sept. 29 and Oct. 20 concerts — entitled Together Again — will be held at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, which is located within the West Bank Cafe. The singing actresses will be accompanied by a full band led by Allison Leyton-Brown; show time for both concerts is 7 PM. The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located within the West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street. For reservations call (212) 695-6909.
The third annual Salon — an evening of songs and stories — to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will be presented Oct. 27 at the residence of Ron Pobuda on Central Park South. The intimate evening, entitled Salon: 6 Degrees of Broadway Cares, will begin at 7 PM. Among those currently scheduled to entertain are two-time Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth, original Rent star Anthony Rapp, original Annie Andrea McArdle, Daytime Emmy nominee Bobbi Eakes, stage and screen star David Steen, Emmy Award-winning "Golden Girls" actress and former Wicked star Rue McClanahan, Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys actor Christian Hoff and actor-musician-Playbill.com columnist Seth Rudetsky. Tickets can be reserved by calling Skip Lawing at (212) 840-0770, ext. 268 or by visiting www.BroadwayCares.org.
Cowboy Boots & Curtain Calls is the title of an upcoming concert that will benefit the Kreative Kids Foundation, which was founded by Legally Blonde Tony nominee Laura Bell Bundy. The Oct. 27 concert will be presented in Manhattan at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill at 7:30 PM. Bundy will be joined by a host of her Broadway and Nashville friends. The evening, according to press notes, will feature "some of Broadway's hottest stars and top names in country music singing Broadway tunes in country style and country songs in Broadway style." The benefit will also include live and silent auctions. A VIP reception will kick off the event at 6:30 PM, followed by the 7:30 PM performance. B.B. King Blues Club & Grill is located in Manhattan at 237 West 42nd Street. Tickets — priced $250 (general admission), $500 (VIP Ticket Level 1), $1,000 (VIP Ticket Level 2) and $5,000 (table of six) — will soon be available by visiting www.kreativekidsfoundation.org.
Several Broadway favorites will be part of the Bay Area Cabaret's 2008-2009 concert season, which is entitled Broadway and All That Jazz. The not-for profit, all-volunteer organization presents its shows in a variety of venues in the San Francisco Bay Area. The line-up for the upcoming season follows: Christine Andreas with David Burnham in Here's to the Ladies on Nov. 16 at 7 PM in the Empire Ballroom of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel; Barbara Cook in A Celebration in Conversation and Song on Dec. 2 at 8 PM at the Herbst Theatre; Nnenna Feelon in An Uncommon Standard on March 8, 2009, at 5 PM in the Crystal Ballroom of the Marines Memorial Club; Christine Ebersole with Billy Stritch in Broadway's Best on April 26 at 5 PM in the Commandants Room of the Marines Memorial Club; and Ann Hampton Callaway in At Last on May 17 at 5 PM in the Commandants Room of the Marines Memorial Club. For single tickets call (415) 392-4400; for subscriptions call (415) 927-INFO. For more information visit www.bayareacabaret.com.
The Sept. 21 fundraiser It's Magic — A Tribute to Sammy Cahn will pay tribute to the late songwriter and benefit The Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills Revitalization Project. Produced and directed by Corky Hale, the 5 PM event will be held at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills and will feature performances by Sam Harris, Karen Morrow, Byron Motley, Judith Owen, Freda Payne, Harry Shearer and Steve Tyrell. Leonard Maltin will direct, and Jeff Lass will be the musical director for the evening, which will feature such Cahn standards as "Three Coins in the Fountain," "All The Way," "High Hopes," "Call Me Irresponsible," "It's Magic," "Be My Love," "Because You're Mine," "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen," "Come Dance With Me," "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" and "Teach Me Tonight." Les Traub is the associate producer. The Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills is located at 8440 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, CA. Tickets, priced $35 (general admission) and $125 (VIP seats plus a post-concert reception with the artists), are available by calling (323) 655-0111. For more information go to www.wtbh.org.
And, finally, congratulations to the recipients of the 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors: stage and screen star Morgan Freeman; singer George Jones; Academy Award-winning actress, director and singer Barbra Streisand; Tony-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp; and "The Who" musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. The artists will be celebrated at an all-star gala Dec. 7 that will be broadcast later that month on CBS-TV. (The honors will be bestowed Dec. 6 at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.) For more information about the Kennedy Center Honorees or the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, visit www.kennedy-center.org.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
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| Alison Fraser (l.) and Mary Testa will be Together Again at the Beechman.
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
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