DIVA TALK: Chatting with Spamalot 's Merle Dandridge Plus Betty Buckley at Birdland
By Andrew Gans
Shuler Hensley with Merle Dandridge in Tarzan
Question: You mentioned
Tarzan a bit. I was wondering what that experience was like for you. Being in a show like
Spamalot , which has been so embraced by critics, versus
Tarzan , which struggled.
Dandridge: I was excited to get on board with Disney because I had worked with them in
Aida , and I loved them. They are very much another family of mine. The rehearsal process was intense, and we worked our tails off. Now that I look back at five months of rehearsal and being down at Steiner and swinging through the air and jumping on balloon castles and doing our capoeira and our yoga and our boot camp everyday, it was amazing and we had an amazing group of people. They were pushing the envelope . . . I think we were trying to do things that hadn't been accomplished before. It was quite difficult, but we had such a heart for the piece, and we had such a heart for the story and Phil [Collins'] music, it can't
not touch you. He's so amazing and such an amazing man. We were gifted with such a great group of people. In my own personal journey, it was great because I had never created a role prior to
Tarzan . . . . It was a huge journey for me. The story that Kala told was very personal to me, and I loved playing her every night. It was wonderful to see the reactions, especially of the mothers who would come up to me and had really been touched. For me it was fulfilling because I knew that my work was reaching out and touching people. But the production as a whole — we didn't get embraced as much as we'd liked to have been embraced, but we loved each other and we loved every second of it, and we had a great time.
Question: You've also done TV and film. How does that compare for you with doing stage work? Dandridge: I love it because I'm a morning person. [Laughs.] It's kind of hard for me getting out of the house in the evening when I'm feeling like I want to wind down. I love that fact that it's a similar craft but it's a completely different medium, and you do have to adjust and do something completely different. I like to stretch myself and push the envelope, so anything that's new or different or not of my daily routine, I am so for. I love getting on a set every day, and even though I've read the script, not knowing what's coming that day — and it being fresh and new every day. It's a different kind of camaraderie that you get with your fellow actors because you're doing new material everyday instead of the same thing every night. So you have less an idea of what's coming, which is more exciting in some ways — it's exciting in different ways.
[Spamalot plays the Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th Street. For tickets call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com. For more information go to www.montypythonsspamalot.com.]
BETTY BUCKLEY
For her recent debut at the famed jazz club Birdland, Tony Award winner Betty Buckley said that she poured through her voluminous music collection to choose some of the most beautiful songs she knows. And, what a beautiful repertoire it was: From the atmospheric "Autumn Leaves" to the heartbreaking songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Buckley offered an evening of beautiful tunes that were also beautifully acted.
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It seemed more than appropriate that the former
Sunset Boulevard star should include a new tune entitled "Honest Emotion," since she imbues everything she sings with an emotional honesty and intensity that few can match. One of the most haunting songs of the evening was a new addition to Buckley's eclectic repertoire, "Ghost in This House," which was as emotionally powerful as it was gorgeously delivered: Buckley's soprano tones were at their most lovely on this supremely moving selection.
And, while there were no show tunes (an early-evening admission by Buckley that was met with a few sighs), there was plenty of powerhouse singing. Buckley's rangy alto remains a formidable instrument. Especially exciting were full-voiced renditions of "Since I Fell for You" and the Bob Dylan anthem "The Times They Are A Changin'."
Because the singing actress is best known for her searing dramatic work in and out of the musical theatre, it's always a welcome reminder just how funny she can be. I always enjoy her gift for comedic gab between songs: Buckley finds humor in her life and the world around her, and it's one of many gifts that completely draws in her audience.
Other highlights of the generous set included a wonderful pairing of Jobim's "Dindi" and "How Insensitive" that had the sold-out crowd completely absorbed in Buckley's sensitive readings; a belty version of the Gershwin classic, "They Can't Take That Away From Me"; and a superb take on the pop hit "Get Here," which concluded Buckley's evening. Tom Waits' "Take It With Me When I Go," Buckley's encore, was another standout.
Those who missed Buckley's fall engagement, fear not. The multitalented actress will bring her acclaimed By Request evening back to Feinstein's at Loews Regency in February 2009.
DIVA TIDBITS Rosie O'Donnell will try her hand at reviving the variety show genre. Variety reported earlier this week that "Rosie's Variety Show" will make its debut Nov. 26 at 8 PM ET on NBC. The one-night special will likely precede a weekly O'Donnell variety show that would begin in 2009. Celebrity guests, comedy skits, musical acts and contests will be part of "Rosie's Variety Show," which will air live from Manhattan. O'Donnell will executive produce the show with David Friedman ("Last Comic Standing"). O'Donnell told Variety that the upcoming show is a "a dream come true — old-time variety, live from New York, with a nod to Ed Sullivan, Carol Burnett and memories of Sonny and Cher."
Liz Callaway photo by Aubrey Reuben
An upcoming evening celebrating the work of composer
Burt Bacharach (
Promises, Promises ) will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Presented by POZ Magazine, the
Bacharach to the Future benefit concert will be held Dec. 1 at New World Stages. Among those scheduled to appear at the 7:30 PM event are
Gloria Reuben, Christian Hoff, Gerard Canonico, Michael Rupert, Jason Graae, Liz Callaway, Amanda Baker, Billy Porter, Linda Purl, Julie Reiber, Katie Adams and
Matt Walton . Co-producer
Kevin Spirtas will host the evening.
Bruce Kimmel will direct the Bacharach tribute with musical direction by
Alex Rybeck . New World Stages is located in Manhattan at 340 West 50th Street. For tickets, priced $51.50-$251.50, call (646) 871-1730 or visit www.newworldstages.com.
A host of Broadway performers will take part in Kickin' It: Broadway Gives Back . Directed and choreographed by Lorin Latarro , the Oct. 13 evening at The Ailey Citigroup Theater will benefit Natasha "Nabba" Steinhagen and help raise awareness for ovarian cancer. The evening, which begins at 7 PM, will boast appearances and/or performances by Cynthia Nixon, Karen Ziemba, Norm Lewis, Richard Blake, Elizabeth Parkinson, John Selya, Noah Racey, Megan Sikora and Jared Grimes as well as cast members from Hair and Movin' Out . The Ailey Citigroup Theater is located 405 West 55th Street at Ninth Avenue. Tickets, priced $40, are available by visiting www.smarttix.com.
Little Women 's John Hickok and Aida 's Maya Days will co-star in a new production of the Al Tapper musical Sessions — which was seen Off-Broadway at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre in summer 2007 — at Off-Broadway's Algonquin Theater. Directed by Steven Petrillo , performances will begin at the East 24th Street venue Oct. 28. In addition to Hickok and Days, the cast will also feature Al Bundonis, Ken Jennings, Kelli Maguire, Trisha Rapier, Scott Richard Foster, Jason Wooten and Becky Barta . Show times are Wednesday-Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 and 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM. The Algonquin Theater is located in Manhattan at 123 East 24th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues. Tickets, priced $50 (senior and student tix are priced $20), are available by visiting www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444.
And, finally, the track list has been announced for "Patti LuPone at Les Mouches," a digitally restored recording of Patti LuPone's 1980 club act that will arrive in stores on CD Nov. 11 on the Ghostlight Records label. The complete track listing for the eagerly awaited disc follows: Intro, "Latin from Manhattan"/"I Got Rhythm," "I've Got Them Feelin' Too Good Today Blues," "Love for Sale," "Not While I'm Around"/"Come Rain or Come Shine," "Meadowlark," "Squeeze Me," "Heaven Is a Disco," "Downtown," "Street of Dreams," "Because the Night," "Everything I Am," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Rainbow High," "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," "Look to the Rainbow," "Superman (I Wish I Could Fly)," "It Goes Like It Goes," Thank yous/"I've Got Them Feelin' Too Good Today Blues (Reprise)" and "Goodnight Sweetheart." For more information visit www.sh-k-boom.com or www.ghostlightrecords.com.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
