Question: How would you describe Nellie? Osnes: Nellie is probably the most complicated, intricate role I have ever played. [Laughs.] But she's so fun. She's strong, and there's this feisty side to her, but she's also a young nurse experiencing war for the first time. She's a little girl from Arkansas that left everything she knew to see the world and meet new kinds of people. She has this adventurous side that longs to be loved and experience romance, but she's never experienced anything like that before. She's stuck on this island with a bunch of Seabees and meets this exotic French planter that really excites her, but she just doesn't know what to do about it, and her mom doesn't think it's a good thing. She does a lot of growing up from the first scene to the last scene. By the end she's mothering Emile's children and… it's great. It was so fun going through the rehearsal process and figuring out what she's doing in each scene and the relationships she develops with all the people. ...It's so complex, and the whole cast has been great at playing with me with that and helping me find that. The stage manager, Mike Brunner, and [director] Bartlett Sher were both amazing at helping me discover all of those aspects, too. I had a history lesson my first rehearsal. I sat down and learned about World War II. It's a whole different time period. As fun as the show is to do, there's this layer of World War II that has to cover every single scene — they're going through a war time, even though it's on this beautiful island and this lovely plantation. And I'm definitely still finding all of that. My performance isn't perfect yet. I know that it's going to keep growing and the layers are going to keep adding. It's a lot to put together in three weeks, but that's the joy of getting to do it for six months that I will keep on finding new things.
Question: What is it like having to wash your hair onstage eight times a week? Osnes: [Laughs.] It's so fun! That was initially probably the scariest part. I was like, "I'm going to get cold, I'm going to get wet, there's going to be soap all over, I'm gonna slip and fall!" It's been going well so far, and actually they heat the water a little bit, so that's nice. . . . I wear a wig for the show, which is great that I don't have to style my own hair. So the first wig gets wet, and by the next scene, I have a new wig that looks exactly like the other one. We just take it off and start again. It's definitely fun and unlike anything I've done onstage before.
Question: Do you have a favorite moment in the show yet? Osnes: I do think "Wash That Man" is one of my favorites now because it's so fun! All the girls are onstage, and we get to jump around and play. I also like "Honey Bun." The end of the show is always really magical, too. That's the moment where, when I saw it, I started crying. The hand hold under the table… it's the iconic image of South Pacific, and it's just special to get to be a part of it.
Question: Coming from singing the '50s-inspired Grease songs, how do you find singing the Rodgers and Hammerstein score? Osnes: It's great. It's so fun to do something legit and classical. Everybody knows the Grease songs, too, but this is … just simple and easy. You don't have to try very hard. If you start trying too hard, it takes you out of the world of the music and the world of the show. I've already been given notes: "Laura, don't back-phrase and don't try to make it more than what it is because it's best when it's just simple." And it's like, "Oh, I don't have to try to make it this big thing because it works the best when it's just as it's written because it's written so beautifully and perfectly just the way it is." It's been interesting exploring that. She gets to sing a lot, which is really fun. It's a different side of my voice, and I'm not having to belt all of these high notes. I just get to sing right in the middle of my range, and it's lovely.
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Question: How long are you with the show? Osnes: I am signed on, right now, for six months. I think Oct. 4 is my last performance, but it's kind of flexible depending on if Kelli is ready to come back or if she decides she wants another week or two. But that's kind of the deal right now. I get to go all summer.
Question: Do you have any other projects in the works or just focusing on South Pacific for now? Osnes: I'm just focusing on this. There are a couple of things this fall. I've done a couple of readings that maybe something might happen with in the fall, but it's kind of too far out to really tell. There was the Pride and Prejudice project that I did, the workshop of that, that's maybe scheduled or hoping to hit Broadway spring of 2010. And then I did a reading of Frank Wildhorn's Bonnie & Clyde. There's talk of maybe an out-of-town tryout this fall, but that's not certain. All of this is kind of up in the air. They have talked to me about doing the South Pacific tour, which I may or may not do. There's a couple irons in the fire, but it's kind of too early to tell what path I want to take as of now.
[South Pacific plays the Vivian Beaumont Theater, 150 West 65th Street. For tickets call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com or www.southpacificmusical.com.]
DIVA TIDBITS Eden Espinosa, whose Broadway credits include Rent, Brooklyn and Wicked, will perform in concert at Joe's Pub March 22-24. Espinosa's special guest for her concerts — entitled Eden Espinosa — Me — will be Katie Thompson, the singer-songwriter who will be seen in the new Michael John LaChiusa musical Giant this spring at the Signature Theatre in Virginia. Concertgoers can expect to hear Espinosa's renditions of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You," Eva Cassidy's "I Know You By Heart," Stephen Sondheim's "Losing My Mind," Paula Cole's "Me," Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" and Stephen Schwartz's "Defying Gravity," among others. Broadway actor Billy Porter will direct the evenings with musical direction by James Sampliner. Show times are March 22 at 2 and 9:30 PM and March 23 and 24 at 9:30 PM. Joe's Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street. Tickets are $30 and are available by visiting www.joespub.com or by calling (212) 539-8778.
A host of leading women in the arts will take part in the Kennedy Center Spring Gala, which will be held May 3 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Currently scheduled to be part of the 8:30 PM event are Lisa Brescia, Stockard Channing, Jenn Colella, Suzanne Farrell, Judith Jamison, Patti LaBelle, k.d. lang, Annie Leibovitz, Audra McDonald, Reba McEntire, Veronika Part, Amy Poehler, Dianne Reeves, LeAnn Rimes, Chita Rivera, Kathleen Turner, and members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The evening, according to press notes, will "highlight the achievements and contributions of women from a wide range of artistic genres. The impressive line-up of women has each advanced the cause of equality for women in the arts, through performances, photography, songwriting, choreography, or advocacy." Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman will host the event along with Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser. For Gala ticket information visit kennedy-center.org/gala or call (202) 416-8338. Concert-only tickets, priced $35-$125, are on sale now by calling (202) 467-4600 or by visiting kennedy-center.org.
Kate Shindle, most recently on Broadway in Legally Blonde: The Musical, will host the March 30 Monday Nights, New Voices concert at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre. The evening, which begins at 7 PM, will celebrate the work of songwriters Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond. Vocalists will include Mathew Burrow, Natalie Elise Hall, Darius Harper, Danny McNie and Amy Toporek. Kooman and Dimond, who recently participated in the Kennedy Center's Broadway Today & Tomorrow series, will both be on hand to discuss the creation of their songs and accompany the performers on piano. Barbara Anselmi will be the evening's musical director. The Duplex Cabaret Theatre is located in Manhattan at 61 Christopher Street. There is a $12 music charge and a two-drink minimum; for reservations call (212) 255-5438 or visit theduplex.com.
The work of composer-lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver, a 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant recipient, will be explored May 4 at Joe's Pub. Currently scheduled to appear are composer Oliver as well as Alex Brightman (Wicked), Morgan Karr (Spring Awakening), Jay Johnson (Hair), Natalie Weiss (Wicked) and Lindsay Mendez (Grease). Show time is 11:30 PM. Joe's Pub is located within the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street. For more information visit www.joespub.com.
Pal Joey's Martha Plimpton and Shrek the Musical's Daniel Breaker will co-host the 54th Annual Village Voice Obie Awards. The awards, which celebrate the 2008-2009 Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway seasons, will be held May 18 at Webster Hall in Manhattan. Presented by the Village Voice, the annual event will be produced and directed by Eileen Phelan. For more information visit www.villiagevoice.com/obies.
Julia Migenes
photo by Michael Putland - Retna
Opera and theatre star Julia Migenes (Carnival!, West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof) will perform her solo show, Diva on the Verge, April 26 at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts. Show time at the Walt Whitman Theatre is 2 PM. In Diva on the Verge, press notes state, "Migenes puts her daring wit and audacious humor to their best use . . . combining stunning and often hilarious interpretations of some of the world's best-known arias with anecdotes about the rigid world of opera. Part Barbra Streisand, part Maria Callas, and part Lucille Ball, she effortlessly portrays all of the great heroines, from the murderous Tosca to the delicate Juliette to the consumptive Mimi." Written by Migenes in 1998, Diva on the Verge was first performed in 1999 in France. For tickets, priced $25, visit BrooklynCenterOnline.org or call
(718) 951-4500.
The acclaimed Songbook series — hosted and directed by John F. Znidarsic — will continue March 30 with an evening dedicated to the songs of composer-lyricist Bobby Cronin. The free concert will feature the vocal talents of Anne Brummel, Andrew C. Call, Kristy Cates, Michael Kadin Craig, Jenny DiNoia, Janine Divita, John Treacy Egan, Brian Gallagher, Jared Gertner, Michael Hunsaker, Marcus Paul James, Eric Krop, Robyn Lee, Paul Lessard, Carrie Manolakos, Tracy McDowell, Kate Pazakis and Katie Thompson with Auri Marcus, Jenna Noel, Larkin Bogan and Jacob Richard. Show time is 6 PM. The evening, produced by Erica Ruff, will feature musical direction by Michael Gacetta. Now in its 18th season, the Songbook series is held at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Bruno Walter Auditorium, which is located at 111 Amsterdam Avenue, south of 65th Street. For more information call (212) 870-1630.
Several theatre actors will join songwriter Georgia Stitt for Georgia Stitt & Friends March 30 at Birdland. The 9 PM concert, part of the Broadway at Birdland series, will feature Stitt as well as guest stars Julia Murney, Tituss Burgess, Kate Baldwin, Graham Rowat, Laura Osnes, Kathleen Monteleone, Kevin Greene and newcomer Ashley Marks. Cabaretgoers can expect tunes from Stitt's CD "This Ordinary Thursday" and her musical revue Sing Me A Happy Song. The evening will feature Shannon Ford on drums, Randy Landau on bass and Christian Hebel on violin. Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street. There is a $25 cover and a $10 food-drink minimum. For reservations call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.BirdlandJazz.com.
Initial casting has been announced for the Hollywood Bowl's upcoming summer presentation of the classic Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls. As previously announced, Richard Jay-Alexander, who helmed last summer's acclaimed Les Misérables in Concert at the Bowl, will direct. Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie will choreograph the production, which will play the famed venue July 31-Aug. 2. Kevin Stites will be the musical director. The cast will be headed by Jessica Biel (as Sarah Brown), Scott Bakula (Nathan Detroit), John Mahoney (Arvide Abernathy), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Sky Masterson), Ken Page (Nicely-Nicely Johnson) and Ruth Williamson (General Matilda Cartwright). Show times at the Bowl will be July 31 and Aug. 1 at 8:30 PM and Aug. 2 at 7:30 PM. The Hollywood Bowl is located at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, CA. For tickets call (323) 850-2000. Visit www.hollywoodbowl.com for more information.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
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Natasha Richardson
photo by Aubrey Reuben
This week's column is dedicated to the elegant, charming, good-humored and supremely talented actress Natasha Richardson, who died March 18 following a tragic skiing accident in Montreal. Although I never had the pleasure of interviewing the Tony-winning artist, she was one for whom I had a special fondness: There was something about Richardson's stage work that drew an audience to her. In fact, she seemed to possess a special, almost ethereal warmth that filled any theatre in which she performed. And, of the many Sally Bowles I caught during the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Cabaret, Richardson's was the only one who, to me, was wholly believable in the role. It was a thrilling performance, one that was edgy, amusing, dramatic, heartbreakingly vulnerable and utterly moving. Her death is a devastating loss to the theatre community but even more so to her family.
