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DIVA TALK: A Chat with Mamma Mia! and Taboo's Liz McCartney PLUS Andrews on "Cinderella" and News of LuPone
By Andrew Gans
08 Oct 2004
Q: Even though Taboo didn't run that long, was it a good experience overall?
LM: It was a good experience. It was hard because — I'm sure you read the nastiness in the press about it. We were on the Rosie cruise watching the documentary they made about the making of Taboo. [In the film] all of us were reading the newspaper with Michael Riedel's column. And I was like, "This is just lies. Where does he get this?" And he said, "Oh I get my information from hair people and costume people. . . " No, but it's just lies. He would take one shred of something that's true and spin it out of control and make it into something that never happened and apply it to other people in the cast even. What I said, which I'll say again, is — How can somebody write about theatre who clearly hates theatre? He's not a theatre columnist, and he's not a critic. He's a gossip columnist, which means he doesn't have to say anything true. He just has to make something interesting and dishy.
Q: On a happier note, how has it been combining motherhood and working?
LM: Well, I just got married a week ago Sunday. Our daughter [Megan Elizabeth Moynahan] was christened the same day. . . [My husband] Tom works at the Shuberts. He's assistant director of creative projects at the Shubert Organization. It was the most star-studded event. We had Norm Lewis singing, David Benoit and Euan Morton. It was just incredible. We had seven songs [laughs], and David Holcenberg was our accompanist. The day went by so fast. . . . But mixing motherhood with theatre — rehearsals are hard because I have to leave her for ten hours. We leave at 9, we come back at 7. But she's the happiest baby. She plays with everybody. On my day off, I watched Sarah Uriarte Berry's daughter as well. Sarah was in Taboo with me. The two of them were playing together. She is well-loved. And Tom's parents live in Jersey, so they have a standing Wednesday matinee gig to babysit her. . . . Rehearsals are hard because it's every day, but when I come home, she's just great. And she knows that it's not forever, and so do I, but it's really hard to leave her for the better part of the day.
Q: How long are you contracted with Mamma Mia!?
LM: A year. I think they pretty much change the principal cast every year. I think it does keep it fresh. And you know what, I signed a contract for Dance of the Vampires for a year, and I signed a contract for Taboo for a year. [Laughs.] At least I know this one is going to stay open.
Q: Do you have any other projects in the works?
LM: At the moment I don't. Just these two benefits. I always have other things that I'm working on though — like The Vision, because I think it's the most beautiful music ever. It's by Thomas Megan. It's about William Butler Yeats. It's about the Irish revolution — it's a gorgeous show. There's always that, and a friend and I are writing things. I'm sort of dipping my toe into different areas.
DIVA TIDBITS
"Someone was kind enough to tell me just as I was about to go on, that more people would possibly see our single performance than all the packed houses at My Fair Lady for 100 years. Remember, it was all live!" So says Julie Andrews about her 1957 performance in the CBS-TV broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," which will be reaired — for the first time since the original telecast — on PBS stations in December. About the role of Cinderella, Andrews added, "I was given a wonderful gift by two of the most famous writers of any stage. For me, they wrote the part that every little girl longs to be." The national air date for "Cinderella" is Dec. 13 at 9 PM ET. Those in the metropolitan area will get the chance to see the acclaimed production a few days earlier: WNET/Thirteen will air the black and-white production as part of its pledge drive on Dec. 5 from 8-9:30 PM ET. Academy Award winner Andrews will host the broadcast of the musical, and the program will include interviews with three of the show's other stars, who reminisce about the filming of "Cinderella": Jon Cypher, Kaye Ballard and Edie Adams.
What an exciting season has been lined up for Lincoln Center's American Songbook series! I'm most looking forward to the all-star concert of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Passion, which will star one of my favorite gals, Patti LuPone, as Fosca with four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Clara and Assassins' Michael Cerveris as Giorgio. [The three will re create the roles they played during the 2003 Ravinia Festival in Chicago.] The Tony-winning musical will be presented at the Rose Theatre March 30-April 1 boasting a full orchestra. Other diva highlights of the season include solo concerts by McDonald (Jan. 6-8, 2005), Rebecca Luker (Feb. 12), Tonya Pinkins (Feb. 26) and Elaine Stritch (March 4). Ann Hampton Callaway will also host "Café Society, Table for Three" on Feb. 25. That evening will reunite Blossom Dearie and Julie Wilson and will feature performances from all three cabaret greats. Visit www.lincolncenter.org for more information.
I'm also looking forward to the new series at Birdland, produced by Jim Caruso. Titled The Winter Season, the two-month Monday-night series kicks off Nov. 8 and 15 with Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch. The twosome will celebrate the release of their new CD, "In Your Dreams" (Ghostlight Records), a studio re creation of the show they debuted last season at Feinstein's at the Regency. The Winter Season continues with former Side Show star Alice Ripley and her band, RIPLEY, Nov. 22. The Tony-winning Avenue Q composers — Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez — will offer their first public appearance together Nov. 29. Cabaret favorite Karen Mason, most recently on Broadway in Mamma Mia!, will head to Birdland Dec. 13, and Avenue Q Tony nominee John Tartaglia will celebrate the holiday season Dec. 20 with an all-new show titled "Johnny T's Christmas Spectacular." The series concludes Dec. 27 with composer Georgia Stitt and a star-studded cast to be announced shortly. (Birdland will also feature upcoming concerts with Stephanie J. Block, Max von Essen, Natalie Douglas, Peter Eldridge, composers Amanda Green and Tom Kitt and Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich. Stay tuned for details.) Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street. For Ebersole and Stritch's concerts, there is a $30 cover plus a $10 food/drink minimum. Call (212) 580-3080 for reservations.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
(Look for a condensed version of "Diva Talk" in the theatre edition of Playbill Magazine.)
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