By Andrew Gans
12 Aug 2005

Q: You've been in the music business a long time. How have you seen it change over the years?
Love: Well, it's amazing, I've seen it go from all white to black to mixed. Each change was a good change because it's not all black, and it's not all white, and it should be mixed because all of us have something to offer to our music business. And, we can't all do it all. All black can't do it, all white can't do it, so it has to be so everybody can get a piece of the pie. I've seen it change, but I've seen it change for the good.

Q: What advice would you give to someone starting out in the business?
Love: I think it's a little harder today than it was when I was coming up because they don't have the record companies — they're not as powerful anymore as they used to be. They don't have the A&R man to look and find out where the talent is — they don't seek out talent anymore. If you're talented, today you have to go in, make your records, spend your own money and take it to the disc jockeys or whoever and hope they like it and give you a recording contract. So it's much harder today. I say if you want to be in this business today, you better just keep yourself ready for disappointment. But our business is about disappointment, but you can't let it get you down if that's what you want to do.

Q: Do you have any other projects in the works?
Love: I do my Christmas show every year, and I'm going to do it at the Apollo again this year. It's the 17th of December. So, thinking about that and thinking about Hairspray, my hands are kind of full. [Laughs.]

Q: How long are you contracted with Hairspray?
Love: Well, the first contract is six months, and then they want me there, they say, for "the long run," so it could be a year, it could be two years. I've been looking for something that keeps me busy here at home. Broadway is hard, but it's not that hard — it's not as hard as traveling around the country touring. . . . I'm having a ball. It's so much fun.

Q: Final question. When people hear the name Darlene Love, what would you like them to think?
Love: Strong and determined. That has been my motto, I think, since I've been in this business. You have to be strong, and you have to be determined.

[Hairspray plays the Neil Simon Theatre, 250 West 52nd Street. Call (212) 307-4100 for tickets.]

DIVA TIDBITS
After two performances this month at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL Tony Award winner Betty Buckley will embark on a fall concert tour that brings the singing actress to California, North Carolina, Maryland, Florida, Arizona and Nevada. The award-winning performer will kick off her fall dates Sept. 8-11 at the Mainstage Theater at the Villa Resort in Palm Springs, CA. The complete list of concert dates follow:
Aug. 28 and 29 at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL
Sept. 8-11 at the Mainstage Theater at the Villa Resort in Palm Springs, CA
Sept. 16 at the Givens Performing Arts Center in Pembroke, NC
Oct. 15 at Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, MD
Oct. 22 at the Maltz Jupiter Theater in Jupiter, FL
Nov. 1-5 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA
Nov. 30 at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, VT
Dec. 2 at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, AZ
Dec. 3 at the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall in Las Vegas, NV

Tony Award winner Barbara Cook will make her Metropolitan Opera solo concert debut Jan. 20, 2006, at 8 PM. That evening will be recorded live by DRG Records and will be released on CD March 6, 2006. There is also the possibility that DRG may release the concert on DVD as well. Tickets for Cook's solo Met debut go on sale Aug. 21 at noon. For more information visit www.metoperafamily.org.

Tony Award winner Lea Salonga will make her solo Carnegie Hall concert debut this fall. Salonga — best known to Broadway audiences for her award-winning role as Kim in Miss Saigon — will perform at the famed venue Nov. 7 at 7 PM. The evening is a benefit for Diversity City Theater. Carnegie Hall is located in New York City at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. Visit www.carnegiehall.org for more information.

Angela Gaylor, who played Anne in the recent revival of La Cage aux Folles, will star in the title role of the Paper Mill Playhouse's upcoming staging of Cinderella. Pacific Overtures' Paolo Montalban, who starred in the ABC-TV production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, will reprise his role as the Prince for the Paper Mill mounting. Cinderella will be presented at the New Jersey theatre Oct. 19-Dec. 4; Gabriel Barre will direct. Tickets are currently on sale by calling (973) 376-4343. Visit www.papermill.org for more information.

The annual free concert for theatre lovers — Broadway on Broadway — will be held next month in Times Square. On Sunday, Sept. 18 a host of stars from current and forthcoming Broadway musicals will perform at the yearly event, which kicks off the 2005-2006 Broadway season. Show time is 11:30 AM, and the concert stage is located in Times Square, between 43rd and 44th Streets. WNBC-TV Channel 4 in New York will air excerpts from Broadway on Broadway on Sept. 20 at 7 PM ET; check local listings. Broadway on Broadway is presented by the League of American Theaters and Producers. For more information visit www.broadwayonbroadway.com.

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