Blog 60 – Everyone wants to be an actor!!

I was in Kinkos the other day making some copies of our new script and score.  And a large, bald dark-skinned employee came over to me and offered me assistance.  When I told him I needed a three hole punch, he gave me a heavy-duty one.  Then he saw what I was copying and said to me, “Are you a director?” I told him no, I was not, but I that I was a producer.  He then looked at me funny, took a deep breath and said, “You told Harpo to beat me!” Then he paused and said, “What did you think?”  I knew he was kind of joking, so I said, “the show I am working on has only girls.”  He glared at me.  Then, I said “And they gotta have hair!”.  He burst out laughing and so did I.  My point is…I meet actors everywhere!   Here are some of my favorite Broadway musical theatre actors.

Donna McKechnie – I can hear you now…She is a dancer!  Well, she is also an amazing actress.  I just saw the 73 year old perform in a show at NYMF and wowza!  She was brilliant.  The writers gave her a long, rambling monologue with a huge amount of details and she made it interesting, exciting and her concentration held the audience’s attention throughout.  Not easy!

John Lithgow – The SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS star became my hero when I saw him in DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS.   Of course, I was a fan of his from the movie GARP and from M BUTTERFLY, but in SCOUNDRELS his sense of humor shined through.  What a varied set of roles!

Heather Headley – She originated the role of Nala in LION KING and understudied Audra MacDonald in RAGTIME.  But the role that made her a Broadway star was AIDA.  Her command of the stage, her incredible vocals during the complex, long show made the audience gasp.  She deserved the Tony Award for that performance.  She is back on Broadway in THE COLOR PURPLE and getting rave reviews.
Who are your Broadway favorite musical theatre actors?  What roles made them famous?  How did they outshine the others that season?  Love to hear from you.

Larry Little
Producer