By Andrew Gans
Question: You mentioned before Fame Becomes Me, which was your Broadway debut. What was that experience like, and what was it like working with Martin Short?
Question: When did "MADtv" come about?
Question: Is the show continuing?
Question: Are there any new episodes that haven't aired?
Question: When did you start performing?
Question: When do you think you knew it would be your career rather than just a hobby?
Question: How long are you scheduled to stay with Wicked?
Question: Do you have any other projects in the works, or are you just focusing on this for now?
[Wicked plays the Gershwin Theatre, located in Manhattan at 222 West 51st Street. For tickets call (212) 307-4100 or visit www.ticketmaster.com or wickedthemusical.com.]
Connie Fisher, the West End actress who starred in the revivals of The Sound of Music and They're Playing Our Song, will soon release her second solo recording. Entitled "Secret Love," the new CD includes Fisher's renditions of "I Could Have Danced All Night," "Secret Love," "Next Time You Fall in Love" (featuring Joseph's Lee Mead), "True Love Ways," "When She Loved Me," "I Guess I'll Miss the Man," "You Must Love Me," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Make Up My Heart," "If I Ever Fall in Love Again," "Memory," "If Love Were All" and "First Impression Counts." To celebrate her new recording, a follow-up to "Favourite Things," Fisher will make an appearance at the London show-biz shop Dress Circle Feb. 28. Beginning at 1 PM the singing actress will be on hand to autograph copies of "Secret Love." For more information visit www.dresscircle.co.uk.
A starry cast has been assembled for the White Plains Performing Arts Center's upcoming production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music. Directed by Sidney J. Burgoyne, the Tony-winning musical will play the New York venue March 5-22. The cast will be led by Penny Fuller as Desiree, Mark Jacoby as Fredrick, Sheila Smith as Madame Armfeldt, Laura Osnes as Anne and Rachel de Benedet as Charlotte with Laura D'Andre as Petra, Eleni Delopoulos as Mrs. Segstrom, Eddie Egan as Henrik, Katie Henney as Fredrika, Leah Jennings as Mrs. Nordstrom, Michael Markham as Frid, Jonathan Gabriel Michie as Mr. Lindquist, Christy Morton as Mrs. Anderssen and Branch Woodman as Mr. Erlanson. The role of Count Carl-Magnus will be announced shortly. The White Plains Performing Arts Center is located at 11 City Place in White Plains, NY. For tickets call (914) 328-1600 or visit www.wppac.com.
Principal casting has been announced for the North Carolina Theatre and Progress Energy production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's Miss Saigon, which runs March 21-29 in the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The cast will be led by Kevin Gray as the Engineer, Jennifer Paz as Kim, Eric Kunze as Chris, Jennifer Shrader as Ellen and Josh Tower as John. Richard Stafford will direct the limited run with choreography by Marc Oka. Tickets, priced $26-$76, can be purchased by calling (800) 745-3000 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com. For more information visit www.nctheatre.com.
Singer-actress Ilene Graff, who is best known for her work as the mom on the long-running ABC comedy "Mr. Belvedere," will return to the Metropolitan Room in Manhattan March 1. Graff's show, entitled First You Dream, is scheduled to begin at 4 PM; she will be accompanied by her husband, musical director Ben Lanzarone. Among the songs Graff will interpret are "Where or When," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "Out of This World," "Little Things," "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "First You Dream," "A Quiet Thing," "The Impossible Dream" and a Grease medley, among others. Graff has been seen on Broadway in Promises, Promises; Grease; Truckload; and I Love My Wife. The Metropolitan Room is located in Manhattan at 34 West 22nd Street. There is a $20 music charge and a two-drink minimum. For reservations visit www.metropolitanroom.com or call (212) 206-0440.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
06 Feb 2009
Parker: It was awesome. It was like playtime. It was like recess everyday. I get sad thinking about it because it's over. That group is still really tightly connected. Marty was a workhorse. He was a consummate professional, but at the same time, he was trying to make you laugh at any given moment onstage. [Laughs.] The cast was so together. We were just such one mind. Everyone got along so well. [During the] hang time backstage, all of a sudden we're like, "Oh, we have to go onstage now and do a scene and then we're gonna come back and giggle some more!" It was amazing being with Marc Shaiman. It was amazing watching his mind work. He would look off into space, and he'd immediately have a lyric. You're surrounded by geniuses, and they're at the top of their game, so it felt like such a privilege. And the best thing about it was they all said to us, "We want you to bring everything you've got." They didn't have to do that. They gave each of us featured moments. I felt that was so generous . . . . They wanted to give us a showcase. The show was just such a blast, I can't even explain to you. Watching Marty do Jiminy Glick every night — ridiculous! I will treasure that memory always.
Parker: "MADtv" was going on about three years before [Fame Becomes Me]. I had worked at a theatre called Boom Chicago in Amsterdam. It was an improv theatre, all Americans. We did shows in English, and we'd travel all around Europe and did corporate shows as well. It was amazing. When I moved back to New York, my intent was to do theatre, but now I had a bunch of friends who were doing sketch. They were on "MADtv" and suggested me for an audition. I went in. Ironically, I do think that singing gave me an extra boost because I did a lot of musical impressions. I've always been able to use music. It sort of just happened by coincidence that I ended up joining the show and leaving New York. I always wanted to get back here and do theatre. It's where I'm most happy, it's where I'm most comfortable. But I wouldn't trade my years there for anything because I think it was great — I learned how to be a writer. I think that improv and sketch really keep all of your emotions at hand. . . . I think it's really great acting training.
Parker: The show was canceled, unfortunately, two days after I got the job at Wicked. So it was good timing for me but not for other people, and it was very sad to know it was ending. The family there was really great, and I think our show was really special. I'm really proud of a lot of the work that we did. But, you know, all things must come to an end, and a lot of people I know were sad to leave but ready to move on. I'm happy for my time there, but sadly "MADtv" is no longer.
Parker: There's gonna be a few more, I think, half-hour episodes. I don't know what they're doing with it, but there are still some sketches that I shot that have definitely not aired yet. I don't know what's going to happen to them.
Parker: I was born and raised in Irvine, California.
Parker: Unofficially, in my dining room for my parents, after dinner, probably about three. But there's no footage of that, thank goodness. There's no YouTube of them, so that's probably a good thing. [Laughs.] I took my first acting class at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa at, I think, probably six. Then I did the recitals and I did kid's plays there, and I did some of the mainstage plays. That's really all I've ever been doing!
Parker: We had a recital when I was about seven. We were doing some musical [based on] the comic strip "Little Lulu." For some reason our recital at the end of this particular acting cycle was a musical, and they musicalized this version of ["Lulu"], but it was one of those things where kids in a class do Wizard of Oz, and there are seven Dorothys. So there were like seven Little Lulus, and I got to sing one song. But I remember it very clearly. I remember singing the song, I remember loving singing the song, I remember the audience, I remember their response, and I was like, "Well, that's what I want to do!" It was very simple, it was very immediate, and it's all I've ever wanted to do.
Parker: Until July.
Parker: I'm really just focusing on this for now. When you do Elphaba, there's not much room for other projects. If I want to have side projects, it's like, "Oh, I'm drinking tea, I'm meditating at the apartment, I'm going to the acupuncturist" — that's a side project. Trying to stay alive is a side project. [Laughs.] But I was writing a pilot before this happened, and I'm still hoping I can get it out by the spring. I always wanted to try to write my own show, and Tina Fey has definitely paved the road for funny ladies to try and create their own material, which is fantastic, and it inspires me. But that's about it. I hope to do more film and, again, more TV [if that] came up, but we'll just have to see. This is definitely all I'm worrying about for right now.
DIVA TIDBITS
Alice Ripley
The Arena Stage cast of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's Next to Normal will head into a Manhattan recording studio Feb. 11 and 12 to preserve the score of that powerful new musical, which was also seen Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre. Ghostlight Records will release the recording this spring at a date to be announced. Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records president Kurt Deutsch and Grammy Award winner Joel Moss are producing the CD. The cast includes Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, Aaron Tveit, Jennifer Damiano, Adam Chanler-Berat and Louis Hobson.
Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran Barbara Cook will play a three-week engagement at Feinstein's at Loews Regency this spring. The acclaimed vocalist will play the posh venue April 14-May 2, and musical director Lee Musiker will lead a five-piece band. Show times will be Tuesday-Thursday at 8:30 PM and Friday and Saturday at 8 and 10:30 PM. There will be a $60 cover charge ($75 for premium seats) and a $45 food-drink minimum. As previously announced, Tony Award winner Betty Buckley will return to Feinstein's Feb. 10 with her acclaimed Broadway By Request program, which features direction by Richard-Jay Alexander and the comedic and musical talents of Seth Rudetsky. Feinstein's at Loews Regency is located at 540 Park Avenue at 61st Street in New York City. For ticket reservations call (212) 339-4095 or visit feinsteinsatloewsregency.com and TicketWeb.com.
Barbara Cook photo by Mike Martin
DIVA TALK: Chatting with Wicked's Nicole Parker Plus News of Ripley and Cook
Question: Since we've never spoken before, I want to go back a bit. Where were you born and raised?
