Ellen Greene
Those lucky enough to catch stage and screen star Ellen Greene's Dec. 16-18 concerts with The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington at Lisner Auditorium might want to send a thank-you note to current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It was during Greene's campaigning/fundraising for Clinton a few years back when the Little Shop of Horrors star met Lane Hudson, a public relations consultant whose former boyfriend was a member of the DC Chorus. "I was asked by my friend, boss and mentor, Bruce Cohen ['Pushing Daisies,' 'Milk,' 'American Beauty'] to come to New Hampshire for the primary and join the LGBT contingency for a benefit to raise money for Hillary along with his then-partner and now husband Gabe Catone," Greene explains. "From then on I was hooked! There was also a strong contingent from DC, and among these people was Lane. We went on to become good friends, and in Charlotte, North Carolina, Hillary was not doing so well, so we decided to give it a big push. Bruce couldn't go, so Lane and I produced and staged our own benefit show... It was wonderful, and we felt it did help her. She did better than expected! And, although Obama won that state, we felt we had done our part. We became known as the 'Lucky Charms,' traveling all over the United States for her and sometimes along with her.... Lane and I have since kept in touch. He had a boyfriend who used to perform in the chorus, and he suggested to [chorus executive director] David Jobin, my wonderful producer, last Christmas that they have me perform this season." And, that is how the idea for Red & Greene, this weekend's holiday concerts, were born.

Greene, who has the rare ability to make audiences laugh just as she breaks their hearts, has spent considerable time selecting material for the four concerts. In fact, she recently tested her selections for a group of friends in Los Angeles. "We did a run-through at ['Pushing Daisies' creator's] Bryan Fuller and Scott Roberts' house, and Anna Friel came with her boyfriend, Rhys Ifans, from 'Anonymous,' and Bruce came, and of course, my beloved agent Steve La Manna, who really helped pull all of this and me together. We did a dress run-through for them, and that was exciting. With the enormous tree to our left, and fire behind me, it was soooo very Christmasy! I loved everybody at Bry and Scott's that night.... I'm excited about this show because it feels like I'm in a musical again, and it's a big show. The men have been terrific to me. They told me it was going to be 225 men, and I said, 'I can handle that!' We have put an awful lot of work in it, and I hope I don't f**k it up," Greene says with a laugh.