Talking Fashion, Fitness & Stars with Samantha Harris of Chicago

If we’ve learned anything from former primetime celebrity hoofers John O’Hurley, Joey Lawrence, Lisa Rinna, Harry Hamlin and Jerry Springer, it’s that competing on Dancing With the Stars is a terrific stepping stone to starring in Chicago on Broadway or the West End. But during spring 2009 finale, it was co-host Samantha Harris who dropped the disco bomb that she’d be starring as merry murderess Roxie Hart from July 7 through August 16 on Broadway. Yes, Harris—the one who spends most of her time backstage talking with the stars. Well, like last season’s Melissa Rycroft, Harris is what you might call a ringer: As soon as she hits the floor, it’s obvious she’s got dancing in her blood. (For proof, hit up YouTube or Harris’ website to view the jumpin’ jive she did with pro dancer Jonathan Roberts on season two.) Though she’s spent most of her career hosting on the small screen—on top of DWTS, she serves as a correspondent/fill-in anchor for The Insider and previously had a similar gig on E! News—she appeared in the original L.A. cast of Reefer Madness and toured the U.S. in Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python. Just before her debut at the Ambassador Theatre, Harris called Broadway.com and let us ask the questions.

Let’s talk your showbiz beginnings back in Minnesota. Your parents were involved in so many things—your dad was a concert promoter, right?
He produced all the rock-and-roll concerts in the Twin Cities, so growing up, I spent my weekends backstage, getting to eat dinner with the band before the show. On my 18th birthday I was eating cake at a Paula Abdul concert. It was a very surreal life.

Your mom and dad also founded a Renaissance fair?
One of the country’s first, King Richard’s Faire. The first one was in Chicago and they expanded to just outside Boston.

Did you dress up and sell turkey legs and run around yelling “Huzzah!” and all of that fun stuff?
When I was a kid I played just about every part—except the wench. I wasn’t allowed to play the wench. I sold strawberry shortcake out of one booth, I sold T-shirts out of another. My parents, in the early days, played the king and queen.

Wasn’t your mom a dancer as well?
My mom and my aunts danced for the Minnesota Vikings football team. And my mom was in a local Minneapolis dance company, when I was very young.

Did you study dance?
I had my first formal ballet class when I was seven, and I studied for a few years. Then in probably the most important years of development, I decided to stop ballet and start playing basketball [laughs]. I’m only five-foot-four, so I did not have a WNBA career in my future. But then I continued with my junior high and high school dance line.

Dance line? That sounds intense.
It’s a three-season sport. I lettered in it. We performed at the basketball, football and soccer games; we went to regional and state competitions.

Did you do school plays?
I was in the show choir in junior high and high school. Because of dance line, I didn’t have the freedom to do the fall musical but I always did the spring plays. At Northwestern I was in the ensemble of The Wiz. I did Hamlet. I also studied jazz there.

You actually majored in journalism at Northwestern. Why did you decide to go that route, as opposed to getting a degree in theater?
I always had a performance gene in me, and I knew I wanted to be in front of an audience; I just didn’t know in what form. I wanted a solid degree that I could always go to. In journalism you learn the basics of telling a story, you learn how to ask provocative questions, you learn how to be in front of a camera. With a theater degree you can’t walk into an audition and say, “Here’s my degree, cast me!” I interned at Entertainment Tonight when I was a sophomore—starting in eighth grade, I knew I wanted to move out to L.A.—and I had little bits of TV and film work here and there. Thankfully, more and more hosting jobs eventually became available. I was called back for 90 percent of the hosting jobs I auditioned for—whereas with film and TV it was maybe 20 percent.

At this point, you’re a veteran red-carpet interviewer. Do you like that scene?
I like doing the major awards shows when I have a platform where the stars want to talk to me. What made it difficult in my earlier days was being one of the throngs of reporters just trying to get the stars to come over. Being at The Insider is great. The stars want to talk to us. And it’s really fun people-watching!

Who do you always enjoy talking to at events?
George Clooney is always fantastic, because he is fun, he’s funny—even if he doesn’t want to answer a question directly, he’ll still give you a great sound bite. Hugh Jackman is the same way, a really gregarious guy, lovely and engaging even when the cameras aren’t rolling. Amy Adams, Jennifer Garner—nice to talk to and nice people outside of the business.

[IMG:L]Okay, onto the really important stuff: fashion. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you make a red-carpet faux pas. Who dresses you?
Christina Scarbo—she ended up being a contestant on Project Runway; she’s fantastic and has a wonderful eye when it comes to gowns. The girl has to find 40-plus gowns for me a year! Anya Sarre dresses all of us for The Insider and ET. Honestly, I roll in in my mom jeans and my Croc sandals and my T-shirt with my baseball hat on, so they have their work cut out for them!

Any favorite designers?
On Dancing I tend to wear a lot of David Meister. I also really like Pamella Roland. BCBG Max Azria makes a lot of great stuff.

Along the way to becoming an entertainment journalist, you’ve also been a fitness model—you were on the cover of Muscle & Fitness HERS four times. How did that happen?
When I was a little girl, I had wide-eyed aspirations to be a supermodel. I think most girls want to be Miss America or a princess. And I reiterate—I stopped growing at five-foot-four. Basketball player, supermodel, I had a lot of tall aspirations [laughs]. What I found as I grew older is that I’ve settled into a shape that’s very comfortable to me. I try to take very good care of my body. If I feel strong, I feel confident. So that’s led me to love going to classes at the gym—cardio-sculpting, yoga—and because of that, I eventually found myself doing some fitness modeling.

I was reading one of your seven-day workout plans, and it was intense. Monday, kickboxing; Tuesday, running the Santa Monica stairs; Wednesday, cardio-sculpting class; Thursday, weight training. Do you still do all that?
When I wasn’t working as many crazy hours as I am now, and especially prior to having a child [Josselyn, born in September 2007], I was working out six or seven days a week. Not because I had some sort of unhealthy vision of what I needed to do; I just really enjoyed it. Now I probably work out three to four times a week. I love being able to go on walks on the weekend with my husband and daughter.

Are they in New York with you?
They’ll be racking up some frequent-flier miles, and I just went home this past weekend. I can’t wait to share New York City with her. She loves watching buses and horses. All the bright lights—there’s so much for her to see.

After you finish your stint with Chicago, you’ve only got one month before season nine of Dancing With the Stars! Do you have any scoop for us? Any casting news?
To be honest, I don’t know! It’s a three-night premiere beginning September 21, and I’m sure we’ll have an amazing cast. But I like to sit on the sidelines and wonder and hope and get excited until a few days before we announce it. I like to speculate just like everyone else!

How did the Dancing company react to your Chicago casting? Did you get any tips?
Before we announced it on the show, I was telling some of the cast members and they were incredibly supportive. I’ve been texting back and forth with Maks and Karina, who are making their Broadway debut in Burn the Floor. On The Insider they’ve been questioning everyone who’s ever been affiliated with Chicago—from Rita Wilson to Joel Grey to Queen Latifah—giving advice and words of encouragement.

When’s the last time you were on stage?
The last time I was on stage in New York—and the only time—was Carnegie Hall, summer of 2000, with Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python, which was a 23-city tour. That was pretty much the last time I performed on stage singing and dancing. We had about 30 Python songs and sketches from various Flying Circus episodes and movies. I was Eric’s right-hand girl, singing and dancing and doing shtick and having a fantastic time. I got to sing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” “The Lumberjack Song”—all of the greatest songs. It was a blast. I was on the demo CD for Spamalot. I did the reading at Eric’s house for Mike Nichols before he signed on to direct. So I feel like I was some tiny part of that process.

How does it feel to make it to Broadway at last?
There’s really no taking away from that exhilarating nervous excitement. As my dad, whom I lost many years back, told me, “Just take a deep breath and go out there and shine.” I hope I can make him—and my mom and family—proud.

See Samantha Harris in Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre.