09/17/04
"This is a dream come true for me," Hudson gushed from her room at the Hilton in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she was performing in the last leg of the American Idols Live! tour. "I'm such a fan of Broadway. I don't know much about it, but I've always wanted to do it." In fact, Hudson's such a neophyte that stepping onto the New Amsterdam Theatre stage on Monday will not only be her first time on a Broadway stage but her first time in a Broadway theater, period.
When she got the call to be a part of the Hair tribe just a week or so ago, Hudson knew she had to do it, even if she was still on the road with the Idol tour through October 6: "I didn't care if we had a show that night--there was no way that I would miss this." Her fellow idols understood how badly Hudson wanted a moment like this to come. "Everyone here is so excited," she said. "I've been up every night working on the song until like three in the morning." (I'm not at liberty to say exactly which song Hudson is singing, as producer Seth Rudetsky and The Actors' Fund team are obsessed with shrouding these one-night-only events with secrecy, but let's just say it won't be hard for the crowd to get hung up on Hudson's vivacious voice).
Hudson's theater experience to date is limited to taking part in the ensemble of Big River (singing "How Blest We Are") at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois and singing on a Disney cruise ship prior to landing a coveted finalist spot on American Idol. "When I was on the ship, all the other performers were obsessed with me doing Broadway," she remembered. "They would put me in a room and put every Broadway show on tape and tell me parts I was right for so I could learn the roles."
Not surprisingly, the role that everyone's been telling Hudson she's perfect for over and over (myself included) is that of Effie in Dreamgirls. She's been doing her homework and has become familiar with the songs and the vocal pyrotechnics of original star Jennifer Holliday, of whom she is in awe. "Jennifer Holliday is unreal to me," she said. "She's just not real." Asked if she's had a chance to meet the diva that came before her yet, she gasped. "Oh, no! I would not be able to talk if I did!"
Still, the ever-confident Hudson, who plans on moving to New York City early in 2005 to pursue her Broadway dreams full-time, knows she's the right girl for the role. "Who better to play Jennifer Holliday's role than Jennifer Hudson?" she asked. "We even both have the same name! And besides, I can actually sing those songs. It'll save a lot of people a lot of trouble!"
Certain to agree with that piece of casting is Rudetsky, a self-professed lover of both Dreamgirls and big brassy belters like Hudson. After the acclaimed 2001 Actors' Fund concert of Dreamgirls and follow-up successes in Funny Girl and Chess, former piano bar star Rudetsky has made quite a name for himself by lining up stellar back-to-back talent for the nights. So, how does he do it? "People know me as this crazy, crazy fan," he admitted at a press rehearsal for Hair last week. "I call up these stars and say, 'I'm obsessed with your voice!' and think they're just taken with my love for them!"
When Rudetsky gushed that Hair is one of his all-time favorites, I accused him of recycling that line for each year's show! "But it's true!" he exclaimed. "I have been obsessed with all of them and I have about three more shows left." As for the specifics of Monday's show, Rudetsky wouldn't deny or confirm any of the song/performer rumors I'd heard around town or the question of whether or not cast members are getting nekkid for the show's famed orgy scene. "I can't reveal," he said. "But let's just say that I've been working out!"
Some seats are still available for Hair. What the heck are you waiting for?! Get in by clicking here!
SUNDAY IN THE SQUARE
Unfortunately, the organizers of this year's Broadway on Broadway were so concerned about making good TV out of the show that they forgot about the tens of thousands of Broadway fans that filled Times Square to cheer on their faves. The concert kicked off late, there were endless gaps between songs and several participating shows had to sing their numbers twice due to sound problems. The consensus "backstage" was that the poorly produced show was even more ridiculous than co-host Christy Carlson Romano, who walked around surrounded by a triangular formation of beefy security goons as fans on the street strained to figure out who the hell she was. (Sorry--she's probably a nice girl, but it was ridiculous).
Still, if you get dozens of Broadway stars on a stage, you're bound to be entertained, production gliches or not. One of the big events for musical theater fans was seeing Sutton Foster performing one of her Little Women songs in public for the first time. "I was so nervous that my heart was pounding in my throat," Foster confessed after she nailed the number, the Act One closer "Astonishing." ("She's always terrified," said supportive brother Hunter Foster of The Producers. "And then she's always amazing.") Foster flew in for the event from North Carolina, where the Little Women company is in rehearsals for the out-of-town run of the show. "I kept telling the cast members down there that I was coming back to represent," she said, showing off some street 'tude. "I'm representin' my peeps!" Talk about thoroughly modern!
Boy band survivor Drew Lachey and co-star Jeremy Kushnier were on hand to sing "What You Own," the only song from Rent that ever seems to get performed at these things anymore. Lachey had just opened in the hit musical two nights earlier, at a performance attended by big bro Nick Lachey and sister-in-law Jessica Simpson. "It went pretty well," Lachey said of the big night. "But I could see the notes being written by the director as I was doing things!" What about that sexed-up new Rent print ad, which features a shirtless Lachey gazing up the camera? "Talk to the press office about that!" he laughed. "I had nothing to do with it!" And no--Lachey doesn't take his shirt off in Rent.
The two leading ladies of Wicked--Idina Menzel and Jennifer Laura Thompson--managed to sell their show and its merchandising with their appearance at the event. Dressed in the cute girlie t-shirts that are hawked in the lobby of the Gershwin ("defy gravity" for Idina, "popular" for Jennifer), the twosome exuded "rocker chick" as they sang the ballad "For Good." "Rocker chicks is what we really are," Menzel smiled after the song. "I only aspire to be that," Thompson corrected. "Idina embodies that!" I pointed out a large Times Square billboard promoting hubby Taye Diggs and his new TV show Kevin Hill to Menzel. "It's a great show," she offered. "Cross your fingers and watch it on September 29!" Speaking of non-theater projects, how did Menzel's shoot for the Robert Towne flick Ask the Dust (due in theaters December 2005) go, anyway? "I'm in South Africa and I'm kissing Colin Farrell," she laughs. "What more can I say?!"
IN BOX
Speaking of Miss Menzel…
Dear Paul:
I have just learned that Shoshana Bean has taken over for Eden Espinosa as Idina Menzel's standby in Wicked, and I have got just one question for you: If you ever hear in advance of Idina not being in a show and Shoshana standing in for her, will you be one the first ones to see her? I am HUGE fan of Idina's--I paid a rather large sum for a copy of her first album on eBay. However, I am rather curious about Shoshana because she is fabulous as well!
----James Dee
----Los Angeles, California
Dear James:
Yes, I would definitely want to see Bean mean and green in the role of Elphaba, if she gets the chance to go on. I loved her voice in the ensemble of Hairspray and in the off-Broadway revival of Godspell back in 2000 (the same production that gave us Barrett Foa, Capathia Jenkins, Chad Kimball and Leslie Kritzer to name a few) and have been looking forward to seeing her sink her teeth in a big Broadway role. I did get to see part of her performance as the standby Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray and she was winning, even if the whole notion of sticking a "regular-sized" actress in a fat suit to play the part rubs me the wrong way. But Elphaba? Right up her alley, if you ask me.
Dear Paul:
I was just reading your Stage Notes and got very very excited!! I live in Denver and saw Brooklyn five times while it was playing at the Civic. It is a truly AMAZING show. I never thought I would find a show to replace Rent or Jekyll & Hyde (pre-Broadway) as my favorite, but it did. And as much as I love Wicked and Idina, even it couldn't touch Brooklyn. The actors are amazing and truly stepped up with the belting and pure raw emotion. The set design and costume conceptualization are so unique and powerfully creative that it did stop the show one night--the audience was blown away and had to show their appreciation. I haven't been able to make it to NY for a couple years because all my money is going to college, but even if I have to eat pork and beans for a year I WILL get myself to NY to see Brooklyn on Broadway. I look forward to your report and thoughts once you get to see the whole thing!
----Mathew
----Denver, Colorado
Dear Mathew:
So glad to hear nice buzz coming out of Denver. But please don't eat pork and beans for a year for a Broadway show! I can't imagine the outcome of that!
Dear Paul:
I was excited to see you mention last week that Erin Maguire had taken over the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Long Island. I had the privilege of catching Maguire's performance as Cathy Rigby's understudy in the touring version of Seussical. I felt so lucky as it remains the best experience that I have ever had seeing an understudy. I'm hoping that Broadway will notice her as Sally and bring her up. She's amazing.
----Dylan Hauck
----Marietta, Georgia
Dear Dylan:
Thanks for your note. I'm not familiar with Maguire's work, but from the sounds of it, we'll be hearing from her a lot!
That's it for now. Talk to you next week. Please e-mail me any of your questions, comments or critiques!
Paul Wontorek
Editor-in-Chief
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