Earlier this year, I went on a super-secret trip with the folks from DPAC to New York. They were getting their 2014-2015 SunTrust Broadway Series ready. But before it was going to be announced, ABC 11 was doing a special on all the upcoming shows, and I got to come along for the ride along with my colleague Brian Freeman from News Radio 680 WPTF. We were going to interview all kinds of people who have North Carolina ties, but are a BIG deal on Broadway. People like Terrence Mann, and Charlotte D'Amboise, who are basically Broadway legends. People who have multiple Tony Awards for their work, like costume designer and Raleigh native William Ivey Long. People like Martin Charnin, a guy who is one "O" away from his EGOT. (That's abbreviation for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.) The most powerful female producer on Broadway, Daryl Roth. I have interviewed scores of celebrities in my lifetime, but suddenly, with all of these powerful, successful people around me...
...I was scared.
I went into overdrive, prepping to talk to these people, all of whom now have shows that will be hitting the road and coming to DPAC in their 2014-2015 season. I watched Angela Hampton from ABC 11 interview William Ivey Long backstage at Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella:
The guy is fascinating. He spent the first three years of his life LIVING in the stage-right dressing room at the Raleigh Little Theatre. He does the Lost Colony on the Outer Banks every year, and gets super famous Broadway folks to do it with him. He designed ALL of the sumptuous costumes you see in that pic. He is also, by the way, hysterical, sweet, and incredibly interesting. Cinderella is part of DPAC's shows next year, and it's truly magical. Here's a shot of Jennie Lanning from DPAC, me, Angela Hampton from ABC 11, and Brian Freeman from News Radio 680 WPTF seeing the show that night:
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| The stage at Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella before the show at the Broadway Theatre. |
Here's where Brian and I set up shop to interview these people. It was at the theater in Times Square where the Lion King is:
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| If you watch Good Morning America, look at the bottom of the window. There's ABC News and their ticker. |
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| Here's a better view. It was Super Bowl weekend--yes, that's the Lombardi Trophy over there. |
While I waited for the people I was interviewing to arrive, Rachel from DPAC snuck me into the theater. I got to make my Broadway debut!
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| Well, okay, no one was interested. Like, at all. But still! A Broadway stage! |
Now, I've always sort of been a Broadway nerd. My parents took me to see the touring production of Annie in like 1980. Click the link and hear me talk to Martin Charnin, the guy who licensed the Annie comic from the newspaper in the 70s and turned it into a smash. He tries to goad me into singing "It's a Hard Knock Life." How can I sing that for him?!? I'm no Andrea McArdle (come on, Broadway nerds, I know you get that joke!) Plus, the guy has a Grammy, a Tony, two Emmys, a freakin' Peabody, and two Drama Desk awards. Annie is at DPAC December 9-14th. Not gonna lie, Miss Hannigan. I can't wait.
Motown is coming, it's all about Berry Gordy and his rise to fame. But did you know that the guy who put it on stage went to Duke, was pre-med, was sitting on the steps on East Campus one day and was like, "uh, I want to be on Broadway?" So he quit the pre-med program at Duke, and graduated with honors. He went to Alvin Ailey (school of dance that African-Americans are known for) and trained with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. He was so happy to see us that he told Brian and me he wants to come visit us on opening night. Motown: The Musical is known as a jukebox musical in that it uses the whole Motown catalog. It's at DPAC February 17-22 of next year.
We spoke with Eleanor Bergstein, the woman who wrote the movie Dirty Dancing and turned it into a West End smash in London. That's coming to DPAC with more 60s music than was even in the movie. It'll be in town September 16-21.
We spoke with everyone who was anyone. It was truly a whirlwind day. In addition to the folks above, we chatted with:
- Daryl Roth and her producing partner. A woman who has SEVEN Pulitzer-Prize winning plays under her belt. She produced Kinky Boots, and Cyndi Lauper wrote all the music. It's a pretty awesome musical based on the British movie about a guy who wants to save his family shoe factory and turns it into a place that makes boots for drag queens. Check out Kinky Boots at DPAC March 10-15.
- Laurence Connnor, the Englishman who has helped re-stage Phantom of the Opera. I got him to do a John Lennon-like accent. My fiance Neil is from the same area as he has worked, so we chatted about that. See Phantom at DPAC October 8-19.
Lastly, we spoke with Charlotte D'Amboise and Terrence Mann. I guess we saved the best for last, for real. These guys are basically Broadway royalty. Terrence created the role of Rum Tum Tugger in Cats years ago, he made Javert in Les Mis. He WAS Beast in Beauty and the Beast. And now, he stars in Pippin. But! Did you also know he's a professor of musical theater at Western Carolina University? That he and Charlotte, who has been Roxie Hart in Chicago, has starred in Sweet Charity, and who met her husband while they both were in Cats, have started a camp for kids in North Carolina who want to get on stage? It's called Triple Arts. They teach you to be a triple threat: acting, dancing, and singing. They came to Raleigh in February and had tryouts for locals. They have strong North Carolina ties, and click the link to hear Terrence talk about how North Carolina saved his life.
They both star in Pippin, which will be at DPAC May 12-17 2015. See what their camp for kids is all about by visiting triplearts.com.
DPAC has so many shows coming, it's an amazing season. And, that's why they're calling it their "I Love New York" season. Shows that have been tried and true over time will visit us in the Triangle next year, and ones that are new and fresh will be here, too. As a Broadway nerd at heart, I can't wait.
Get season tickets now for DPAC's 2014-2015 SunTrust Broadway series at DPACNC.com
Alli
Here are some more pics from the trip:
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| shhh! Quiet! |
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| It was cool to see this cape on stage later. I made sure to be on the lookout for it. |
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| William Ivey Long takes Angela into the "closet" where all the costumes are stored |
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| The horses for Cinderella's carriage. They are stored above the stage until show time. |
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| They sent a limo for us at the airport. Good idea in theory...bad idea if you're me, a person who gets car sick super easy. Blurgh. |
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| It was fancy, though. And pretty ballin'. |
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