Message Board Celebrity Of The Day (Part I) - papalovesmambo — Page 59

Despite all the many things we disagree on - or agree to disagree on - I always know that I'm not alone when I stand up and say, "I like CATS."

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Well, back the the influences question:

Musical: Phillip Glass, John Williams, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers.

Life: Father, grandmothers.

I would rather to to a party with lots of friends - AND my partner

One defining moment in my young life...I'm interested to know what you think the answer will be. I would have to go with working with Tony Award winner Shepard Coleman. I was about 15, and I randomly wanted to start performing in musicals. I auditioned for Gilbert and Sullivan's THE MIKADO on a whim - and was really too young to be cast in the show, but Shepard Coleman (who was the musical director, and won a Tony for HELLO DOLLY in 1964) insisted that I be cast. And after that show - which was the best experience - he cast me in BLOOD BROTHERS without ever having to audition. He really got me into the theatre circuit that I wanted to be in and introduced me to tons of people that are worth knowing. I don't perform anymore, but I look back on those days with fond, fond memories. I was on the front page of the newspaper with him, and there was a whole article about us. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly before BLOOD BROTHERS opened, so we did the show without him. If the show weren't sad enough, it gave it extra meaning. After that, I was called in to sing at this memorial service. I don't remember much of it - I must have been 15 or even younger - but performing onstage with Richard Kiley will forever be etched in my mind. Waiting in the green room with all these old theatre people (who I had no idea about then) was one of the weirdest things. Shepard has influenced me more than he probably would have expected - but he taught me very much, and probably, played some part - big or small i'm not sure - in where I am today. He always used to tell me about how terrible Carol Channing was to work with, so I used to bring in pictures of her and leave them on his music stand and he would raise HELL in the theatre. But he always knew it was me, so he did it with only a SLIGHT sneer

One magical power - I want to say to fly, but that's so cliche! So I'll say...I want to know what it feels like to be dead. No, I'm not suicidal and I don't want to die - I just want to know about it.

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Favorite Broadway performers:

Dorothy Loudon
Bernadette Peters
Ethel Merman
Angela Lansbury
Patti LuPone
Barbara Harris
Terrence Mann
Victor Garber
Michael Cerveris
Michael Arden
Bea Arthur
Faith Prince
Judy Holliday
Stephanie Block
Chita Rivera
Dick Van Dyke
Joel Grey
Lotte Lenya
Natasha Richardson
Julie Andres
Tonya Pinkins
Audra MacDonald
Chuck Cooper
Bebe Neuwirth
Gwen Verdon
James Naughton
John Dossett
Boyd Gaines
La Chanze
Jane Krakowski
Karen Ziemba
Charlotte D'Amboise
Norbert Leo Butz
Elaine Stritch
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Robert Preston
Barbara Cook
Jerry Orbach
Alexis Smith
Dorothy Collins
Dee Hoty
Donna McKechnie
Patrick Wilson
Annie Golden
Barbra Streisand
Tyne Daly
John Cameron Mitchell
Victoria Clark
Joanna Gleason
Chip Zien
Robert Westenberg
Laura Benanti
Marla Schaffell
Carolee Carmello
Donna Murphy
Yul Brenner
Gertrude Lawrence
Marin Mazzie
Lillias White
Matthew Morrison
Kelli O'Hara
Judi Dench
Sutton Foster
Rex Harrison
Raul Julia
Antonio Banderas
Mary Stuart Masterson
Judy Kaye
Mary Martin
Kevin Kline
Estelle Parsons
Rex Smith
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Doug Sills
Christine Andreas
John Cullum
Rebecca Luker
Mandy Patinkin
Glen Close
Christina Applegate (YES!)
Len Cariou
George Hearn
Raul Esparza
Jeffrey Carlson
Euan Morton
Tony Roberts
Rachel York
Toni Colette

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If you were fired from your present job, what sort of work would you want to do?

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Well, while we're taking a break from finding out about munk... I just want to celebrate the great work he does with the awards threads!

Really great work! Thanks for that.

So, what shoes do you have plans to see in the near future?

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'cause you haven't made it big til you're stage-doored by Emcee.

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Shows I plan to see...

hm...

I took my boyfriend (by take, I mean told to go and told him to buy tickets for us) to see AVENUE Q and the hated it. He said it was the stupidest thing he'd ever seen. Then SWEENEY TODD which he liked, because it's about revenge and he's Italian - so it's in his blood. I have plans to "take him" to go see THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, THE WOMAN IN WHITE, RENT, JERSEY BOYS, etc.

As for things that I haven't seen, well, I can't wait for the David Schwimmer and Ralph Fiennes plays this spring, as well as for TARZAN and BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. I'm not really excited about this season, but I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. I still need to see A TOUCH OF THE POET.

And you won't have to stagedoor me, you'll all have comps.

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Well, that's even better.

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Yay for Munk, one of my favorite posters!

How would you spend your perfect day?

I don't know the company...although I was around 15, in my memory it's as if I were 4 years old. It was in Orange County, NY.

My perfect day:

Early lunch at The Candle Cafe on 76 and 3rd.
Shopping at Bloomingdales.
Walk around the park, stopping at the Strand kiosks on 59th.
Dinner at Babbo or Candle 79.
A show.
Drinks at Barrymore's.
Shopping spree at Virgin. Always more fun when tipsy.

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I'm enjoying it as well! I don't want this to end!

I will be out for a bit with the boyfriend. We're going out to dinner and then shopping at Louis Vuitton, which I'm excited about. Then who knows what, but I'll probably end up at Barrymore's...

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Excited, eh? There's a lot of leather in there...sure you don't wanna rethink that?

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Have two!