Audra's Life in the Theatre

This was a treat.

If the mark of a "Star" is their generosity in speaking well of other "Stars," then Audra McDonald is a SUPER STAR !

God, this woman. She's the gold standard in so many categories.

There's class act, and then there's Audra. The way she speaks with such joy, admiration, and respect about her peers, her colleagues, and her superiors is so beautiful. The deep love she has for the artform is wonderful to see. Only mentioning her first Tony win and not the other 5, too? Not an ounce of ego.

She is just effortlessly open-hearted. A true star.

I haven't watched this yet, I look forward to it. But just came on to say that if anyone from Playbill is reading this, keep doing these! Every single one is so interesting. I especially loved Christian Borle and David Hyde Pierce.

Audra is such a class act. I just love her. I have seen most of her shows but I have a special spot in my heart for Lady Day. I specifically remember playing hooky from work on a Wednesday. You know when you just need a mental health day? At the last minute I decided to go to the matinee. I remember being transported to another place by her performance. Theater heals. It’s the truth.

It's also ridiculous that her only role in a major mainstream movie musical ( Annie on TV doesn't count) is as a singing wardrobe.

Though no one saw it, she played Sally in the 2017 fiasco feature film adaptation of the musical HELLO AGAIN:

I have enjoyed all of these episodes, but I agree that this was an especially good one. And you can see how touched she was by every experience. I was anxious to see her commentary on Shuffle Along because I found the musical to be so memorable, leaving the theatre with a huge smile and looking around at the audience members who were equally pleased with what we had just experienced. I remember a couple of critiques it received but I didn’t completely agree. I loved it from start to finish.
And I still say Savion was robbed of the Tony for choreography that year.
There was no way that many were going to overcome the juggernaut that was Hamilton though. Choreography being one of the majors I figured Hamilton probably had that in the bag too, but in my opinion I think Glover deserved it.
But back to Audra, and speaking of movies, I remember her popping up briefly as the wedding singer in Object of My Affection back in ‘98 when my friend and I went to see it at the movies. My friend didn’t know her but having seen her on Broadway it was a treat. Hard to believe how long ago her first Tony was. It seems like just yesterday. But 31 years. Wow.

Updated On: 9/5/25 at 11:43 AM

Will the 1994 cast recording of Carousel continue to be a lost recording?, he grumbled.