Kelli O'Hara: "I don't want to be as ambitious as Kristin Chenoweth!"

[love1956]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 2:36pm

http://www.examiner.com/dead-celebrities-in-national/kelli-o-hara-i-don-t-want-to-be-as-ambitious-as-kristin-chenoweth

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 2:48pm

What a refreshingly plain-spoken and earnest lady.

[scott68]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 3:39pm

Throwing a little shade, eh? She is refreshing, though.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 6:54pm

I think she's been misquoted once or twice here. She wasn't first nominated for The Pajama Game. She was nominated for Piazza first. I have a hard time believing that she would mix up her first Tony nomination.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 7:15pm

Also, not sure if this was her error or the author's, but the character she played in The Light in the Piazza was named "Clara," not "Claire."

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 8:08pm

I automatically assumed that those were misquotes on the author's part. Because Kelli left PIAZZA and immediately went into PAJAMA GAME, I doubt she'd be confused about the order of the shows and her Tony nominations. And really, "Clara" and "Claire" aren't that far apart--an easy typo on the part of the author, especially if he/she isn't familiar with the show. I don't think these change the tenor of the piece in any major way, though.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 12:47am

I rarely assume quality from examiner.com.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 1:09am

Kelli may not be as ambitious as Kristin, but if stardom should find her I don't think that she will run from it.

Her July appearance in the nationally televised PBS "A Capitol Fourth" with that grand duet of "Tonight" with Matthew Morrison gave her a lot of national exposure.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 1:45am

So is "I don't want to be as ambitious as Kristin Chenoweth" code for "I can't get a job, lately"?

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 8:17am

Kelli has no trouble getting work. Much like Jennifer Laura Thompson did for a while, she's chosen not to take a long run since the birth of her son so that she can focus on being a mother. She didn't even want to go back into South Pacific but she had to, in order to finish out her contract. She's in demand as a concert artist and can do short runs like Encores from time to time. I'm sure that if the right role comes along, though, she would take it.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 10:40am

Out of context, this seems like an unfortunate remark. But the way Kelli sets up the comparison between herself and Cheno, harkening back to what was said about them back in Oklahoma re: Kristin's ambition, which Kelli in no way derides, it doesn't read at all snarly, or even inappropriate.
Updated On: 8/8/11 at 10:40 AM

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 4:34pm

Kelli O'Hara is a class act.

[elphaba.scares.me]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 4:40pm

Kelli O'Hara probably gets the first call on at least half the roles she's right for on and off Broadway and across the country...especially now that Laura Benanti is contracted to a TV series.

She is having no trouble getting work. If she's taking a break it's because she wants to, and if she's not as ambitious as Chenoweth, that's her business.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 4:48pm

And she's not exactly mischaracterizing Chenoweth either. The girl's on her third TV show (and she parlayed her first Broadway success into the eponymous sitcom), she's a HUGE concert artist, she's been doing supporting roles in films for years, and she really only does Broadway when she wants to. O'Hara, on the other hand, has built a solid career working almost exclusively in New York theatre. Not many actors are able to rise from chorus/understudy roles (JEKYLL AND HYDE/2001 FOLLIES) to major supporting roles to arguably becoming NY's revival queen in a matter of five years.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 5:05pm

Kelli O'Hara probably gets the first call on at least half the roles she's right for on and off Broadway and across the country

I actually doubt that's true, because she doesn't really have an extensive background in regional theater.

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 5:32pm

How did they go to school together?? Kristen, I believe, is 8 years older!

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 5:34pm

Kristin was a grad student when Kelli was an undergrad.

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 5:44pm

Oh, all right.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 5:53pm

I imagine Kelli O'Hara is the most sought-after musical theatre actress of her age working today (maybe topped by Sutton Foster, and I mean actresses who exclusively do musical theatre, not TV/film actors like say Anne Hathaway or Amy Adams). Even if I like Chenoweth a lot better (and think she has much more star appeal), O'Hara has proven to be much more versatile seamlessly going from PIAZZA to SOUTH PACIFIC to BELLS ARE RINGING (and doing a whole lot of other work in between) getting raves from critics along the way.
And I might be reading too much into it but when she says that her teacher told her she might not want to be as ambitious as Chenoweth, it makes me wonder if there is some kind of warning regarding the lengths that an ambitious person like that would go to, but again, I might be reading way too into the comment.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 5:57pm

And I might be reading too much into it but when she says that her teacher told her she might not want to be as ambitious as Chenoweth, it makes me wonder if there is some kind of warning regarding the lengths that an ambitious person like that would go to, but again, I might be reading way too into the comment.

It might be a warning about the sacrifices in your personal life you'd have to make when deciding to be so ambitious.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 5:59pm

Givesmevoice, that's the more rational interpretation that actually makes sense. Guess i went for the really sensational one :-P I like yours better.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 6:05pm

And not that a star's personal life should always enter into the discourse, but it does seem like Chenoweth has sacrificed a lot of relationships for the sake of her career (and I'm just going off of the things she's said/written herself), whereas O'Hara has a successful marriage and family. If that's what she wanted, she got it.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 6:17pm

True. It's basically impossible to have a career like Kristen's and be marrlied with a kid. You usually have to choose one life or the other.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 6:38pm

Although her career has taken a slightly different course than Chenoweth's, I've always thought one of the remarkable things about Patti LuPone is that she managed to have an incredibly successful career AND a happy marriage and family. I'm not a big Kelli O'Hara fan, but I imagine she's quite content both personally and professionally.

[jon2]

Posted: 8/9/11 at 11:58am

Well, at least now she has found work ...
Gary Griffin Will Direct The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall in April 2012