In announcing to various educated adults over 40 here in the close-in suburban county of Nassau, Long Island, that I would be attending Kelli's concert on Saturday and Kristin's on Thursday, I was surprised to see that just about all of them came up empty on the names. Kristin I thought would be known for originating Glynda in Wicked, since every 13 year old girl in Nassau had probably played the cast album incessantly, or because Kristin was a regular in The West Wing for two or three seasons, or because she had been Emmy-nominated for her role in the quirky and short-lived Pushing Up Daisies.
In the case of Kelli, I thought that Boomers would have been familiar with the R&H classics from the films of them or from their music playing on radio stations and home "Hi-Fi"s everywhere. Very many would have heard the scuttlebut about the two Lincoln Center wonder revivals and been to at least one. One woman told me that she had seen South Pacific at the Vivian Blaine, but did not remember who was in it.
The Sirius Satellite radio channel devoted to Frank Sinatra, and others who sing the old standards, had never played any recordings of great stage stars, until last week, when I heard a very appealing version of "I've Got a Crush on You". I had to look at the display to see that it was Kristin. Maybe someone just arranged a meeting between Kristin and Nancy Sinatra.
Moral? If you want to be a nationally known star, don't head to Broadway?