Tari Kelly: Broadway Lady

[americanboy99]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:00pm

Ahh. Tari Kelly. My first introduction to her was when she starred as Audrey in the very well done touring production of "Little Shop of Horrors". I was utterly blown away by her performance and have been a huge fan ever since. She has been seen on Broadway as Stephanie J. Block's understudy in "The Boy from Oz". She truly is amazing. She starred as Millie in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in a regional production in Chicago, and many critics say she could have saved the Broadway show from its close if she would have starred there.

Her website is tariekelly.com. It's a nice site, and you can listen to her sing in her many musicals. She truly is amazing.

Please, discuss her site, her performances, and what you think of her. If you've seen her perform, please post. I love Tari Kelly. I firmly believe she is the best "unknown" musical actress out there. I want to see her originate a big leading role on Broadway. I hope!!!!

Ms. Kelly's Website

Updated On: 8/20/06 at 10:00 PM

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 11:42pm

::Waves to Tari Kelly's mom or little brother or whomever started this thread! ::

[clarkstallings]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:00am

Even if this post is a personal plug, I must say Tari is a very talented performer. I saw her in BATB and LSOH and she's the best Audrey I've ever seen.

[suddenlyseymour]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:10am

I would've loved to see her in Little Shop

[Alejandra925]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:13am

I saw Tari Kelly on the LSOH tour and thought she was terrific.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:42am

Ah, she was fantastic in the Little Shop tour. Really, I forgot I wasn't watching Kerry Butler. She was great!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:48am

I listened to the clips on her site and she sounds better than Kerry Butler did when I saw Kerry in Little Shop. Tari sure works hard. She has an endless array of credits. The girl keeps busy.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:49am

The site didn't work for me.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:52am

Fosse- I had to google her and found the site. :)

[John3]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:58am

I saw her in LSOH tour as well. She is a really sweet person and a great performer.

[kec]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 3:15am

I was at The Boy From Oz for one of her last performances. During "Bi-Coastal" "Peter" made a big fuss about her leaving and so on. His "victims" that day were four guys from Chicago. He had them come up on the stage to be back-up singers for Tari as she sang "New York, New York." (They were going to sing "Chicago" but no one remembered all the words.) She did have a lovely voice, as I recall. It was fun to watch the whole sequence.

[DramaQueen700]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 6:21am

i saw her in little shop on tour, and stage doored and talked with her a bit. she was extreeemyl sweet and humble and didnt mind making idle chit chat with me. she even went back into the theater and told anthony rapp (who was playing seymour) to hurry up and come out because i was waiting for him! she was lovely and very perfect as audrey.

[James885]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 9:32am

I saw her in the LSOH tour. She was fantastic and her "Somewhere That's Green" left me stunned (in a good way). I never saw Kerry Butler live, but Tari Kelly sounds much better than Kerry Butler does on the CR.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 11:50am

Sorry the site isn't working. And no, I am not her little brother or mother, just a huge fan!

[ShuQ]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 2:12pm

AHHH! Saw her twice in the Little Shop Tour...LOVE the girl!

[Kringas]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 2:14pm

The reason why the website wasn't working is because the poster misspelled it.
She made a post on this site once.

Updated On: 8/20/06 at 02:14 PM

[roseaddams]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 2:25pm

I saw her three times on the tour, and each time she delivered an amazing performance. I find it pretty cool that somebody can maintain that high of a level of performance for such a long run. She was definitely one of the best Audreys, if not the best. And she was always very personable at stage doors, even saying she remembered me after two different stops four months apart. (Whether she did or not, I'm not sure, but I don't care.) A very talented and gracious performer.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 2:30pm

So sad I missed her on the Little Shop tour. There are so many great unsung heros and heroines on stages all over the country, I wish I had more time to see them all and get better acquainted with their work. It's hard to keep track.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 4:04pm

I missed her in Millie unfortunately, but I remember reading some great reviews, and she sounds fantastic doing "Gimme Gimme" on her website.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 6:16pm

I saw her in Millie and she was phenominal. ALMOST rivaled Sutton Foster. I want her to be on broadway soon!

[americanboy99]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 8:54pm

The site should work now. Sorry!

[americanboy99]

Posted: 8/21/06 at 4:24pm

I think that Tari Kelly is far superior to all other Audreys. I feel like the LSOH on Broadway defintely would've lasted longer with her in it.

[SweetHomeChicago]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 5:10pm

I saw her in BFO, LSOH, and Millie in Chicago. In fact, she just received a Jeff nomination for her portrayal of Millie. She is sweet and very genuine. She took my wife and I back stage for a tour of the LSOH set after everyone had left and shut down the lights (that's trustworthy). After a matinee performance of Millie, she came out and met my 7 year-old son who's a Broadway star in the making. She spent what seemed like an eternity talking to him about acting, singing, etc. He still talks about his experience to this day.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 5:14pm

she's so nice.

[keggss23]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 5:26pm

Loved her on the LSOH tour. I agree, her "Gimme, Gimme" on her website is phenomenal!