- Jan 29, 2019
- 5 min
Tom Kitt: Helping Green Day meet Broadway
The first time I interviewed Tom Kitt was for "High Fidelity," a show that lasted just 10 days in 2006. We then spoke a few times for...
- Jan 29, 2019
- 4 min
Ellen Burstyn: Here, for 'Alice'
Ellen Burstyn is a tricky interview. She's hard to get to see or talk to. And when you get her, she keeps you on your toes, challenging...
- Jan 29, 2019
- 3 min
Patrick Stewart: Doing his part, playing 41 others
It's impossible to forget the punch-in-the-gut way we all felt in the weeks and months after 9/11. This story, which I wrote back then,...
- Jan 29, 2019
- 5 min
Stephen Schwartz: Resurfacing on Broadway
As part of my coverage of "Wicked," I spoke with Stephen Schwartz, who had brought "Godspell" and "Pippin" into the Broadway canon, about...
- Jan 29, 2019
- 5 min
Maria Friedman: After cancer, Broadway is the answer
I didn't know much about Maria Friedman before I got the call to interview her, but she's one of Stephen Sondheim's favorite voices. When...
- Jan 29, 2019
- 2 min
Kelli O'Hara: Riding a Bali high
Sometimes, I chat with Broadway stars when they're on Broadway. Sometimes we chat when they're doing a local concert. In 2010, when I...
- Jan 29, 2019
- 6 min
Idina Menzel: She's the Baum
For the record, when I spoke with Idina Menzel in 2004, a few months after "Wicked" opened, I had had the experience I write about in the...
- Jan 28, 2019
- 5 min
Joan Didion: Author Didion becomes playwright Didion
I was petrified to interview writer Joan Didion in 2007. Figured she'd see through every question, expose me as an imposter, dismiss me....
- Jan 28, 2019
- 7 min
Olympia Dukakis: Shaping Another Daughter's Life
"Moonstruck" is one of my favorite movies, so I leapt at the chance to sit down with Olympia Dukakis in 2005, when she was trying out a...
- Jan 28, 2019
- 5 min
Sutton Foster: Finding Her Inner Inga
I've spoken with Broadway star Sutton Foster a few times. She's incredibly generous with her time and so easygoing. She was all that and...
- Jan 28, 2019
- 3 min
Bob Newhart: Hel ... Hell ... Hello?
In 2003, I did what I had dreamed of doing my whole life: getting on the phone with Bob Newhart, the man who made a career out of...
- Jan 28, 2019
- 6 min
Eric Idle: An Oratorio for Brian
In June 2007, I spoke with Eric Idle of "Monty Python" fame about setting "The Life of Brian" in an oratorio, akin to Handel's "Messiah."...