Times sure have changed with the hottest leading female roles on Broadway. Several years ago the roles of Dolly Levi, Fanny Brice, Liza Doolittle were roles to die for. Then the ladies crammed the audition stages to try out for Christine in The Phantom of The Opera, Fantine in Les Miserables, Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Kim & Ellen in Miss Saigon. These days, our female stars can't wait to paint their faces green and be hoisted to the ceiling on a cherry picker to belt out a tune and fly on a broom as Elphaba in Wicked. I recently caught up with one of today's outstanding performers who is thrilled to be in her first Broadway touring production of Wicked, Julia Murney. This is Murney's second Broadway show, having first appeared in the short lived production of Lennon last year. Best known for her Drama Desk Nominated role of Queenie in the off-Broadway production of Lippa's Wild Party, this gal has pricked up the ears of many seasoned theater fans with her powerhouse vocals.
Ms. Murney is part of the "popular" Tony award winning Broadway show Wicked with music by Stephen Schwartz (Bakers Wife, Godspell). This is the first time on the road touring in a major show for Julia. So we thought we would start by asking her to take us back way before the green makeup and so called glamorous life of a stage actor.
Julia was born in State College, PA but grew up in New York City. Her father is an actor, "so she has always been around this but wasn't a child actor or too overly interested in this business", as she tells us. She was in choir in junior high and went to what is now called Laguardia High School. Julia recalls "After my freshman year, my parents said to me "you're going to a summer camp. You can't just hang out anymore (laughing). So they drew a name out of a hat and sent me off to a camp called Stagedoor Manor and it totally changed my life. It was completely frightening and cult-like and it became my obsession, but in a very good way." From there she went to Syracuse University and earned a BFA in musical theater.
Pati Buehler: That was a great start. Julia who or what influenced you in the theater industry?
Julia Murney: You know, the biggest influences are my friends who are in theater. They inspire me. I recently went to see my friend Jen Cody who's doing The Pajama Game and I was very inspired watching my dear friend excel so highly on stage. And I was saying to myself "I'm ok. I can do this." Of course there are wonderful actors like Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, singers like Bette Midler, Barbara Cook. There's pop singing and all the other avenues of music that feed into what you do or would like to do. But my friends are the ones who support me and help me make decisions.
PB: Riding the wave of a big Broadway show is an exciting experience, but as we all know, even the biggest waves hit the shore eventually. So what does theater mean to you personally?
JM: They do come crashing to the shore and I think the one nice thing about this show which is sort of its own juggernaut right now, is that we, the cast don't worry about what will happen in August. We're going to be fine. I've never been in a show like this where I don't have to wonder how long this will last. But yes, theater means different things at different times to people.
