New York City is filled with lovely parks. There's a particularly charming one tucked into a triangle on 106th Street and Broadway. It's planted with daylilies, impatiens, lacecap hydrangeas and dogwoods. One end of this peaceful oasis is dominated by a recumbent bronze sculpture which sits atop a flowing fountain. The park is dedicated to the memory of Isidore and Ida Strauss, the loving couple who perished together on the Titanic in 1912. Therefore it's appropriate to meet Victoria Clark for an interview at a café only a short distance from Strauss Park. After all, Ms. Clark originated the role of Alice Beane in Maury Yeston's Tony Award winning musical TITANIC and sang Adam Guettel's "Statues and Stories" in LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, which won her the 2005 Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical. This fine lady is never really far from statues, stories and the Titanic.
The morning is dismal and rainy but Ms. Clark arrives at the café with an abundance of positive energy that immediately dispels the dreariness of the weather. Her beautiful dangle earrings and complementing necklace reflect her personality as they sparkle in the overcast light. Her eyes shine with enthusiasm as she discusses her career, motherhood, her new CD, and her upcoming appearance with the Boston Pops.
Over a large cup of coffee...let's correct that...over a veritable bowl of coffee, the Dallas born performer explains how her mother and grandmother introduced her to the performing arts.
"My mother took me and my brothers to see a lot of theater and opera when we were growing up but I was the only one who stuck it out," explains Clark. "As a child my mom used to listen to the Texaco broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera. As a result, she grew up with this huge love for music and theater, drama and every kind of performing art. She did take us around a lot. When I was about six, it was my grandmother who would hear me singing around the house. She was living with us She was the one who decided to take me downtown and pay for music lessons. It was supposed to be piano lessons but my piano teacher was a wonderful singer and I don't know how she figured out my vocal skills, I really don't. Perhaps my grandmother mentioned it to her, but the lesson would start off with five or ten minutes of singing and the time kept getting increased until it was about half singing and half piano. She didn't try to change my voice, it was just an opportunity to sing one-on-one with someone who was pretty knowledgeable. At the age of six or seven I was already performing in recitals and I don't remember being terribly nervous. I was always more comfortable singing than playing the piano, though. When I got to high school, I had a fantastic voice teacher, Sharon Grahnquist. She took me seriously, and paved the way for later voice teachers and mentors, most notably my long-time teacher and inspiration, Edward Sayegh."
In high school, Victoria Clark took on some pretty ambitious roles, including Puccini's Suor Angelica (the singer attended an all-girls school so there was never a shortage of nuns!), Menotti's AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS, the title role in MAME, Romaine Vole in WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, one of the roles in Neil Simon's PLAZA SUITE and a part in THE FIREFLIES. "I got opera, musicals, absurdist comedies and modern American comedy while in high school. I also had quite a bit of classical voice training." That's far more experience than the average student receives in any high school nowadays. 
" I went to the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Michigan when I was seventeen, It's one of the nation's premier performing arts high schools and summer programs," Ms Clark said between sips of the steaming coffee. "In college I did two Gilbert and Sullivans and in my sophomore year at Yale, the G&S Society asked me to direct RUDDIGORE-a real tough one. I'd never directed before and I just decided I was going to be a director. At that point I didn't do much performing. Oh, I did a little, but not much." She became a music major, and directed student productions whever she could find the space. "That's what I was planning to do when I moved here." Luckily the tides changed for her because Victoria Clark seems to be very happy on stage. "I think part of my success is that I didn't expect it. This all seems to be a happy accident that's been going on for some time now," she says with true laughter in her voice.
