2006 Tony Awards Q&A: Team Purple - Russel, Bray and Willis
By: Robert Diamond Jun. 08, 2006
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Brooklyn-born singer/songwriter Brenda Russell's music has touched fans on a global scale through millions of albums sold and songs heard on airwaves around the world. Author of "Piano in the Dark," "If Only for One Night" and the anthem "Get Here," Brenda has written for or collaborated with superstars such as Sting; Mary J. Blige; Stevie Wonder; Chaka Khan; Tina Turner; Donna Summer; Michael McDonald; Ray Charles; Earth, Wind & Fire; Luther Vandross; Diana Ross; and Patti LaBelle, among many others.
Stephen Bray, working with Madonna, wrote and produced many of her top-ten recordings, including "Angel," "Into the Groove," "Papa Don't Preach," "True Blue" and "Express Yourself." Performing with Breakfast Club, he earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and a top-ten single. He has composed and produced for multiplatinum artists including The Jets, Gladys Knight and Kylie Minogue.
Allee Willis has sold 50 million records, including Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" and "Boogie Wonderland," the Pointer Sisters' "Neutron Dance" and Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield's "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" Willis won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop and was nominated for an Emmy for "I'll Be There for You," the theme from "Friends." She's also an award-winning artist, set designer, interactive-multimedia artist, writer and director.
Does being nominated for a Tony feel any different than other awards that you've each been nominated for?
Allee - It's all pretty great, but this does feel like the most substantial because the body of work for this show was the most substantial.
Brenda– It's the most unexpected as well, - because growing up and writing music I'd always expected to be in the Grammy world. Though I always had dreams of being in the Broadway world, it's a dream come true.
What are your favorite Broadway shows?
Allee– West Side…
Brenda - West Side Story comes right to my mind as well.
Stephen – I like Fiddler a lot, I really do. I also liked
Brenda – I of course have an affection for Hair because I was in it as a teenager, in the
Did you have plans pre-booked to come to
Allee – We were planning to fly in…
Brenda – We had flights booked, and if you got nominated you fly, if not, you cancel them.
Were you packed?
Brenda – I couldn't, I was too scared to pack.
Stephen – I didn't, I didn't even have a reservation!
Allee – And I was packed and ready to roll!
Stephen – She had her bag by the door!
Do you feel gratified by the public recognition that the show has received?
Brenda – Absolutely, and that's the greatest reward of all as far as I'm concerned, the biggest reward. You have to face them, and win their hearts to get them. They have to love it to show up.
Stephen – And you see it, and feel it in the feel of the room. The emotion that comes over the theatre every night is amazing. It's great though when your peers come together and say that they like what you did – that means an awful lot.
Allee – It feels like the people's musical. It really is like the public rising up. And as an artist, that's the greatest thrill of all.
The show certainly has its ardent fans – how often do you hear from them?
Stephen – We hear stories all the time about like a group planning to come up from
Brenda – Right, and there's also these high-flying girls from
Allee – 6-7-8 times. There's an unbelievable number of people in the audience that have seen it multiple times and that's just fantastic.
Are you all working on new things at the moment?
Stephen – I've been resting…
Allee – I did a TV show, wrote the theme song for it and scored the whole season and started writing a book. I'm not a rester!
Brenda – I have been in talks about making another album, but we'll see. I'm kind of taking the summer off, and slowly easing myself back in…
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