A Certain Chemistry: An Interview with Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell

Between raising a toddler and performing in concert, the latter is probably the lesser of two challenges. Yet both are proving to be fun and fulfilling for married theatre stars Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell, who met during the run of Sunset Boulevard and who have lived out a Broadway love story ever since. The two are currently wrapping their voices around everything from showtunes to swing to rock and roll in Beyond Broadway: An Evening of Song with Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell at the Kennedy Theatre in North Carolina (the remaining performances are from August 25th to 28th).

The name of the theatre is more than just a coincidence. Kennedy, who recently starred as Zelda Fitzgerald in the New Jersey premiere of the Broadway-bound Frank Wildhorn musical Waiting for the Moon, is the daughter of arts patrons K.D. and Sara Lynn Kennedy, the venue's namesakes. And with Tony Award-nominee Campbell, the concert will be a bona fide family affair. Of course, there will be duets as well as solos in the musically-eclectic concert. "We open the show with 'Come Dance with Me/Come Fly with Me' and end it with 'You Make Me Feel So Young.' It's so fun to harmonize together! Alan is a great musician, and I think our voices blend very well," enthused Kennedy.

While this may be their concert debut as a pair, it's certainly not the first time they've shared a stage--only the last time, the honey-blond Kennedy wore a brunette wig and Campbell a furry body suit. They starred in the title roles of Beauty and the Beast at the North Carolina Theater (where Kennedy began her professional career) in May. The stars agreed that being a real-life couple can heighten the emotion between two actors, and Campbell cited one of the perks--"We can skip the whole getting-to-know-you part!" They also skirted those preliminaries in the 2004 reading of Waiting for the Moon (in which Kennedy was Zelda and Campbell the brilliant, burdened Scott), as well as in a musical version of Breakfast at Tiffany's in St. Louis--not to be confused with the one that David Merrick closed out of town. Kennedy stated, "We certainly have fun, and we relish the time that we can see each other as adults again, and not just parents. We have a great trust and respect for each other's talent...which gives us a certain chemistry!" 

Don't get Kennedy wrong. Despite the occasional temper tantrum, their 16 month-old daughter Riley is a joy--and she might have inherited her parents' dramatic genes. Campbell laughed, "Yes, she is a drama queen, but I think that's a universal toddler thing." Of course, there are challenges for Kennedy and Campbell in balancing their careers and family. "But we are 50/50 partners and the pluses really outweigh the negatives," says Riley's proud daddy. With just shows at night, I almost wonder now what I did all day before I had Riley!," adds Kennedy, who feels that she performs better as a mother and as an actress when she has more to do.

Ever since Kennedy burst on the Broadway scene in Sunset Boulevard (she was in the ensemble and stood by as Betty), she's seldom been unoccupied--she stood by as Daisy Hilton in Side Show and drew tears as Fantine in the closing cast of Les Miserables. One of her best-known roles was in The Last Five Years; she originated the role of the vulnerable Cathy in the Chicago premiere of the show. She has nothing but praise for Jason Robert Brown: "I think he's the most talented human being on the earth! His music speaks to me, and I think my work with him has made me a better artist." While she calls The Last Five Years "one of the greatest experiences of my career," Kennedy withdrew from the New York production (the role would go to Sherie René Scott) to headline Trevor Nunn's high-profile London staging of South Pacific, but frequently performs in concert with Brown and has even devoted her solo CD to his songs. As for South Pacific, the relative unknown met the challenge of carrying a big-budget show in another country with aplomb: "I went over there to learn something, and I really did. It was a beautiful time for me, and Trevor was so supportive."

Zelda Fitzgerald is probably Kennedy's meatiest role yet. A vivacious flapper who struggled with mental illness and creative envy (she was an artist, writer and dancer), Zelda is hardly the average ingenue role. Kennedy, who calls the icon "fascinating and complex," did a good amount of research, but spiked it with imagination: "Because the show doesn't follow their lives so strictly, I still wanted to capture what made her tick." Kennedy says of Zelda, "I find it so interesting that she was an early pioneer for independent women, but was also stuck in some traditional Southern roles." Kennedy says that was able to find much common ground with Zelda--aside from the mental instability.

Campbell, who has performed in everything from theatre to commercials to a rock band, has also played one or two characters with a dark side. He received a 1995 Tony nomination for originating the role of jaded screenwriter Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard. He said of the show, "It was certainly a life-changing experience." To do the show, Campbell (who had started in musicals) flew to New York from L.A., where he had been acting in films and on the series "Jake and the Fatman." "It took me ten years to get back to theatre," he says. "Brian Stokes Mitchell was also on a TV series at around the same time, and singing at charities events, we'd laugh and swear that some day we'd get back to musicals." He feels lucky to have landed steady TV work early in his career and enjoys working in both mediums, but says that "there is nothing like a live audience--the combined feeling of elation and being physically spent--that comes from working hard in the theatre."

Campbell played Joe for much of Sunset's run, and played opposite such diverse Norma Desmonds as Glenn Close, Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige and standby Karen Mason. "I loved working with each and every one, and the show was completely different for me with each." He went from divas to dancing as the replacement for Boyd Gaines in Contact. At first, he did the show on the road--which necessitated director Susan Stroman's restaging the show for proscenium stages. "That went a long way to make it feel like I had a stake in it," staTed Campbell, who loved Gaines' performance but wanted to make the role of a suicidal advertising executive his own by the time he joined the Broadway cast. While not about to join the Bolshoi, Campbell says that he was a "good mover" going into the show.

While he primarily focuses his energies on the role of Riley's father these days, Campbell still loves to perform and says of his former goal of doing a Broadway musical: "I am so happy that I was given a chance to fulfill that dream and can continue to work and enjoy our wonderful Broadway community." Both he and Kennedy will most likely be able say that for a long time to come.

Photo credits:

1--Concert photo by Curtis Brown
3--Kennedy with Jarrod Emick in Waiting for the Moon

4--Campbell with Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard