A Chat with Debbie Gravitte

Debbie Gravitte was born and raised in LA and where she shared her love of musicals with her mother. "We were always listening to musicals and vocalists on records." She got started in the business very young and recalls her first involvement with Annie Get Your Gun. It was there she met James Mitchell, an amazing man and an original dancer in Brigadoon and Oklahoma. Mitchell gave Debbie the name of an agent in New York. She worked her way up to her first Broadway show in about eight months. Her debut show was in the original cast of They're Playing Our Song which lead into Blues In The Night, Ain't Broadway Grand and Zorba with Anthony Quinn.

During her young career Debbie was inspired by Gwen Verdon having seen Gwen in Damn Yankees. She confesses with great admiration that she longed to meet Gwen and have a photo with her which finally happened, much to her delight.

Pati Buehler: Any roles that you love whether you have done them or not?

Debbie Gravitte: Besides Pajama Game, I love Anything Goes because it is sort of a perfect match for my personality. Eventually I'd like to play Momma Rose. Honestly the show hasn't happened yet that is really my match.

PB: How important is matching your personality to a role?

DG: I believe every person is distinct, as it should be. I think that we should all kind of nurture and honor that. I've been called to replace someone now and then, and I have to decide if it's for me or not. For instance I was called in for Chicago. The role I would really have liked to do was Velma. But I really haven't danced for quite a while and perhaps may not have the right figure for it, so I did Mamma. While it's great to be part of that show, Mamma was not really a great match for me.

Debbie really enjoys doing concerts. It allows her to play many different roles, "an ingenue, a leading lady or a guy if you want to." But, she really misses being in a show. "While concerting is a lot of fun, it's also a lot of travel. There are a lot of performers that would like to concerts in between shows because can it be quite lucrative, but again not everyone has the type of personality to do concerts. I used to do a lot of cabaret in between shows but you can't make a living in New York doing just that.

In 1989 Debbie won a Dram Desk nomination and Tony Award for her critically acclaimed performance in Jerome Robbins Broadway. She's opened for George Burns, Harry Anderson and Jay Leno in Atlantic City.

PB: Any advice for those fresh out of college with music degrees looking to perform?

DG: I would say they should do as much theater as possible. If you are fortunate to get a touring production, go while you are free of many commitments and have fun doing it. Do everything you can to get on stage. For every one role there are 50 or even 50,000 people looking to do that role.

Debbie is the wife of Beau Gravitte who is currently playing in Broadway's The Light in the Piazza and mother of two 10 yr. old twins, and a 13 year old. She beamed as she told me that her twins were both in a school production of Oklahoma. There sat mom and dad with their camera enjoying their children like any other proud parents. Having two parents who both love performing may rub off on one of the children and that's ok with mom and dad, as long as everyone is happy and enjoying what they are doing.

PB: Well you can't top seeing your kids in a show, but are there any other shows or performers that you have enjoyed on Broadway?

DG: I have been so busy working that when I'm not with my family that I really haven't had time to see anyone in anything. I laugh because so many people think that we get free tickets to see others in shows, but I really haven't had the time to do it. They really need to give these tickets to actors who are around the city or not working as often so they can enjoy the shows.

PB: Share some insight about your new solo CD Defying Gravity, please.

DG: I sort of chose the songs randomly. Because I was the first person to sing Defying Gravity in public, which Pati you mentioned you were there for that. I just fell in love with the song. I called up Stephen (Schwartz) and he was very pleased an a bit honored that I was going to make that my title. He graciously offered me the orchestrations. He is one of the nicest people in the universe. Because of my name Gravitte, Gravity it just seemed like the perfect title. I also realized that no one ever recorded Junkman, this obscure song from Perfectly Frank that I did on a PBS special. I've done 8 Broadway shows and basically chose from those. The others are just big fabulous numbers that I love.

PB: One of our BWW readers mentions that you sang 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' on the Alan Mencken album and asked if the sheet music arrangements were available.

DG: No, but I'm hoping it's going to be. It's a lovely arrangment.

PB: Any insight or views on what you see playing on Broadway stages the past few seasons?

DG: I think that it's like a pendulum the swings back and forth. Right now the "big" musical is the thing. I have the feeling that it's going to slide back a bit where people want to know about people. We are overdue for shows that are little more personal as opposed to pure entertainment. I am certainly not against pure entertainment. I think that musical comedy is an incredible art form and something that I enjoy very much. I'm pretty optimistic though, people are going to the shows and as long as that keeps happening we'll all be ok.

"I am one that has voiced concern about the rising cost of tickets as well as the cost of productions. We need to attract the 20 and 30 year olds to the theater. But people are constantly asking for more and more, bigger and better and this is just the way things have gone. I think Disney has sort of set everyone up for big spectacles. When you have huge corporations come in, it's like the Walmart-ing of Broadway. I took my oldest to see Beauty and the Beast and while we liked it, it was just the movie on stage. It's funny I took my kids to see that and then The Music Man and they liked that show better. We think it's because the characters were about real people. While I'm happy Disney is such a draw and that's good for theater in general, they are basically just rehashing their product".

In addition to an extensive stage career, and concert tours with many symphonies Debbie has done her share of television. She co-starred in CBS's Trial and Error and NBC's The Pursuit of Happiness as well as several PBS specials. Debbie sang with Bette Middler in her recent film, Isn't She Great and can be heard on several recordings including the MGM Album and The Alan Mencken Album with lyricist Stephen Schwartz.

PB: Let's talk about juggling performing and family obligations.

DG: Well, you need to have a good sense of balance and sense of humor. Both are very important. I feel so fortunate to be able to do everything. It's not to say that it's not without some sacrificing. It's not always easy to be out there recoding, doing live shows and having a great marriage and great kids. I think balance is a really factor in show biz.

PB: This applies to any career we choose. Debbie, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

Visit www.debbiegravitte.com for more information on Debbie Gravitte and her new CD.