Interview: Rita Wilson Chats Following in Stritch's Shoes at Cafe Carlyle

The cliché with actors is that they all "really just want to direct," and based on her successful career as an actress, producer, and singer, there is little doubt that Rita Wilson would probably be great at that too. With an acting resume that spans over 45 years (including appearances in SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, THE GOOD WIFE, GIRLS, Broadway's CHICAGO, and more) , Wilson has found success as a producer (MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, MAMMA MIA!), and after releasing her critically acclaimed debut album "AM/FM" in 2012, is putting the finishing touches on a follow-up.

Always looking to conquer another professional hurdle, Wilson is set to follow in the footsteps of the late Elaine Stritch, and set up shop at the famed Café Carlyle in New York's Upper East Side for two weeks, starting this Wednesday. Wilson will have shows Tuesday through Saturday until October 4th. For more information, or to purchase tickets visit The Carlyle's website.

Recently, I spoke with Wilson about performing at The Carlyle and her still growing music career. It likely goes without saying for those who have followed her career, but she was one of the kindest, most genuinely warm people I have ever interviewed. She spoke candidly about her intimate songwriting process and the importance taht her experience on Broadway has played on her music career.

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Rita Wilson: Good Morning!

BWW: It's afternoon here, but thank you. How are you?

Well, if you're an actor it would still be your "morning" in New York (laughs). If you're doing a show, you'll be getting up around this time (1:30pm ET).

That's true. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. I really appreciate it.

Oh, it's my pleasure. I'm so happy to be coming back to New York, Matt.

And they're glad to have you back, I'm sure. I mean, a two week residence at Café Carlyle, that's pretty exciting. That's the mecca of New York cabaret, are there any nerves about performing there?

(Gasps and laughs) Oh, my God. Yes (laughs). So nervous. I mean, look, it's not only an iconic place, but iconic people have played there. I was at Elaine Stritch's last show before she moved and went back to the Midwest. You're just kind of in awe of it. So, I am very very honored to be a part of it, and I love the season, I think it is going to be a really cool season there.

Yea, it seems like a pretty eclectic group. You're sharing the venue with Jeff Goldblum and Buster Poindexter and Molly Ringwold. This is a pretty wide-range of acts, especially for a place like The Carlyle.

Yea, I think it's nice. I don't know if they have a different mission statement now, because I am not a traditional standards person, or Broadway tunes, so I don't know, maybe they're mixing it up a little bit.

The Carlyle is known as the home of traditional cabaret, but your first album "AM/FM" is classic 60s and 70s pop songs, and your new album is going to be all songs you wrote or co-wrote, so what can audiences expect in terms of set list for the shows at the Carlyle?

Well, I think I'm going to do both. I will do songs from "AM/FM," and I'll also do new songs. As far as the "AM/FM" songs, people will be familiar with those. I love singer/songwriters, and I love pop music. So, hopefully the new songs will be not that far removed from something that will seem familiar. It won't be anything crazy, I'm not working with synthesizers, or anything like that (laughs), or a dance track.

You mention loving singer/songwriters, well, now you are one. You've gone from having this successful career as an actress and producer, to releasing an album of covers, and now you are working with these great songwriters, like Richard Marx and Kara DioGuardi, on original material. What gave you the inspiration, and probably more importantly, the confidence to write your own music?

Well, all roads, lead to the Broadway musical. I had done CHICAGO, I played Roxie Hart, and my Dance Captain, Greg Butler, and I became very close friends, and he reached out to me when Kara DioGuardi was going into CHICAGO as Roxie, and said, "Would you be willing to share any thoughts you have about never having done a Broadway show before, and doing CHICAGO, with Kara?"

So, I did, and we had some wonderful conversations, and I thought she was such a great girl, but I had never met her (in person). So, when Greg moved to L.A., Kara also was living in L.A. at the time, and he said, "Let's all get together, so you two can finally meet."

And at that meeting, Kara was the person that said, "Have you ever written songs?"

I said, "Why, yes I would love to write songs, but I just don't have that talent."

And she said, "How do you know? You've never done it before." And she said, "I'll write a song with you."

So, if it wasn't for Kara, I never would have written a song. That was really the thing that got the ball rolling. The first two I wrote were with Kara and a gentleman names Jason Reeves, who is responsible for a bunch of Colbie Caillat's hits.

Oh wow, was that before, or after, "AM/FM" was release?

Um, it was, good question... it was after. It was after, because I have only been writing for about a year and half, and "AM/FM" came out in 2012.

Right, that's a whole other process to dive into so quickly. Obviously, you are intimately familiar with the putting together these massive motion pictures as an actress and producer, but songwriting is a very intimate, introspective type of art. Did you find that you had to tap into different aspects of your creativity to be able to put pen to paper to write a song?

I call it "Musical Intercourse." It is one of the most intimate things you will ever do with anybody. And sometimes you know the person you are writing with, and sometimes you don't. In either case, it's like you are just getting into bed with them, and you are passionate, and it's a unique experience, and at the end of it, you give birth to a "song-baby" (laughs).

Even if it isn't directly related to a personal experience, it's directly related to an emotion; at least for me it is anyways. So, you're trying to get as deep and truthful as you can into whatever experience it is that you are trying to write about. And I love it, I love it. I've become such good friends with everyone I've written with, because you are so exposed.

You kind of have to.

Yea.

You call them "song-babies," and like your own children and step-children, I'm sure you wouldn't want to pick a favorite, but do you have a song that you've written that sticks out in your mind?

Oh my gosh... it's so hard, because you do love all of them. Oh gosh, I would say, maybe the first song I wrote with Kara and Jason, called "Grateful." I think that's still one of my favorites. I'll be doing that at the show. I wrote a song, I'm telling you all the sad ones, well "Grateful" isn't really sad, "Grateful" is hopeful. I wrote a song with Jessi Alexander and her husband John Randall, who are two amazing songwriters.

Jessi was nominated for two Grammys for Best Country Song last year, she wrote "I Drive Your Truck," and "Mine Would Be You." And I wrote a song with her and her husband, called "Still Gone," because I had lost my father and two of my best friends in a very short time, and I still talk to them, in my head, and miss them. (The song) is about losing them, but still wanting to keep them close.

But then, I've written up-tempo songs as well, that are full-on crank up the music type of songs. One's called "Along for the Ride," that I wrote with Ann Marie, and then another one called "Girls Night In," that I wrote with Nathan Chapman and Stephanie Chapman. Nathan is responsible for producing Taylor Swift's new albums. So, I've been writing with really incredible people, and learning so much through the process.

So, are all of these songs going to be on the new album?

So far, those are still going to be on. They're hanging on.

So, where are we in the process with the new one? I've seen that it is hopefully going to be released sometime early next year?

Yea, everything is written, and half have been recorded. So, I just have to record the other half. It's pretty much done, but I have way too many songs, so it's just a matter of choosing.

Does the album have a name yet?

No, I am trying to think of what that will be, but it doesn't have a name yet (laughs). I'll be open to suggestions.

Well, if you want to send me all of the tracks, I'll listen and let you know (both laugh). But I'm sure that's pretty daunting too; trying to figure out one nice, neat word or phrase that sums up this entire creative process of pouring your soul into these songs.

Well, I still listen to albums, and appreciate albums that are telling a story as a whole cohesive thing. So, I am still trying to do that, even though people don't really buy albums anymore; they just download a track or two. But I think, why not try to do something that has a cohesive theme, and that's what I've been working towards. Now, I just need to figure out the best way to title it with that theme in mind.

You talk about wanting to tell stories in your songs, and you've worked with a lot of great country music songwriters, and I know you did a show at the Bluebird in Nashville, which like The Carlyle is kind of the epitome of its genre. So is that the direction this new album has headed? Is it more country music, or is it similar to the 60's singer/songwriter feel of "AM/FM"?

I think the album is very much about storytelling, that's always been what's attracted me to songs; what story are they telling? And yet at the same time, I've been writing with so many people, I just happened to mention those writers, because those answered your questions, but I've also been writing with a guy called Matt Koma, who won a Grammy for an EDM track last year for a song called "Clarity" for the group Zedd. And he has a huge hit out now with this Hispanic artist called Tiesto. But, his songs, if you break them down lyrically, they're really great songs.

Someone explained it to me this way, it's kind of like the clothes you are dressing the song up in. Are you dressing them up in Electronic Dance Music? Are you dressing them up in Country? Are you dressing them up in Pop? So, I would say that I would lean toward just a singer/songwriter... I don't know, it's so hard to tell. The new album will have pop elements, but some country elements as well. So country/pop?

Well, the best albums tend to defy genre classifications anyway.

Yea, and also, one of the things that inspired me for "AM/FM" was, growing up we only really had AM radio in the beginning, and AM radio in the 60s and early 70s encompassed so many genres. You would know Johnny Cash, and you would know Bobbie Gentry, Frank Sinatra, and you would know The Beach Boys, and The Supremes, and all of these would reside on AM radio. I love that. I like being exposed to everything.

Since you said that being in CHICAGO was the impetus for your music career, is there any chance that we might see you in another musical, be it on Broadway, or on film, or in L.A., any time soon?

I would love that! I would really love it. I would love to originate a role in a Broadway musical. And I'd love to come back, because the community on Broadway, and in town when you are doing a show, is one of the most extraordinary things. It's completely unique in that at 8:00pm every night, curtains go up, the lights in the house go down, and the lights on stage go up, and everybody is doing the same thing at the same time. There's nothing like that energy, knowing that all of these artists are hard at work in this small area of Manhattan. It's one of the best feelings in the world.

Absolutely. I hope you'll permit me one question outside of the music line, but I have to ask about the sequel to MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING.

Yea!

That's pretty exciting, that after all these years, you guys are getting back to it. Where does that project stand? Has Nia Vardalos finished the script?

The script is finished, it's fantastic. Nia came up with an incredible premise for the sequel that I think people are going to be really pleased about, and we're getting ready to start filming in January.

Oh wow, so it is definitely ready to go. So, if you start filming in January, do you have plans for a release date yet?

Oh, that's a good question. I don't know that. There are so many elements that go into when a release date is, so we don't have anything on the books right now.

As we finish up, we've talked about what the music will be like when you are at Café Carlyle, but so much of what makes up a cabaret performance is the interaction between the audience and the artist. Are you going to be telling stories, sharing things about the songwriting process? What else is going to go into that evening beyond the songs themselves?

Exactly that. I love sharing stories, even though it slightly terrifies me. I mean, you are just up there! (With) some songs, I'll be talking about the songwriting process, but definitely stories. That's what I love about doing something like Café Carlyle, the intimacy that you get with your audience, I love that.

Since you were at Elaine Stritch's last show, have you taken anything from that performance? She was the Queen of New York Cabaret. Did you learn anything by seeing her perform that you are trying to keep in the back of your mind as you prep for your two weeks?

Oh, she was just so relaxed, and so comfortable in her own skin, and such a pro. She is the one and only. To even inhabit a place that someone like Elaine inhabited is very much an honor. If I could be one iota as comfortable as she was, that would be fantastic.

Well, Elaine might have been a little too comfortable, considering she very rarely wore pants on stage, so maybe not that comfortable.

(Laughs) I'll keep that in mind.

TMZ might have those pictures pretty quick if you decide to go that route.

(Laughs) Definitely. Oh, that's funny.

As we close, can you wrap up what the audiences can expect when they come and see your show at Café Carlyle?

Oh, I don't know how to answer that question... They are going to have fun, it's not a downer show. They're gonna have fun.

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Rita Wilson will be performing at the legendary Café Carlyle from September 24th-October 4th. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit the Carlyle's website.

Photo Credit:
1) Wilson's Official Website
2) Wilson at CHICAGO's 10th Anniversary Gala: Walter McBride | BroadwayWorld
3) Wilson performing at New York's 54 Below: Walter McBride | BroadwayWorld
4) Wilson and Vardalos: Bravo TV