Carolee Carmello Talks About HELLO, DOLLY!, New Digital Musical A KILLER PARTY, and More on Backstage LIVE With Richard Ridge

Nothing can stop BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge from bringing you interviews with your favorite Broadway stars! Yesterday, August 26, he chatted with the incomparable Carolee Carmello!

Carmello reflected on her time on the National Tour of Hello, Dolly! and even told the story of a mishap that took place on stage!

"I was doing Before the Parade Passes By, this big number at the end of act one. I'm standing sort of on the edge of the stage, in line with the final curtain which comes in at the end of the act," she said. "All of the sudden I saw this shadow, and I feel this weight on my head. This giant velvet curtain, which wasn't supposed to come down until the end of act one, started coming down. The guy just jumped the cue."

She talked about how she just kept singing, and at some point, the curtain went back up.

Next, Carmello talked about the new digital musical, A Killer Party: A Murder Mystery Musical, in which she stars.

"I was so impressed with all of the actors in this piece," she said. "Because we're all stuck in our houses and trying to create something. They gave us lots and lots of instructions, and I'm not a technical genius when it comes to this stuff, and I'm older than most of these other people. So it was a challenge."

She said that this time has taught her how to take on all of the technical roles that go into putting on a production.

"I'm appreciating more and more what all of those people do, when you're filming something and all you have to do is show up and say your lines," she said. "Now, we have to do everything. It's not so fun. I didn't want to be all of those things when I was starting out in this business."

Throughout the rest of the interview she talked about how she's been handling the pandemic and staying busy, as well as the importance of voting, and more.

As is standard for Richie's interviews, he and Carmello also took us down memory lane with some highlights from her career.

Watch the full interview here.

Carolee currently appears in the digital musical, A Killer Party: A Murder Mystery Musical- a 9-episode musical is now available for purchase at AKillerPartyMusical.com.

Carmello most recently appeared as Dolly Levi in the national tour of Hello, Dolly! She earned her first Tony nomination, as well as a Drama Desk Award, for her portrayal of Lucille Frank in the original Broadway production of PARADE. She was subsequently nominated for her roles in LESTAT and SCANDALOUS as well. She also originated roles in the Broadway runs of CITY OF ANGELS, FALSETTOS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, FINDING NEVERLAND, and TUCK EVERLASTING.

Carmello also has been seen assuming leading roles in the 1997 revival of "1776," THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, the 1999 revival of KISS ME, KATE, URINETOWN, MAMMA MIA!, and SISTER ACT. Other notable credits include Michael John LaChuisa's musical HELLO AGAIN, SWEENEY TODD, ELEGIES, and much more.