Interview: Beth Leavel of OLD FRIENDS at Center Theatre Group

Beth Leavel is no stranger to LA audiences or to the Ahmanson Theatre, where she will open next week in the North American premiere and pre-Broadway engagement of Sondheim’s Old Friends: A Great Big Broadway Show. The photographic proof still hangs in the lobby: she traipsed these boards twenty years ago in the titular role of The Drowsy Chaperone before the show’s Broadway run. In chatting with her, it is clear she holds Los Angeles crowds in high regard. “On opening night of Drowsy Chaperone,” she recalls, “no one had heard a word of this show and we had no idea how it would land. We all stood backstage holding hands, and when Bob Martin delivered the opening line, which is, ‘I hate theatre,’ we heard uproarious laughter. The audience loved it and we were so relieved.” After Leavel’s award-winning turn as the ‘chaperone’ elevated her career (along with an LA Critics’ Award for the role, she walked away with a Tony, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award), she returned to the Ahmanson in 2009, originating a role in the musical Minsky’s alongside George Wendt and Rachel Dratch.

Though enjoying the break from the New York weather, Leavel is too focused on rehearsals right now to really enjoy the city. However, she supposes, “Once the show opens, I’ll get out and see the water. I’ll want to see a sunset.” Even for a seasoned performer, approaching Sondheim’s repertoire can be daunting. “It’s intimidating as a performer because you want to please him, to do something perfect.” And in this show, where Leavel shares the stage with a cohort of heavy-hitters, including Bernadette Peters who originated roles in some of Sondheim’s most iconic pieces, the stakes are high. Leavel has performed cabarets of Sondheim’s work at 54 Below and has taken on several of his roles before— among others, she’s played Mama Rose three times— but still finds much to learn each time she approaches one of his songs. “I find myself sitting in the wings like a student. The second I feel like I stop learning, tell me to get over myself,” she quips.

Limiting what she wants to reveal to the public just yet, Leavel promises a rendition of one of Sondheim’s best-loved numbers, not imitating famous performances from the past, but “giving honor to it through her own lens.” One of her favorite parts of this show, however, is the experience of performing in an ensemble with the rest of the cast. (Who wouldn’t want to carry an alto line with Lea Salonga?) Singing these songs alongside performers of this caliber, Leavel describes as, “satisfying, enlightening, surprising, and delicious. Number four on the menu!” Additionally, she notes being moved by the opportunity to sing these songs with a full orchestra. “We have a hard time with the end of ‘Sunday in the Park’ right now— we all cry at the beauty of the orchestra.”

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