Original 'Dreamgirl' Jennifer Holliday Chats ZACH's SOPHISTICATED LADIES

The Duke Ellington musical revue SOPHISTICATED LADIES kicks off tonight at ZACH Theatre in Austin, starring Broadway's original Dreamgirl Jennifer Holliday.

The legendary leading lady recently spoke with American Theatre magazine about her connection to the show, singing jazz, keeping iconic tunes fresh and more.

Scroll down for highlights, and read the full interview here!

On joining the production at ZACH: "I said yes mainly for one reason: the original production starred a beautiful R&B singer named Phyllis Hyman, who later committed suicide a week before her birthday. I knew her well and lived not too far from her in New York, and I just thought this was a way to personally pay homage to her."

On singing jazz versus big Broadway ballads: "Yes, I have a big voice and I'm able to do these great big bring-the-curtain-down songs. For jazz songs, though, you have to be able to bring a listener so close to you in terms of melody lines and lyrics, and those powerful haunting chords and progressions -- it's maybe not where everyone's jumping to an immediate standing ovation, but they're definitely moved to tears."

On keeping "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" fresh: "I keep it fresh by being honest and by allowing each audience to be a new audience...It's not on automatic for me -- I close my eyes and make it new again, because a lot of people have never heard me sing the song live before."

On the secret to a long theatre career: "The secret to longevity in terms of being a Broadway artist is that you are able to grow into the different roles that you could play and the different songs that you could sing. I'm 54 now. Can you imagine, Cicely Tyson just won her first Tony Award? Broadway is ageless, and that's the beauty of it."

ZACH Theatre Associate Artistic Director ABE REYBOLD will direct the musical in the Topfer Theatre on the Karen Kuykendall stage tonight, July 15, through August 23, 2015. A full onstage orchestra backs superb jazz vocalists, extraordinary tap dancers, dazzling deco costumes, and unforgettable torch singers who bring classics like "Mood Indigo," Take the A Train," "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" to vivid life in this grand Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. Check out a sneak peek at rehearsals below!

Joining Jennifer Holliday (Dreamgirls) will be KENNY WILLIAMS (A Christmas Carol, The Gospel At Colonus) as The Raconteur; BRIAN WHITTED as The Hipster; CHANEL HAYNES-SCHWARTZ as The Soubrette; J.P. QUalters as The Jazzbo; BRANDON O'NEAL as The Danseur; AFRA HINES as The Danseuse

Ensemble members include Jennifer Young Mahlstedt (The Who's Tommy), Alana Maderal (The King and I) Christa Oliver (The Gospel At Colonus), Karly Powell, Jackie Strubberg, Leslie Hethcox, Michael J. Love, Tony Merriwether, Matthew Shields, Phil Young, Tommieleee Crutcher, and Dainique Jones.

ZACH Theatre's Associate Artistic Director, Abe Reybold (The King and I, The Three Little Pigs) will direct Sophisticated Ladies with choreography by tapper and dancer Dominique Kelley of Broadway shows Wicked; Hot Feet; Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk; and Wild Women Blues. Musical Director will be Allen Robertson (A Christmas Carol, The Gospel At Colonus, Peter and the Starcatcher) and will be joined by Set Designer J. Aaron Bell(The Three Little Pigs), Properties Designer Scott Groh (Peter and the Starcatcher, In The Next Room, The Who's Tommy), Lighting Designer Michelle Habeck, Sound Designer Craig Brock, Costume Designer Susan Branch Towne (The Who's Tommy, The Gospel At Colonus, A Christmas Carol), and Stage Managers Cate Tucker and Shannon Richey. Sophisticated Ladies features a concept by Donald McKayle, based on the music of Duke Ellington with music and dance arrangements by Lloyd Mayers and vocal arrangements by Malcolm Dodds and Lloyd Mayers.

For tickets and more information, go to www.zachtheatre.org.

Photo courtesy Chris Isaacson Presents.