Interview: SO NOW YOU KNOW with Kelli Rabke

It was the evening of Wednesday, November 10, 1993, and the Minskoff Theatre was packed with VIP guests, producers and theater royalty waiting for the opening night to begin. Four bars of music played while the curtain opened and the spotlights glowed on someone making their Broadway Debut as the Narrator in the show. She beautifully began with the lyrics, "Some folks dream of the wonders they'll do, before their time on this planet is through". The singer was the unforgettable Kelli Rabke and the show was the revival of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT.

What a great entrance and amazing way to debut on Broadway! Not surprising at all when talking about Kelli Rabke as she lights up the stage wherever she goes. Be it on Broadway, a cabaret venue in Manhattan, or on a concert stage around the country, Kelli is a force of nature.

Besides enchanting her audiences with her energy, Kelli has a natural way of telling a story with each song she sings that is quite captivating. She is also very generous as a person and happy to give her support and love to children in the arts. She is another artist that has offered her time and talents to sing for fundraising efforts to encourage the next generation of young performers.

After performing in JOSEPH and LES MISERABLES on Broadway, starring as Yonah in

the American Premiere of CHILDREN OF EDEN, and appearing on television as Bernadette on The Young and the Restless, Kelli took some time off to raise a family. 10 years to be exact. We are all lucky that the keen-eyed Scott Coulter was able to get Kelli back on stage in the Scott Siegel series, BROADWAY ORIGINALS! Kelli now is singing again and bringing joy to audiences around the country in her many concert shows with SpotOn Entertainment.

In addition to asking each performer five standard questions and five personalized questions, I ask for an inspirational quote. Kelli's was, " Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". No luck needed in this case, Kelli's path was clearly to share her talents with anyone lucky enough to see her live.

NA: Who is your mentor and what would you like to say to your mentor?

KR: I don't think I have one clear front runner as my mentor, but I do have three people that I credit with helping to shape my voice from a young age. When I was a kid, I used to listen to my parents' record albums and dance around the living room with a candlestick as my microphone. My three favorite albums were Barbra Streisand's Live Concert at the Forum, the movie soundtrack of Grease, and the original cast album of Pippin (an eclectic mix at best!) I've always said that I learned how to belt from Barbra, how to sing in a sweet soprano from Olivia Newton-John, and how to tell a story from

Stephen Schwartz. I would thank them all profusely if I got the chance! I've been lucky enough to work with Stephen on many occasions, but I'm not sure I ever shared this with him! Next time :)

NA: What has this business given you and what has it taken away?

KR: I think this business has given me a sense of resilience, in addition to a powerful sense of gratitude. I am thankful every day for the gift of singing, for the joy music brings me, and the chance to do what I love to do and be able to share that with an audience. The resilience started after moving to NYC to finish college and going on tons of auditions: commercials, VO's, and theatre. I decided then that auditioning was my job. If I booked something, it was a perk and a cause to celebrate, but ultimately, the healthiest way of dealing with rejection on a daily basis was looking at that part like the daily grind of a job. I think that helped me keep things in perspective and separate the "work" from the "craft". I remember someone telling me that for every 200 auditions you get 20 callbacks and for every 20 callbacks you book one job. Thankfully, I beat those odds early on, so maybe I felt like I was successful which helped keep me going!!

I guess the thing the business took away from me was what it takes away from everyone who does 8 shows a week - time. You don't get to have the same social life as people who are not in the theatre. You have one, maybe two days off per week, you have to take extra special care of your voice, your world revolves around your ability to be "on" those 8 performances a week. I haven't done theatre now in many years, but I remember when I stopped and I suddenly had a "normal" schedule - I could go to a Yankees game on a Wednesday or out to dinner with friends on a weekend or go someplace loud and yell and not worry about my voice. It felt like a whole new world had opened up for me. Now I travel a lot for concert work and it takes me away from my family, but only for a few days at a time which is manageable for my life now. It creates a wonderful balance for me between my home and family time and my "me" time!

NA: What is the hour like before you go on stage?

KR: The hour before I go onstage is spent putting on my makeup, running lyrics, and doing a 20-minute warm-up that my voice teacher Luba Tcheresky created over 30 years ago. I have done it before every performance in my career - from Joseph and Les

Miz on Broadway, up through the symphony concerts that I do today. It's very technique-oriented and warms up all the parts of the voice, and I definitely feel a difference if I'm rushed and skimp on it! And I'm always nervous in the final minutes before I go on! I feel like that's a good thing. I never take it lightly or for granted that I'm about to go on stage and perform, whether it's for 50 people in a cabaret room or 2500 people in a symphonic hall. It's an honor and a gift and those butterflies always keep me on my toes!

NA: If you could experience one performance over again, which one would it be and why?

KR: Hmm. This is a tough one. I wish I could experience so many of the roles that I played when I was younger now that I have a lot more life experience behind me. I had a lot of my big successes shortly after finishing college. I'd love the chance to play the Narrator again and look out to see that audience filled with happy faces dancing in their seats and doing the MegaMix right along with us. But I'd also just love the opportunity to be a part of the Broadway community again. Easter Bonnet, Gypsy of the Year, the Thanksgiving Day Parade - so many amazing traditions and events to experience with this incredible extended family you are now a part of. Not that I took any of it for granted when it happened, but I was young, and it all happened very quickly. Perspective is an amazing thing in life, and I would have that in spades now.

NA: What are you most proud of?

KR: I left performing to start a family, and I am very proud of the time that I dedicated to being a mom. My son is in 10th grade and my daughter is in 4th grade, and I am incredibly proud of who they are already and watching who they are becoming. I feel very fortunate that I had the opportunity to be home with them during such formative

years. About 6 years ago I started singing again, doing cabaret shows and symphony concerts. I'm proud that they have been able to see me regain that part of myself, that they see their mom doing what she loves, and I hope that the sense of joy and personal fulfillment that goes along with it has made me a good role model for them.

NA: What was the first Broadway show you saw and what was memorable about it?

KR: My first Broadway show was Godspell, which started my connection to Stephen Schwartz's music at an early age. It was also the show that I did in high school that made me decide to pursue this as a career. Stephen is my favorite composer because his music always moves me. I think he is a masterful storyteller and I am so grateful to have worked with him on Children of Eden and various projects and concerts through the years.

NA: Did you go to theater camp as a child? If so, what was your favorite memory of that experience?

KR: I begged my parents to send me to Stagedoor Manor, but it was expensive and not in the cards. Then a rival summer camp opened up - I can't remember what it was called - and they signed me up, sent the money, and I was packed and SO excited to go. The day before I was supposed to leave, we got a call that they went bankrupt and had closed. And my parents never got their hard-earned money back!

NA: You have two adorable children. What would be your reaction if one or both of them wanted to become a performer?

KR: I would be as encouraging and supportive as possible if my kids wanted to perform! At the same time, I would also try to give them a dose of reality, and be sure they understood that it was a roller coaster ride, not a steady climb to the top. I would be sure they were as prepared as possible - studied voice, acting, dance, their instrument - whatever discipline they were passionate about - all that and more. You can't possibly be overprepared in today's world. There are so many musical theatre programs now and SO many people auditioning and trying to make it. You need to want it so badly that you are willing and ready to deal with the competition and rejection, but you also need to be realistic about what else in life you would be happy doing. Ultimately, you have to follow your dream and find your joy.

NA: While rehearsing for the revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway, what is your best memory of working with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber?

KR: My favorite memory of Sir Andrew happened on opening night in LA, which is where we opened before coming to Broadway. It was a big splashy opening with a fancy party, limos, swirling lights - very "Hollywood" and very exciting. After the show, Michael Damian (our "Joseph") and I rode to the opening night party with Andrew in a limo and I remember him saying, "Oh, I wish we could just go off somewhere and write a song together instead of all this". It was so sweet and genuine. You could see that he is shy at heart and not into all the pomp and circumstance and hype. And I was like, "umm, OK! Let's go write a song!!" But the party was a lot of fun!!

NA: Was there ever a period that you didn't perform? If so, how did you get back into it and stay motivated?

KR: As I had mentioned above, I left performing to start a family. I actually didn't perform for about 10 years, other than a friend's wedding here or there. When I think of that now, it seems inconceivable that I could have gone that long without singing,

without music in my life. But I married someone who wasn't in the business and we moved to NJ and had a wonderful life together, but something was always missing for me. One day I got a call from Scott Coulter, whom I had done a Marcy and Zina show with years ago (Dear Edwina) and had recently run into. He was directing a Broadway

Originals concert at Town Hall for Scott Siegel and asked me to come sing something from Joseph. And the rest is history! I credit him for pulling me out of "retirement", and I am grateful to him every single day for that concert and for all of the opportunities he

has given me since then. I perform with Scott Coulter's Spot-On Entertainment company regularly with symphonies around the country in Blockbuster Broadway, Music of the Knights, The Wonderful Music of Oz, and our newest show, Jersey Boys and Girls. I've also gotten the chance to do my own cabaret show, which was a longtime dream of mine. I met John Fischer at that same Broadway Originals concert, and he's been my music director ever since. I absolutely love being part of the NYC cabaret community and having the chance to stretch my

wings in everything from Sondheim to Bernstein to Disco! I've done three solo shows so far, and we are SO excited about the newest one coming up at The Green Room 42 in the fall: Tiny Giants - Petite Powerhouses from Garland to Gaga!

To post a comment, you must register and login.