Interview: JUDY COLLINS for RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE and THE KATE

That voice. Those eyes. That hair. That spirit. That talent. If Hollywood had to come up with a child prodigy pianist turned folk singer whose popularity was universal, it would have to create Judy Collins. And it couldn't do justice to her.

Now in her 70s, Collins is still going strong as a performer, songwriter, author, and activist. She is touring Germany and Norway this month and the U.S. and Canada for the rest of the year. Connecticut audiences will have the honor of being able to see her perform live in Ridgefield and Old Saybrook.

Collins began playing the piano at the age of four and studied classical piano with Antonia Brico, the conductor who fought prejudice against women in what once was a male-dominated profession. At the age of 13, Collins made her public debut with an impressive performance of "Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos." To the dismay of her piano teacher, Collins started to fall in love with the folk music of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and the genius of the lyrics. By 16, she was playing the guitar. Although it was a difficult decision to discontinue her piano lessons, it opened the door to the various types of music for which she would become famous. She made her first public appearance as a folk singer shortly after high school in Denver. Her first husband, Peter Taylor, taught at the University of Connecticut and she performed for the campus radio station before she went to Greenwich Village and signed a contract with Elektra Records.

She developed a following not just among lovers of folk music, but with people who love show music and pop music. One of Collins's most famous records is the Broadway hit, "Send in The Clowns," which Sondheim wrote for Glynis Johns in the 1973 musical, A Little Night Music. Sondheim wrote it to accommodate Johns' breathy voice. Collins gave the song a new life with her interpretation.

"The song rules," says Collins modestly. "It doesn't matter who is singing it.... It belongs to you." The song "wrapped itself around my heart," she recalls. And her glorious soprano voice and gift for song interpretation wrapped themselves around the song.

Collins was no stranger to theatre. She appeared along with Stacy Keach in the New York Shakespeare Festival's 1969 production of Ibsen's Peer Gynt. The New York Times critic Richard F. Shepard wrote, "In the role of Solveig, an earth mother whose honest love is the only thing to get through to Peer, Judy Collins has a small but vital function. She sings with quiet charm several songs written by John Morris, with music by Mr. [Gerald] Freeman."

Why hasn't she returned to conventional theatre? "My singing is my theatre," she says simply. Except that it's not that simple. She gets to choose the songs for her concerts and recordings. "I fall in love with them," she explains. "If I never fall in love with [it], I never want to hear it again." She is equally demanding on herself, preparing for each performance. A natural beauty who has aged gracefully, she takes the time to mediate before a performance and do vocal warm-ups, as well as enhance her incredible large blue eyes and still glorious hair. She dresses stylishly but appropriately for a woman who is past a certain age. "I'm a trained musician. I've been performing since I was four years old. My job is to give the audience [a great performance]. You have to keep yourself fit, you have to practice."

But Collins doesn't rest on her laurels. At concerts she will still sing some of the songs that audiences remember her for, but she is not afraid to stretch herself. In her most recent albums, "Strangers Again," she performs duets with Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffet, Don McLean, and other performers with whom most people wouldn't think of pairing her. "I called a lot of people that I know and a lot of people I don't know," she explains to accomplish the recording.

Collins has also done a lot of television since she started to work on PBS in 1975. She was on Sesame Street a lot, including singing an aria with Mr. Snuffleupagus. She has done many specials on PBS, appeared on The Glen Campbell Show and The Smothers Brothers, and worked with Kris Kristopherson in the Disney special, "Going Home," a concert/documentary. She also co-directed the 1974 Academy Award nominated documentary, Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman. "I started out doing everything I can think of," she says, and her journey as an artist literally took her to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendur. Does she hanker for any particular role? "No," she says. "I want to do what I want to do, what I write, what I create." If she could go back, what would she change? "Nothing," she says. "We're here to fill out and survive what's in front of you."

What she says about survival is not to be taken lightly. Collins lost her only child, Clark Taylor, to suicide and she has overcome alcoholism and depression. She is an advocate for speaking openly about suicide and mental health issues.

Connecticut may not have as impressive a venue as the Temple of Dendur, but fans of Collins can see her next month on June 11 at the Ridgefield Playhouse and on June 17 and 18 at The Kate in Old Saybrook. For more information, call the Ridgefield Playhouse at 203-438-5795 or visit www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The playhouse is located at 80 East Ridgefield Road, Ridgefield. (If you are using a GPS, use the address 76 East Ridge Road. Turn uphill onto Governor Street and take a left into the parking lot.) Or call The Kate (The Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center) at 877-503-1286. The Kate is located at 300 Main Street in Old Saybrook. www.katherinehepburntheatre.org

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