Interview: The Every-Busy Kelli O'Hara's Always Singing Whether Benefits, Opera Or Concerts

One of Broadway's favorite leading ladies Kelli O'Hara will be appearing with SiriusXM Radio staple Seth Rudetsky for a one-night concert at The Wallis April 2, 2022 as part of The Wallis Broadway @ concert series. Kelli was gracious enough to carve out a little time to answer a few of my theatrical queries.

Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed by me again, Kelli! I had interviewed you in your lead-up to your one-nighter at the Valley Performing Arts Center in 2016.

How did you and Seth first meet? Mutual friends? Seth accompanied you at a benefit?

We met almost 21 years ago (gulp) at the dog park on Riverside. We both had black labs.

You've teamed up with Seth in earlier incarnations of this show through the years (most recently Madison Theatre last month). How scripted are your shows? Basic outline? Specific songs to include?

The wonderful thing about playing with Seth is that one never knows what will

happen. It's improvisational and always fun. We always have a song list (which changes as we add and subtract things depending on the mood or the audience). The stories that accompany the songs have evolved over the years although we always come back to our favorites. Seth has a wonderful memory and recalls the funniest moments so we can capture them again.

You've done a number of episodes with Seth and his husband James on their Stars In The House over the lockdown. Was this a no-brainer to share your time and talents for their fundraisers for the Actors' Fund?

Absolutely. A no-brainer. In fact, I did their very first show. I remember being so grateful to have a way to help, to reach out at that moment during this pandemic. James and Seth constantly give me opportunities to be charitable, with Stars in The House, Concert for America, Voices for the Voiceless-You Gotta Believe. They are doing great things, and I'm grateful they include me.

Besides Stars In The House, what else did you do to stay creative and sane during the quarantine? Other Zooming benefits?

I did so many virtual concerts with pre-recorded music, video galas, Zoom Q&As, voice lessons, etc. and even some in-person outdoor concerts. But I was also able to start filming The Gilded Age which was incredibly gratifying.

You haven't done an opera since 2018 when you sang Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte at the Metropolitan Opera. Tell us about the opera version of Michael Cunningham's The Hours that you're doing with the Philadelphia Philharmonic in March and at the Met in the fall. You sing the Julianne Moore role, right?

That is correct. I haven't done a full opera since then, but we have been planning this version of The Hours for a couple of years as Kevin Puts has been writing the score. It is finished now so we want to hear it this month with the Philadelphia Orchestra before we bring it to The MET. I will sing the role of Laura Brown, the 50s housewife. Renee Fleming sings Clarissa, and Joyce DiDonato will sing the Virginia role but is unavailable for the Philadelphia concert. So, the role will be sung by Jennifer Johnson Cano. There is also a wonderful supporting cast and full chorus. Yannick Nezet Seguin will conduct.

In doing film or television, do you find it easier to work with actors from a theatre background (like The Gilded Age) than without (like The Accidental Wolf)?

Well, these two projects were both done with almost exclusively theatre folks, which is the most fabulous way to work and my favorite.

Do you remember your reaction to hearing your 2018 Emmy nomination for your role as Katie in The Accidental Wolf?

Yes. Arian Moayed texted me while I was in London doing The King and I. I was just getting off the train, read the text and thought he was messing with me. I didn't even know I was eligible. So, I told him he was crazy.

You've performed on stages and in venues all around the world. If you were to close your eyes, would you be able to differentiate your audiences from different countries? Take King and I, for example. You reprised your Tony Award-winning role of Anna at the London Palladium. Did you find any responses there distinctively unique from that at Lincoln Center Theatre?

The audiences in Japan were incredibly different than in the U.S., so I could definitely differentiate there, but, in London, where I had been warned countless times about the audiences being different, I found them to be very similar to U.S. audiences (at least for our show).

Do you and your Gamma Phi Beta sorority sister Kristin Chenoweth ever catch up for a song and a giggle?

Well, we definitely catch up often, but not always for a song and a giggle.

What's in the near future for Kelli O'Hara, besides The Hours, The Gilded Age and The Accidental Wolf?

Just life. More Learning.

Thank you again, Kelli! I look forward to seeing you spar and cajole with Seth at The Wallis.

For tickets to Kelli and Seth's live one-nighter April 2, 2022; log onto www.thewallis.org

To read my earlier interview with Kelli, click here.

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