Interview: Tony Award Winner Kelli O'Hara

First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I have been a longtime fan of yours and it's an honor to speak with you today.

Thank you!

You've been an inspiration to so many performers. Who inspired you to pursue your passion in the arts?

Oh gosh. That's so nice. Thank you. You know, I just didn't know a lot of theatre, and I just didn't have access. I'm from Oklahoma and just watched a lot of movie musicals. So I fell in love with Julie Andrews, Shirley Jones, and Doris Day. And I listened to a lot of Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, which were records that my grandparents had. I think when I finally went to school and met my teacher, Florence Birdwell, who had her students Kirstin Chenoweth and Susan Powell going out into the world, those people inspired me and I thought, "Well, they're from Oklahoma, so maybe I could do it, too." So it's sort of a combination of a lot of things.

You've played some of the most iconic leading female roles in theatre and performed in some of the most beloved musicals of all time. Is there one role or musical that really impacted you or has a special place in your heart?

Well, you know, of all of these amazing roles I've been able to step into, I think I tend to say that my favorite and most fulfilling role is honestly Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County. It wasn't a show that ran very long, but when you're working in this industry you do step into shoes and try to fill them as best you can, but when the shoes are made for you and you get to help decide the color and shape of everything, you take it very seriously and very deeply into your heart. It also was a very different type of singing and acting for me. The experience was so fulfilling for me. And I had just had a baby, so I was super emotional and fulfilled. I think the whole thing will always go down as being an explosion in my heart, which will always be a good memory.

Speaking of different types of singing... In the current musical theatre scene where big belty pop/rock musicals seem to be around every corner, what would you say to those performers who are classically trained and aspire to perform professionally, but might not feel like they have a place? How have you been able to stay true to your voice and navigate the theatre scene in your own career?

You know, even when I first stepped foot in New York I didn't feel like there was a place for me. It was definitely the days of rock, and I sometimes felt I was trying to fit in a round place like a square peg. But one of the things I learned over time, which I try to teach students early, is that the more yourself you are and the more authentic you are, no matter what it is, that sort of essence is special. You need to lean on that. Because what happened to me is initially I was trying to be something I wasn't to try to work and get jobs, and every time I did that I not only gave off the wrong impression of being a run of the mill artist that maybe didn't have a lot of special qualities, but I wasn't satisfied on my own and it wasn't cathartic for me. And when I started to actually use my own voice, as unpopular as it might have been, it made me happy, and that's when my career really started, oddly enough. It wasn't at least at first commercial or popular, and yet for me, that's when it seemed people started to take notice. That's really what it comes down to. No matter what you do, if you love this, the only way to do it is to be who you are and it will happen for you when it's time.

At this point in your career, how do you decide what roles you want to take on or what stories you want to tell?

Now in my life, I do feel the great gift and pleasure of being able to say I don't want to play someone who doesn't have a backbone or a voice. For so long I did play the ingenue, you know, someone who was meant to be seen but not heard and was more the essence of someone than anything else. But now as a mother and a woman in her forties, I want to tell stories that are so much deeper and stand for something. And I also want to tell stories that aren't just mine. I want to help others tell their stories. I feel like I've been very very privileged to tell a version of my story, or one that seems like my story, for so long, and I want to be a part of creating more room for others to tell theirs.

Speaking of family... A lot of people in the arts, especially women, are told early on that they have to decide if they want a family or if they want a career. They are told that they can't have both because they need to be 100% committed to their craft and a family would distract from that. But you are a great example of someone who has both a wildly successful career and a beautiful family. What would you say to those individuals who want to pursue a career in the arts but either want a family as well, or perhaps already have one? How have you found that balance?

I think we put a lot of rules on things. Don't we? But it's like every time you look around you see someone who has broken a mold. I'm not sure why we still make all those rules. And I know I'm guilty of it sometimes too. But the point is, you want to be authentically you. And if you want to have a family and be a good parent, but you want to perform and can not be away from your art because your art heals you and makes you a better parent and a better partner, then you have to try and do it. And the thing is, if you want it badly enough you make it work. But there are a lot of sacrifices. I have a family and I still have a career. And yeah, the career could still go this way or that way, but I have my family. It's a balance. I'll tell you one thing you don't want. You don't want a career and no family, because that is a recipe for real unhappiness. And I'm not saying you have to have kids, but family can be kids, a spouse, a relationship, or friendship. You need that foundation. You need to have something familial with your career, because your career could end up empty. And if you really want the career, you can't just settle down and have a family, pretend you're going to go home and make cupcakes all day, and just pretend like you don't miss the arts. You can't do that to yourself if that's who you really are. But we get afraid of failing, which we all do at times. But if you fail and you get back up and keep going, there will be such satisfaction in the fact that you tried.

You touched a little bit earlier on the idea of creating a new role when you mentioned Francesca, but can you explain a little bit about your approach with creating a role in a new work versus creating a role in a revival or something that has already been performed by another performer?

You know, with revivals I kind of have that person in my mind and it's sometimes hard to get them out and make it my own, but what I try to do, no matter if I've seen it or not, is I try to just go to the written source material and see how it moves me. And I try not to fall into the pattern of whoever played it before me because I know that I'm different from that person, and I can't try to do what they do. And the best way to make it special is to bring myself to it. And then when I do something new it goes even further. I have the material in front of me and no one else has played it so I only have me and my own experiences to run through it. But I also have the historical value of the character such as where she lived or where she was born and what she did. And since it's still being written or is new, the writers are in the room, and that's what really makes it different. You say, "ok, now that I'm invested in telling her story through me, do you think we could do it this way? Do think it could be in this key instead? This feels uncomfortable, but do you think we could try it this way?" And sometimes you have great collaboration where the creators might say "I like that idea. Can we try it this way first and then we will try it that way?" So the biggest difference is the degree to which you are able to change things and really mold the character even more toward you.

I know so many people who are looking forward to your concert at the Lied Center this Saturday evening. What kind of program can the audience expect? Will there be some new material as well as familiar Broadway standards? Any chance we'll hear some of your Tony Award winning work?

What I try to do to make it special for both the audience and myself is, when I do go through musicals I've been in, sometimes I'll sing a song from the show, but it won't be a song that I sang. That's how it stays really personal for me. When you think about it, you sing something hundreds of times, but when you listen to something hundreds of times it's a different story. Sometimes those songs that I didn't sing come away with me even more deeply than those I sang because of the way they made me feel either when I was being sung to or when I was offstage and admiring from the side. I also have some personal songs and dedications. For me, when I sing it's just as much of a trip inside my heart as it hopefully is for the audience.

What's next for you? Are you working on any other projects currently?

Well I'm very excited to be singing this weekend. I've been shooting HBO's The Guilded Age, which has been very exciting. I think that will premiere next season, but we are about to wrap on the first season. It's got just the most amazing cast of Broadway veterans, and it's just been a joy for me. So I'm finishing that up and I have these concerts in between. I'm very grateful for the work, and I'm excited to be a part of some of these opening concerts in Lincoln.

Photo Credit: Emilio Madrid

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