Interview: Audra McDonald Updates on P-Town Concert, Eye-Popping BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, SHUFFLE ALONG & More!

By: Aug. 22, 2015
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Audra McDonald has a big year ahead of her! After embarking on a concert tour this fall, the six-time Tony winner, who recenty wrapped filming for Disney's live action Beauty and the Beast, will be back on Broadway, starring alongside Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Joshua Henry and Brandon Victor Dixon in SHUFFLE ALONG.

Before all of that, McDonald will head to Provincetown, MA to take part in the acclaimed Broadway @ Town Hall concert series, hosted by SiriusXM radio star Seth Rudetsky. For one show only on Monday, August 24 (6:30 PM), she will be joined onstage by her husband and fellow Broadway star Will Swenson, with whom she is currently starring in Williamstown Theatre Festival's A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN.

McDonald recently checked in with BroadwayWorld about Monday's concert, and updated us on all of her upcoming projects! Check out the full interview below:

Let's start by talking about your upcoming concert. What can fans expect?

Well, we did it with Seth Rudetsky, so it should be a lot of fun! You get to do a lot of singing, but there will also be a lot of chitter chatter and you never know what direction you may go in. It makes for a very fun evening, which is always a lot of fun.

You are famous for so many different roles and songs. At this point in your career, how do you go about selecting what kind of songs will be in your set list?

You know, first and foremost, we try to pick songs that I have an emotional connection to the music. Secondly, we make sure they are varied enough so that you don't have all ballads or all up-tempos. You try to give a nice full-meal and I guess you try to hit different criteria. As far as the rest of it goes, you just all have to be in agreement- between you and the director. Sometimes he'll push me to sing specific songs that he wants me to sing and so I'll oblige for him. I don't always do certain things in concert, but Seth will say, "Come on! Let's just try, let's just for fun." So I'm willing to go along with it!

And you are going to be performing again with Will [Swenson]. How nice that you are moving from one thing to another with him!

Right! We are just working the whole state of Massachusetts here. [Laughs] So yeah, it's going to be great and we are looking forward to going together.

Are you enjoying having a nice summer out of the city with the family?

Well, it's a busy summer. Eugene O'Neill takes up all of your time and energy. So, it has been a big challenge to work on such a massive play with notoriously difficult characters. It has been really fulfilling. It's been great to work with my husband and be on stage with him every night and watch his skill and talent and his prowess onstage. I love being up close watch. It's been great to watch it happen every night.

I know that you're going to be launching a bit of a concert tour this fall?

Yeah. It's a continuation. I'm going back on the road basically!

Is the show going to be a lot like the one you are performing on Monday or is it going to be something different?

No, that's different because with Seth it's a combined energy and with my concert it's just me and the orchestra.

And you obviously have Shuffle Along coming up, which when the casting was announced for that I think every theater fan lost their minds. Are you excited to be sharing the stage with those people?

Absolutely. I'm looking forward too it. I'm looking forward to being on stage with them. Most of those guys are like brothers to me. So, I'm very much looking forward to spending time with them both on and offstage and especially in the rehearsal room. That's going to be WAY too much fun.

Is there anything at this point you can share about your character?

She's a historical character, she actually did exist. She was a big star who faded into obscurity. It's an interesting story. What she had to sacrifice and who she was at the time... the color she was at the time she was living. It's fascinating...all of them. And the show, which has also faded into obscurity. It's pretty exciting to bring this history to life.

And of course you just finished filming Beauty and the Beast! What was that experience like for you?

Oh it was great. It was very special to watch something so magical come to life and to just be with that great group of people, my goodness! It's going to be pretty spectacular. I can't say more than that. It's just eye-popping and wonderful to be apart of it.

You have this huge year ahead of you between the rest of your concerts, another Broadway show coming up. What are you most looking forward to with what is on the horizon?

I'm very grateful for all of these main projects coming up, but anytime spent at home with my family is always the thing I'm most looking forward too.

McDonald became a three-time Tony Award winner by the age of 28 for her performances in "Carousel," "Master Class," and "Ragtime," placing her alongside Shirley Booth,Gwen Verdon and Zero Mostel by accomplishing this feat within five years. She won her fourth in 2004 for her role in "A Raisin in the Sun," a role she reprised for a 2008 television adaptation, earning her a second Emmy Award nomination. On June 10, 2012, McDonald scored her fifth Tony Award win for her portrayal of Bess in Broadway's "The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess" thus tying a record held byAngela Lansbury and Julie Harris for most Tony Awards won by an actor. This past June she made history by winning her sixth Tony Award for her role as Billie Holiday in "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill." She also maintains her ties to classical repertoire with an active concert and recording career, performing song cycles and operas as well as concerts throughout the U.S. Audra's many television appearances include four seasons as Naomi Bennett in "Private Practice," as well as "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Law & Order: SVU," "Having Our Say," "Mister Sterling," "The Bedford Diaries," "Kidnapped," the television remake of the musical "Annie," and HBO's "Wit" with Emma Thompsonand more recently as a cast member of "The Good Wife." In December 2013 Audra won critical acclaim for her performance as the Mother Abbess in NBC's live telecast of "The Sound of Music" with Carrie Underwood. Her film roles include "Cradle Will Rock," "Object of My Affection," "It Runs in the Family," "Best Thief in the World," and "Seven Servants." Will Swenson received a Tony nomination for the revival of "Hair" and also starred in the North American company of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."

This Broadway @ concert series was inaugurated in 2011 by Producing Artistic Director Mark Cortale @ The Art House in Provincetown featuring Seth Rudetsky as pianist and host. In its fourth season last summer, the series presented Broadway superstars like Kristin Chenoweth, Megan Hilty, Alice Ripley, Cheyenne Jackson and Gavin Creel. The Broadway @ series also premiered in 2013 in New Orleans, in Australia (Sydney & Melbourne) with Megan Mullally and in London's West End with Patti LuPone at the Leicester Square Theater. In 2014-15 the series travelled to Santa Monica @ The Broad Stage, New Orleans @ The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Fort Lauderdale @ The Parker Playhouse, San Francisco @ The Nourse Theatre, Dallas @ The Dallas Theater Center, and in Detroit @ The Berman Center for the Performing Arts. In 2015-16, the series will launch in Philadelphia at The Kimmel Center on October 7th with Audra McDonald. Additional artists who have participated throughout this season include Vanessa Williams, Chita Rivera, Ana Gasteyer, and Joanna Gleason. Info atmarkcortalepresents.com.

For tickets visit www.ptownarthouse.com or call 800-838-3006.

Photo Credit: Michael Wilson



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