Broadway Beat Tony 2010 Q&A: Twyla Tharp

The Tony Awards Nominations were announced Tuesday, May 4th and the Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 13, 2010.

The day after the nominations, on Wednesday, May 5th, Broadway Beat talked to nearly all of the nominated stars in advance of a special two-part Broadway Beat Tony Awards extravanganza. Every day, we'll be presenting unedited, raw "Short Takes" sneak peeks of some of these amazing interviews. Next up - Twyla Tharp, nominated for Best Choreography of a Musical for COME FLY AWAY. Read the transcript of her interview below!

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TT: It was a venture as would be necessary of love. There have been three previous pieces and this incarnation of my career with Sinatra began when Karine and two other girls who had worked with me in the past came and said, "we want to dance." I said, "that's lovely ladies, we have no jobs." And then I said, "OK, but we'll do technique, so if you want to come, I'll give class." So they did, and we worked for about six weeks in which case I decided, ok, they're serious, they want to dance. So then I said "girls, come back with partners." And then I thought, "well, what shall we do with all these wondrous folk who want to put on a show? So let's figure out how to put on a show."

Bway Beat: And you went to all your wonderful core of dancers you put together with this.

TT: Yes, they're a repertory company, which I'm also quite proud of. It's a group of dancers who have worked together so much in the past and have worked with me so often in the past that it makes it possible for them to latch onto material from a platform that is very, very, high. This is not a pick-up group.

Bway Beat: And talk about your leading lady who was nominated also.

TT: Yes, Karine. She was one of the first participants in this venture. She's wonderful. She was wonderful in MOVING OUT and the cast is very proud of her. As a repertory company, we all know, and she I'm sure would be the first to say, that this is possible because of the support they give her. If any one of them that were in her position would say the same about her, so it's a give and take that's very special.

Bway Beat: What's the biggest thrill for you when you sit in that theater and watch the show? There is so much love between your dancers and the audience and what the audience gives back to the show. What does that mean to you?

TT: We are communicating, simply put, which is why I, in any case, started doing this. I felt that I had something that people might find important or moving or relevant in their lives, and their response tells me that they do.

Bway Beat: And what do the Tony Awards mean to you? You've been down this road before. Can you tell us how excited you are about this and what it means to you?

TT: It's always a good thing when people in the industry recognize what one does. In this case obviously it was almost like a "let's put a show up in the barn" kind of thing and we pushed it along. And remember, we were in Atlanta October of last year. This is a very fast track to be opened on Broadway in early March. So, I think that we haven't had a lot of time for evaluating; we've been busy doing the work. 

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Broadway Beat, the popular weekly television program for and about the Theatre World, right here on the web site. Broadway Beat is the premier, award-winning half hour television program covering theatre, music and performers. Each week, the show's popular and knowledgeable host, Richard Ridge, takes you behind-the-scenes for a look at the very best of New York Theatre - on Broadway, and beyond. The show always features beautiful footage shot by video veteran Bradshaw Smith.

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