We talk to Jenn Colella about her career, and we hear a song from the original Broadway cast recording of "High Fidelity" which is  on Sh-k-boom and is available for order on Amazon and  She also gives us an exclusive performance of "Big Wings" with Georgia Stitt, which is available on "This Ordinary Thursday."

Jenn Colella made her Broadway debut in "Urban Cowboy" for which she received an Outer Critics Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress. She was also in the original world premiere San Diego cast of "The Times They Are A-Changing." She last appeared on Broadway in "High Fidelity" as Laura.

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You can listen to this interview and many other great features for free on Broadway Bullet vol. 114. Subscribe for free so you don't miss an episode.

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Broadway Bullet Interview: Jen Colella  

Broadway Bullet: When Georgia Stitt was in, she pointed out to me that Jenn Colella should be a much bigger star than she is. (Jen giggles)  What she said about Jen when [Georgia] was in, I fully agreed.  When I saw Jen in "High Fidelity" I thought she did a fantastic job.  She's done a lot of things.  She's got some projects coming up, and she stopped by the studio to talk with us.  How're you doing?

Jenn Colella:  I'm doing well.   How are you?

BB:  Good.  You've done a lot of things.  Like High Fidelity--should've gotten a little further.

JC:  A little, yes.  Perhaps longer than two weeks. A little further.  It was a great project...Yeah, you know, I think what you might be getting to is that fact that I've been the lead in some shows that haven't been blockbusters, as far as that.

BB:  But you've had so many leads.  You've had so many leads that actors would kill for.

JC:  Yes, I've been very lucky.  I've only been here for a little over four years.  Just after graduate school, University of California, at Irvine.  So, I feel like I've been really lucky, and wouldn't change one step of the journey I've been on so far.

BB:  So I understand, for instance, you had to make a choice between shows, when coming to Broadway this fall.

JC:  Yeah, you know it started, first I was involved with The Great American Trailer Park Musical that I did at the Musical Theatre Festival, which you guys cover.  And that was a blast, and then Off-Broadway, they offered me the role of Pippy, the kleptomaniac stripper, and I had to turn that down because I had just been cast in "Ring of Fire".  I was going to Nashville first to work with them, Richard Maltby Jr., and so I was playing young June Carter Cash, and I thought absolutely.  And then when they were coming in to Broadway, Richard Maltby asked me if I would please join them.  I said, [that] I had just been cast in Twyla Tharp's new show, The Times They are A-Changin.  I had never had any dance training in my life, and the fact that I was a lead, in a Twyla Tharp show...I had to just take it, and to work with her.  So I went to Twyla and we did a great run at the Old Globe, and then right before that came here it was coming up about the same time as High Fidelity, and I fortunately was picked up by High Fidelity and went on with them.  Yeah, so...and it's not like I left any project because I lost faith in it or didn't believe in it; I believe in every single thing I've been a part of--it was just kind of the way the wind was blowing.  I tried to be as open with any opportunities that were available to me.

BB:  When it came down to that, the Twyla Tharp piece, you ended up having to make another choice, yet again.

JC:  Well, that choice was better made for me.  Twyla told me when we first came in that the producers had another vision of what the leading lady might be like, and I still didn't know if I was going to do High Fidelity, although I still wanted to.  So I said, "Absolutely.  Everything happens for a reason.  Go, see people, and I still believe that I'm the best one for this job, but if I'm not, I'm not."  I try not to sweat things like that.  I believe there are enough pieces of pie for everybody, and if one role isn't for me than I try to do my best to let it go and trust that something is coming along that might be better.

BB:  Your role in "High Fidelity"...you got to kind of play two personalities in that.

JC:  Yes, Laura, the character I played was a lawyer and had just turned corporate and was kind of upset about that.  But definitely straight laced lawyer.  She was in the middle of that change you go through when you just turn thirty.  You realize, oh I'm not a kid anymore; I can't really be the rock chick that I was, and make it in the corporate world.  So she was kind of battling that and sort of weighing in on the side of corporate world, and appreciating that.  You know I have a flashback in this show where I got to sing a rock and roll song in this fantasy sequence.  I had back up chicks, and it was incredible.  It was a lot of fun.

 BB:  So, I think we're going to play that now.

JC:  Right on.

BB:  So, this is "Number Five with a Bullet".

JC:  "Number Five with a Bullet".

Listen to "Number 5 With a Bullet" on Broadway Bullet vol. 114.

BB: Now, you've got a lot of projects in the work.  And I know you like working with new things.  In fact, a little bit later on, you're going to be doing a special live performance in the studio.

JC: I am.

BB:  But before we get to that, you were telling me, there was a project you were working on at the moment that's really very near and dear to your heart, that you're really hoping will go some place.

JC:  I had just returned from Los Angeles; I was there for pilot season.  I was contacted while I was there by a gentleman named Bob Bartley and his writing partner, Dan Whitman...[who]have been working on this for quite some time.  It's called, Dance with Me.  It's a musical about Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, and it begins when they're sixteen years old.  It shows their struggles as they are trying to break into Hollywood, into the business...how they met, which is incredible, and their journey together, right up until the very first taping of the I Love Lucy show, which of course made them both so iconic.  I played Lucille Ball, and it was a dream come true.  I just have so much respect for her.  In my eyes she's the first comedienne.   I was in high school when she died...I wore black, you know what I mean?  I was totally, totally honored to be a part of something they wrote about her, and especially to play her was quite a privilege.         

BB:  Now, you've done a fair amount of new musicals, so I imagine you've done a fair amount of readings in your performances.

JC:  Tons

BB:  What are your thoughts about these reading?  Do you treat them as a regular performance or do they feel differently?

JC:  Absolutely.  Not to me.  I'm just as proud of a reading I've done behind a table, in a black box in the middle of nowhere, as I am of any Broadway show.  I don't see them any differently at all.

BB:  But does it feel different, a lot of times, knowing that it's more business people out there, and not just a regular crowd?

JC:  Sure. Yes, the crowd is a little different.  The suits are a little different.

BB:  Tell us how it feels.

JC:  I guess the difference is...I do a lot of concerts around...I just did this great concert, with Georgia Stitt, at Birdland to promote her new CD that we're going to hear some of.  That crowd was there because they know who Georgia is and they know this going to be incredible.  And there's tons of amazing stars there, so the energy there is just off the hook.  Everybody is there to love, and support and hoot and holler.  At a Broadway show, there are thousands of people, and they come from all walks of life, and the energy is also very high because it's a Broadway show, and they're ready to dig you.  When the producers come in for these readings, it can only be fifty of them, and they're just seeing what the potential is.  So, they're not there to just laugh and give you energy,  although, most of them do.  It's just not the same.  It's certainly not the same.  It's certainly a different feel.  And, of course, the writers--you can see them biting their nails, and writing things down furiously as you're performing, which is a little different.  But I...workshops and readings, and being a part of all these things in the beginning stages, that's what being an artist is all about.  I think it's the life blood of New York.  It's what keeps me on my toes, and proud to be a part of it all, you know.

BB: And you're also involved with-

JC: Don't Quit Your Night Job.  They call it Don't Quit Your Night Job because it's a bunch of Broadway stars, most of whom are in shows right now.  So, the premise is that they're going to run from their Broadway show to the Ha! Comedy Club and do this great night of sketch comedy and improv.  There's tons and tons of huge stars who're going to come and play with us.  I'm one of the cast members, so, hopefully, I'll get to play ten or twelve times in the next eight weeks.  Some amazing people are going to be a part of this, so I'm really excited about it.

BB:  It seems you keep busy with a lot of projects.  Do you ever have any down time?

JC:  I do, I do.  I have some down time and, instead of dreading the down time, as a lot of actors do, saying: "Oh, God when am I ever going to work again?  Am I ever going to work again?,"  I try to train myself to appreciate those moments as gifts from the universe, where I can chill.  I'm going to go this summer and rent a house in Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, where I'm from.  I'm going to go to Provincetown for a week.  I try to schedule down time for myself.  I think it's just as important as working really hard.

BB:  All right.  Well, we've got a special treat here, before we conclude-

Georgia Stitt:  Hey, Jen Colella.

JC:  Hey, Georgia Stitt.

BB:  Georgia has come back into the studio, to play for you the song that you did on her album, This Ordinary Thursday.

JC:  Yes.

BB:  Is there anything you'd like to tell us about why you took on doing this song before you sing it.

JC:  I would do anything for Georgia.  That's the short answer.  I just think she's a tremendous musician, and I'm really excited about this album coming up.  It's the first time I've ever been on an album.  I couldn't be more proud.  She's a tremendous musician, and this song is one of the best tunes I've ever had the pleasure to sing, so I'm really excited for it to be out in the world. 

BB:  All right, you ready to sing it?

JC: "Big wings."

Listen to "Big Wings" in Broadway Bullet vol. 114.

BB:  All right Jenn, I want to thank you for swinging by the studio and singing, and telling is about all your upcoming projects.  I certainly hope you'll come through again.

JC: It would be my pleasure to do so.  Thank you for having me.

BB: Thanks.

JC: Right on.

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You can listen to this interview and many other great features for free on Broadway Bullet vol. 114. Subscribe for free so you don't miss an episode.

 or MP3 Feed with XML

Second photo - Jenn Colella with Matt Cavenaugh in Urban Cowboy