Donna McKechnie: The Music and the Mirror-Reflects A 'Star'

Donna shares her interesting stories with me from her new book "Time Steps: My Musical Comedy Life", published by Simon and Schuster which will be released in September 2006. Donna tells the tale about her love of dancing and ballet as a child from the 50's in Detroit, Michigan, back in a time when there were no performing arts schools, no musical arts programs, truly a barren era for young people pursuing a career in singing and dancing. She fortunately found two excellent teachers.

This Tony Award Winning star of A Chorus Line has a long list of Broadway credits including: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, The Education of Hyman Kaplan, Sondheim-A Musical Tribute, On The Town, Promises, Promises, Company and State Fair.

The stories that she tells from her book are based on her real life experiences. The time came, at a very young age, where she had the opportunity to get her Equity card in her high school senior year at the Cass Theater performing what they called "winter stock" as this young ballet girl started her love affair with dance. "Most ballet dancers looked down on musical theater as they viewed themselves as a pristine or classical group, who simply danced. So acting and dancing with a speaking role was a thrilling new venture for me. I was totally impressed with these professionals who took only one dancer from Detroit. That was me. I worked with Betty White, who did Anna in The King and I, Jeanette MacDonald who was a big film star, who played in Bitter Sweet by Noel Coward. She was at the end of her career in her 60's but still sounded beautiful, Peggy Cass, who played Agnes Gooch in Mame, and the Gary Moore show". Donna enjoyed a wonderful education working with so many great artists.

Donna's regional credits include Cole Porter's You Never Know, I Do! I Do!, The Goodbye Girl, Gypsy and Sweet Charity. She's also enjoys the cabaret life and won a Mac Award Nomination and Backstage Bistro Award for her full-length autobiographical theatrical show, Inside the Music, as well as her new cabaret show, Gypsy in My Soul which played successfully in London.

At 15, she was invited to join a dance troupe that was to tour the South, with the understanding that her parents would allow her to head to New York to rehearse. Of course they said "No", which turned into a real confrontation as she was determined to follow her dream. She planned a dramatic escape, with a friend waiting in New York and went off to the Big Apple. Upon her arrival, her "good friend" had called her parents out of a sense of duty. When her father showed up, it was one of those "horrible but wonderful" moments that you can never relive. Fortunately she turned the trip into a sightseeing adventure. When they returned to Detroit her parents, who were very caring and supportive yet typically old fashioned people, promptly took Donna to juvenile court to scare her into the reality that if she left again they would lock her up. Feeling very betrayed she declared boldly and out of character, that she would escape again and again because this is something she wanted to do with her life. After a short time Donna's parents were given some credible advice to let her go, and she would find her way back.

"It was this point of my life that fueled me for several years, that I had to prove to my parents and more importantly to myself, that I could do this. It was quite difficult. Though my father was only 54 when he died, he did have the opportunity to enjoy seeing me on stage at the Public Theater. My mother lived on number of years, so that I felt happy to share my success with her. When I traveled to London or Paris she would come for a visit and she could see how happy I was to do what I love". That was the happy ending in this story. 

Donna's book was written with Greg Lawrence, who also wrote "Dancing on my Grave" and "The Jerome Robbins Biography". After Donna left A Chorus Line she had what she calls a "litany of losses", married, divorced, lost her dad. "Being a dancer you are used to pushing your feeling into your body, generally speaking. Not being able to grieve, I ended up with rheumatoid arthritis. The doctors told me I would be unable to walk, let alone dance". That was her age of reckoning where she decided to dismiss the drug therapy and change her mental attitude and physical well being through a alternative health program, changing her diet and routine. It was difficult but it worked out.

After ten years Donna was able to go back into A Chorus Line in 1986 doing eight shows a week. "I had received so many letters that I realized I had a new responsibility to someday get this book written to hopefully help others and perhaps entertain them as well".

Donna enjoyed one of her greatest triumphs as Sally in the acclaimed revival of Follies in 1998. She's choreographed and performed in No Way To Treat A Lady in London's West End and starred in Cole Porter's Can-Can at the Strand.

Donna's advice to young people coming into this business. "It was fun in part but it was also difficult when I realized that living in New York was so much about survival. How lonely it gets. I acted like it was fine around my parents, coming home with new clothes, always not wanting them to worry, hiding that fact that it was very lonely and sometimes scary. When you see someone on stage with any amount of longevity, know that it is not a carefree existence. One of the main points in my book is, don't abandon yourself in the face of adversity. Some people get so frightened with what I call the sledge hammer. Nobody escapes the pain of living, but never give up". Bob Fosse told me, "save your money and get up every day asking how can I be a better person, not a better performer, not competing with someone else, but become a better person".

While writing her book, which has been very fulfilling, Donna has just been offered a dance show with Tony Stevens in Over Here in a few months, produced by Andrew Jarrod. A musical first staged about the Andrew sisters, Maxine & Patty, at the Shubert theater 1974, right before A Chorus Line. It will open in London in November with Adam West (yes, Batman!). The rest of the cast will be English. I will play Patty Andrews. Diane Langton will play Maxine. This is the show that John Travolta and Marilu Henner and got their big break. Ann Reinking and Johnny Mineo did a great dance number called "Charlie's Place". This was also Treat Williams first Broadway show. The Sherman brothers who live in London, have done a number of new successful revivals including Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang, and Mary Poppins. "It's a great musical genre with the music of Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller surrounding the World War II era. It's a spoof, yes, but it's more about the relationships of the people involved in the second world war, those going off to war, those left behind and in the middle of all this, the two Andrew sisters searching for the third sister. It's a lot of great dancing and musicians, wonderful jazz musicians".

Donna has a thousand special moments in her long career. But we narrowed down just a few. "I loved being so young and learning from so many wonderful established performers. Working with Ethel Merman was a riot! I loved her, but it was scary. We were doing Call Me Madam in St. Louis. I played the princess and she was of course, the "hostess with the most-est". I was in the middle of my soft shoe performance and spotted her coming in. Here I am on the top of the boy's shoulders and this laser voice blurts out "who did she 'do' to get two dance numbers?" I didn't know if she was kidding or not, so I just avoided her. I think it was her funny sense of humor. No one told me that I was playing the part that Ethel, Jr. played three months earlier before she committed suicide. It was then that I realized that she was obviously in grief because that's why she was touring, which is something she hadn't done. Seeing me in her costume and wig, it must have been tough. But she got all those people on their feet at every performance. It was incredible".

"To be in Bob Fosse's last production that he directed before he died was a magical circle completed because 25 years prior, in her first Broadway show Sweet Charity, Bob was the choreographer and Gwen Verdon, her idol, taught her the role, step by step, nuance by nuance." What a blessing".

"Also my time sharing some great moments with Michael Bennett who was my dance partner in a show called Hulabaloo. We talked about what we would do when we grew up. I told him I was going to be a singer/dancer and he very seriously looked at me and said "I'm going to be a choreographer" and everyone knew it was true. Even as a dancer, he had moves that others followed him around like little ducks. That was a wonderful beginning to share a dream that became " A Chorus Line".

Donna was directed twice by playwright George Abbott, (Damn Yankees) and composer Frank Loesser was my first vocal coach. She also worked with Abe Burrows, who wrote the book "How To Succeed in Business". Donna recalls doing musicals prior to tape recorders, showing up every day for 6 to 8 weeks with the musical director and partial staff to rehearse all day until every step, every line was right. She recalls directors, producers, actors, musicians all sitting together working out details. "You just don't see this happening any more. It would cost so much time and money".

With the return of A Chorus Line to Broadway, getting Donna's thoughts on this was a priority to my interview. She has this to say about it....

"I am, of course, thrilled that it is returning. There's two things going on though, I am happy about it and I want it to be very successful and I'm sure it will be. Baayork Lee and Bob Avian will be choreographing and directing this and no one knows the show better than these two. Michael's show will go on. They've been holding the torch and keeping the show alive. Marvin Hamlisch and Robin Wagner are going to take advantage of some of the technical enhancements they have now, not that they're going to change it, but just make good use of some of the special effects they have in lighting for example. I think that Charlotte ( d'Amboise) will be great and some of the other casting is young and vibrant and they are confident they've got a wonderful cast.

"The other part of me is that while I will be applauding this new cast, I have such a love and connection to the original production, hand picked by Michael, that gave so much of themselves, along with his vision and genius, that I will have a hard time not seeing the original cast, Bob LuPone, Priscilla Lopez or Kelly Bishop. But what I really love is the timing of this. A whole new generation who have not seen this will have the joy of seeing Michael's work recreated in such a caring way".

And what does Donna think about Broadway today? "I always remember the line, don't tell me Broadway's dying. I just got here". I think people will create the demand and the shows will be created to fill that demand. There will always be the kid in Iowa saying " I love to sing and dance". And there will always be the creators. I was in Central Park speaking with the stars of Jersey Boys and I was so happy to have the opportunity to tell them how they have raised the bar of entertainment, not just for performers but everyone involved with the show and even the audience".

Donna has appeared as a guest star in numerous television musical specials and drama series including Fame, Cheers, Family Ties, Twirl, Dark Shadows. She also portrayed the Rose in the film, The Little Prince.

Donna recently appeared in her one woman show "Gypsy in My Soul" at Joe's Pub, where a dear friend and colleague remarked, "Donna, you are really in this for the long haul". Indeed she is!

Visit Donna's website for tons of photos and updates on Over Here: http://www.donnamckechnie.com.