BRIDGING TV & THEATRE: DROP DEAD DIVA's Kate Levering

Over the course of the next several weeks, we are going to be taking an extensive look at the sights and sounds both onscreen and onset of the hit TV dramedy series DROP DEAD DIVA - new episodes airing Sunday nights at 9 PM on Lifetime all summer long - featuring exclusive interviews with the leading lady divas and dashing supporting men on the LA-based supernatural legal series. Featuring a memorable collection of musical performances and Broadway guest stars over the years - Paula Abdul, Rosie O‘Donnell, Delta Burke and many more included - DROP DEAD DIVA is the quintessential TV series for Broadway babies looking for some laughs and levity - the latter available in many more ways than one, given the show's heavenly aspirations. DROP DEAD DIVA centers on a legal eagle named Jane whose body acts as the means for the indomitable spirit of a model, Deb, who loses her life, to make a second chance and how the girl inside must learn to adjust to looking like the woman on the outside that she is now. In other words, a model finds out what it means to look like everyone else, in a delightfully quirky twist of fate - and learns to be a lawyer, too. Season Three picks up with the cliffhanger car crash that closed last season in a dark and shocking way. What will Grayson remember of the conversation he had with Jane pre-crash? What will Jane do to save him? What about his engagement (to somebody else)? What will happen back at the office with Teri, Kim and Parker? What about Stacy and Fred? All these questions and many more will most assuredly be answered on Sunday nights! Plus, some great musicals numbers, too! Don't miss it!

All leading up to our finale with titular diva Brooke Elliott - and following last week's interview with irrepressible comedienne and comic actress Margaret Cho - today we are talking to Broadway leading lady Kate Levering all about her role as the tough-to-please Kim on DROP DEAD DIVA. In the following weeks, we will also feature conversations with DROP DEAD DIVA stars April Bowlby, Josh Henderson, Jackson Hurst and THE GRADUATE star Ben Feldman. Plus, we also have exclusive onset photos and video from the DROP DEAD DIVA soundstage in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as cast photos and videos and much, much more. Stay tuned!

Continuing the BRIDGING TV & THEATRE: DROP DEAD DIVA series, today, here is my extended conversation with Tony Award nominee and Broadway star Kate Levering about starring in seven Broadway shows - CHICAGO and 42nd STREET included - by the time she was twenty-two, as well as working with Harry Connick, Jr. and Norbert Leo Butz on THOU SHALT NOT and auditioning for legendary dancer and choreographer Ann Reinking (and her words of wisdom), plus: all about Levering's work on DROP DEAD DIVA and what we can expect in the surprising twists for her feisty character in Season Two, as well as her other television work - including sharing the screen with Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Christina Hendricks and Craig Bierko. Additionally, we discuss the charitable organization that is closest to Kate's heart, Purse of Hope [www.PurseofHope.org].

From 42nd St. To Sunset Blvd. To Heaven

PC: KEVIN HILL with Taye Diggs was your first major foray into TV - did you find it enjoyable working with a fellow Broadway baby at heart like Taye on your first big break? It was a really unique show.

KL: I loved it - and, yeah, the dramatic aspects were especially really interesting on that show. I loved working with Taye, of course.

PC: The whole premise of the show was interesting, as well. Didn't his wife Idina Menzel do an episode with you?

KL: Yes, actually she did two episodes! But, then, their first child was born and the WB became the CW and that's when things started to change and we sort of got lost in the shuffle, I think.

PC: Did you enjoy working with the cast in general on the show?

KL: Well, I have to mention that Christina Hendricks was in it with us, as well, and she was so wonderful. You could just tell she was going to be a star. She's such a megastar.

PC: The film of COMPANY is so fantastic and she is so great in it.

KL: I can't believe they filmed it with Neil Patrick Harris, and my friend Christina Hendricks and my dear Craig Bierko - who I've done a few shows with - too! I can't wait to see it. It's so great they are filming things like that.

PC: Craig also plays a pivotal role on NECESSARY ROUGHNESS, which is filming here in Atlanta [and which will be highlighted in our BRIGING TV & THEATRE column next week].

KL: Oh, that's so great! I hope to see him around town. (Laughs.)

PC: Speaking of your theatre roots, what was it like to receive a Tony nomination for your work in 42nd ST.?

KL: Oh, my gosh. I was twenty-two when I was nominated. It was truly an out-of-body experience. (Pause.) I don't even think the magic set in at the time. But, now, it's so many years later and I look back and think, "I cannot believe that happened to me!"

PC: Such a thrill.

KL: Yes. It was so, so, so cool. I mean, I had no idea what to expect - I had no guidance in terms of publicists and all of that.

PC: What is your fondest memory of the night?

KL: I specifically remember driving to the Tonys - I brought all of my favorite women to the Tonys with me: my mom, my sister and my three best girl friends.

PC: How wonderful! Why did you do that?

KL: I felt like, "This is a forever moment. I want to be surrounded by the people I know and love the best." So, I brought my favorite women with me.

PC: What a great idea.

KL: I remember being in the limo on the way to the red carpet and someone said to me, "What are you gonna say if you win?" And, first of all, I thought, "I am never, ever gonna win."

PC: Why so? You were sensational!

KL: (Laughs.) Oh, thank you so much, but, c'mon - it was Cady Huffman and the whole THE PRODUCERS' sweep that year.

PC: So, you didn't prepare a speech just in case?

KL: Nope! I mean, I never thought I was going to win. I hadn't even thought about it - that was the mindset that I was in. (Pause.) It wasn't even present to me in that way, you know?

PC: Why do you think that was?

KL: Well, I think it's because when you are that young and you are starring in a Broadway show, all you think about is the eight shows a week.

PC: Especially as Peggy Sawyer in 42nd ST.! So much dancing.

KL: It was a great role and I was just trying to keep up with the pace of, you know, giving one-hundred-percent eight times a week. So, looking back now, I think that is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me and I hope that I have the opportunity to go back to Broadway and for it to, potentially, happen again so that I can really drink up that moment.

PC: I recently spoke with Harry Connick, Jr. about you in this column and all about THOU SHALT NOT.

KL: (Laughs.) No way! That's so great.

PC: THOU SHALT NOT is one of the most interesting musicals of the last ten years - I mean, that show had incredible staging; three turntables, too! It was staged to the hilt.

KL: Yeah, it was a lot. (Laughs.) That show was a lot.

PC: Harry was originally going to play the lead that Craig Bierko eventually played, correct?

KL: Yeah, Stro wanted him to do it, I think. For me, personally, I was coming off of my sixth Broadway show and for three shows - THE MUSIC MAN, 42nd ST. and, then, THOU SHALT NOT - I had been doing double-duty; where I would rehearse one show during the day and perform another at night.

PC: Talk about a fast way to wear yourself out!

KL: Yeah, definitely! First of all, I was really burnt-out to begin with, and, then, the subject matter of that show itself was really hard.

PC: You had to go to some very dark places.

KL: Totally. I mean, I was really young and I was really intimidated. I was intimidated to sing his music - and it wasn't totally accessible music.

PC: And your character was introduced in a ballet, as well.

KL: Yeah, I know, right! (Laughs.)

PC: It was an especially good creative team for a musical.

KL: Oh, yeah, it really was.

PC: Harry was telling me about the controversial sequence that ended up being cut - "Dumb Luck" - that struck the wrong chord so soon post-9/11. What did you think of that?

KL: Well, that's actually where I was going, in general - it was such a hard time. 9/11 happened right when we were in tech rehearsals, you know, so, then, nobody in New York City wanted to see a bunch of gurneys wheeled around the stage. And, a murder. It was just... (Pause.) The timing of it was really unfortunate. And, I think that it's such and somber and heavy show to begin with - you know, both the leads kill themselves at the end! (Big Laugh.)

PC: Hard to get much darker and more depressing than that!

KL: Yeah, during that time in the world, having to go onstage and perform that kind of subject matter was just a lot for me. And, you know what? I actually left New York after that. I left.

PC: You needed to escape.

KL: I needed a break. I needed a break and I didn't know then that it would, now, be a ten-year break.

PC: Did you listen to what people were saying about the show?

KL: I never read reviews - I never have. I've never read message boards, either. I'm just not interested in it in any way - I'm not interested in it inflating my ego and I'm not interested in it improving my self-worth. So, I don't read them.

PC: So, you never even read those 42nd ST. raves, then?

KL: Nope! I didn't read them during 42nd ST. - I just knew we were getting glowing reviews from what people told me and that was it.

PC: Christine Ebersole has done this column, as well, I should add.

KL: Aww, did she? She's so, so amazing.

PC: I could see you two working together in the future - your talents are so complimentary. A mother/daughter dramedy series perchance?

KL: Oh, my gosh! I would love that! I love her.

PC: What was it like working with her in 42nd ST.?

KL: I mean, again, I was so young - and, so scared!

PC: It didn't show in your performance on stage, for sure.

KL: The good news about me, was that, in general, I was just, like, green. I didn't know enough to... (Pause.) anything! I didn't know enough to know how exciting it was. I wasn't like, "Oh, my God - Christine Ebersole! Oh, my God - I'm working with Michael Cumptsy! Oh, my God - I'm working with Harry Connick, Jr.! Oh, my God - I'm working with Susan Stroman and we're collaborating and creating these amazing dances!" I was just naïve - and, that worked in my favor, I think.

PC: How did you start on Broadway?

KL: I came to New York when I was eighteen years old and the first audition that I ever went to was this huge cattle call at the Equity building where I had gone two days earlier to sign up - I didn't have an agent or anything. It was for CHICAGO. There were probably three hundred people there.

PC: How did you prepare?

KL: Well, I had my gays there and they were, like, tucking my shirt in and adding more blush and fluffing my hair up and telling me what to wear. And, I auditioned for about four days straight for CHICAGO - I kept getting further and further and further.

PC: What was the audition process like?

KL: Well, my last audition was for Annie Reinking.

PC: Wow! What was that like?

KL: It was about six people there - and, again, I was eighteen years old.

PC: Eighteen and dancing for the Fosse queen.

KL: The queen! In front of all of these incredibly well-established women...

PC: Was Gwen there?

KL: No, Gwen wasn't there, but I actually got to work with her a few years later.

PC: What was she like?

KL: She was so wonderful.

PC: So, what happened at the audition?

KL: We were all standing in a line - very CHORUS LINE-esque. And, one at a time, Ann picks up people's resumes and says, "Oh, you did APPLAUSE - I saw you in that and you were so great." Then, "Oh, you did SWEET CHARITY at such-and-such." She had a comment for everybody - because, she knew everybody. Then, she got to me.

PC: Uh oh!

KL: I was just so young and innocent and didn't know what the hell I was doing. So, she picked up my resume, looked at it, flipped it over and looked and my picture, flipped it back over and looked at the resume and put it back in the pile - and she didn't say a word the whole time.

PC: No way! What did you do?

KL: (Fake Cries.) I felt like I was going to die! I was just standing there about to freak out. (Pause.) Then? I ended up getting the job.

PC: What a great story!

KL: Yeah, she gave me the job.

PC: Weren't you one of the Murderesses?

KL: Yes, but I started off as a swing, which was really interesting for someone eighteen in a cast of thirty-somethings, let me tell you! (Laughs.)

PC: You can say that again, I‘m sure!

KL: But, actually, the true end of the Ann story is this: Ann came out to do CHICAGO on the road when I was in it, the second time I did it. So, I was able to say to her, "Hey, I just wanted to tell you this story: I was eighteen...," and I told her the whole story about the cattle call. Then, I said, "I just wanted to thank you because you gave me my first opportunity, really." And, she looked at me and she said, "Well, honey, sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. But, I'm so glad, in your case, that it worked out!" I was like, "Ahh!" (Screams. Laughs.)

PC: That's hilarious.

KL: She's so fabulous.

PC: Speaking of divas: Do you see your character, Kim, as the villain of DROP DEAD DIVA?

KL: I did, especially in Season One - I definitely was.

PC: She's getting softer, though, I think.

KL: Yeah, in Season Two they softened her up a little bit more, for sure.

PC: She's changing by the moment in Season Three, it seems.

KL: Yeah, I think they are definitely finding some humanity in her in Season Three - which is important to me, especially so she is not perceived as just a stereotypical bitch or something, you know?

PC: You do make her human. So, personally, you like who she is becoming?

KL: Yeah, but I like that I am the villain, too! You know, every show needs its antagonist.

PC: Josh was saying the same thing about his character of Parker, your boss. You seem to be the darker side of the spectrum in the DROP DEAD DIVA universe.

KL: Right. Oh, yeah. Parker and Kim? Definitely.

PC: Kim is a beige or a gray character more than a white or a black one.

KL: Yeah, and I think it's really easy to go with these stereotypes - you know: you're the bitch; you're the dumb blonde; you're the funny one. So, I think we all try really hard to find the humanity behind it and there is a reason why we act a certain way. The writing supports that, continually.

PC: The syllogism is great in the writing of this show, especially - how things referenced and certain quotes will come back and have different meanings over the course of an episode; or even over the course of a season, like we saw last year.

KL: Oh, yeah, yeah! I totally agree. I'm so glad you picked up on that stuff. They are really smart.

PC: Could you define collaboration in terms of your experiences working on DROP DEAD DIVA and how it compares to your extensive work in the theatre?

KL: I think that we are very lucky in that we are kind of at theatre camp everyday, especially because we work and live in Peachtree City [Georgia], and we are far away from our homes and our friends.

PC: Are you usually LA-based?

KL: Yeah, I am in LA. So, I think that part of the reason we are always in this creative, supportive environment is because we are really isolated being out here. There is no other way to do it other than to become really close with the cast, the crew, the wardrobe department, the hair department and everyone in the same way that theatre is done. (Pause.) It's a total collaboration.

PC: What are you doing after you wrap shooting Season Three in a few weeks?

KL: When DIVA wraps I am actually headed to Africa!

PC: And you have some films coming out or out - LIKE DANDELION DUST?

KL: LIKE DANDELION DUST came out last year, actually, but I think it is or will be on Netflix soon. It's this great little indie film with Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper and Cole Houser and myself. Unfortunately, they didn't do a great job with the release, but it's an amazing movie.

PC: What about BLUE BLOODS?

KL: BLUE BLOODS is a pilot I did that did not get picked up. I did it right before the writers' strike, so it ended up not getting picked up.

PC: So, what will bring you to Africa this summer?

KL: I am going to Africa for a couple of weeks to work with Purse of Hope, which is a charity that takes women off of the streets who are prostitutes. They give them a new start in life and teach them to make purses, which they can then sell and start to support themselves with the earnings. Then, I am going on safari for a week with my boyfriend.

PC: Sounds great! What roles do you really want to do in the near future, ideally?

KL: Well, they are doing ANNIE on Broadway and I would love to play Grace!

PC: Have you spoken to Norbert or seen him in CATCH ME yet?

KL: No, not yet - I‘ve been here in Peachtree City! I haven't spoken to him recently, but I wish him all the best, because he is just the best!

PC: You would know, because you are the best, as well, Kate. This was phenomenal. You are divine.

KL: Aww, that's so sweet, Pat! This has been so great. Thank you so much!