Interview: Karen Ziemba of North Carolina Theatre's ANNIE

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 7/24/19 at 2:01pm

I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Tony-winning actress Karen Ziemba, who is currently starring as Miss Hannigan in North Carolina Theatre’s production of Annie.
https://www.karereviews.com/karen-ziemba-of-north-carolina-theatres-annie.html

Updated On: 7/24/19 at 02:01 PM

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 3:06am

Nice interview. Karen just seems so inherently nice. I actually saw Karen in Contact at the Vivian Beaumont. I enjoyed it but was too theater illiterate at the time to fully appreciate the caliber of the talent.

Oddly I guess, when Karen’s name comes up I think of her in one of those two My Favorite Broadway concerts filmed at Carnegie Hall and hosted by Julie Andrews. Karen opened the show with Bebe Neuwirth performing “Nowadays” and “Hot Honey Rag.” But I remember her for “I Wanna Be a Rockette,” a really cute number where Karen ends up getting to be a Rockette with all the real Rockette on stage.

If somehow you have never watched the two concerts “The Leading Ladies” and “The Love Songs,” they are up on YouTube in uncut fullness. They contain lot of gems, such as Marin Mazzi singing “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” Linda Eder with her trademark “Man of La Mancha,” Rebecca Luker and her gorgeous “Falling in Love With Love.” Audra is present for two numbers. And the performances you think are just “‘just blah” you can skip.

[meredithchandler73]

Posted: 7/25/19 at 5:57pm

I enjoy Karen performing "Nowadays"/"Hot Honey Rag" and "I Wanna Be a Rockette" as well. I think the first time she popped up on my radar was in the Sondheim Celebration at Carnegie Hall (I watched the DVD - didn't see it live) from the early 90s. There were many performers that evening and one of the only names I didn't recognize was Karen's. But her performance of "Sooner or Later" with Bill Irwin is one of my favorites.