BWW Interviews: Spotlight on Judy Ann Moulton

Judy Ann Moulton has been thrilling Seattle audiences with her beautiful, booming voice since she moved her in 1986 from Anchorage, Alaska.  I recently got to sit down with Judy Ann to talk to her about her life, her career, her recent attendance at the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University and her upcoming show, "Judy sings Judy", spotlighting the songs of Judy Garland where she'll be backed up by a 12 piece orchestra. 

You're about to do an entire evening of Judy Garland.

Songs that she did at some point in her life.  It's songs from radio, movies, television and concerts.  Some of the songs she's particularly known for, some songs she may have only sung once.

Do you have a special connection to Judy Garland?

Yes.  My mother had four boys and then me.  The entire time she was waiting for a girl she thought that my name was going to be Judith Marie and then by the time I came around she said, "I'm just going to call her Judy.   They're going to the call her that anyway and besides Judy Garland is my favorite singer."  And my Mom and I used to watch the Judy Garland show together as a teenager.

I come from a family of singers.  My mom and her two little sisters, in the depression, used to stand on the street corner and sing and people would throw money at them.  And Grandma would pick up the money and that meant they would eat that night.  But Grandma, when the girls didn't want to sing on the street corner that day, she would say, "OK you can either sing or cry."  And so they would sing.  They would do their little tap dancing and their singing. 

Do you have any particular favorite Judy songs?

"The Man That Got Away".  I actually took that song to the Yale cabaret conference to work on it.  And I'm extremely happy that I did.  I did refine it.  We are changing some of the dynamics in the number, making it a little softer.   There are more subtleties in the song now than before and it's much more personal. 

I think what the conference allowed me to do was it gave me permission to go deep in my feelings.  They pretty much warned all of the singers about going into autopilot and just singing a song because you like the lyrics.  But find the lyric that means something to you and the more that it means to you the more it means to the audience.  And that was a big step to take.  It was a hard step to take because I've been singing for a long time doing plays.  I can pretty much make somebody feel what I feel on stage as the character.   This is something a little different.  This is about me singing the songs of Judy Garland.  Because I'm not imitating her.  I am not trying to sound like her.  That's the whole point; I'm not trying to because there's one Judy Garland.   My favorite quote of hers is 'It's better to be a first class you than a second class somebody else".

You mentioned the Yale conference, what's one of the main things you learned there?

Learning to tell the story of the lyric.  Learning how to research a song, where it comes from, where it might have been placed in a show, why it got written.  To learn everything you can about a song and then make it your own.  Almost universally that's what all the teachers were teaching.  You can take the saddest song and make it funny.  Sharon McNight did that.  I thought I was gonna hurt myself I was laughing so hard.  Because they also did concerts for us as well as the daytime classes.  Sharon McNight got up there for her one hour cabaret show and she dedicated the next number to her teaching team which was Faith Prince and Dr. Alex Rybeck.  She said it was a pleasure working with them and enjoying some other comments about the students and how they worked with the students, etc., etc.  So I dedicate this next song to them.   "It must've been cold there in my shadow, to never have sun light on your face."  I have to tell you that audience of 400 people were absolutely laughing themselves silly for about the first 20 measures of that song.  But she sang it absolutely as forthright and as beautifully as she could have possibly sung that song and the audience just died laughing.  But then she got to a certain point when the audience was done with the humor and then it just became this actually wonderful, incredible song.  It was just brilliant. 

What was the first show you ever did?

I did "Camelot" when I was 30.  It was the Anchorage Community Theater.  At the time I was singing with the Anchorage community chorus and our conductor had signed on to be the music director for the theatre.   And they just had a signup sheet on the wall.  They wanted four sopranos, four tenors, four altos and four basses.  And so I was a soprano and so I signed up for it and my girlfriend signed up for it.  I was one of the ladies in waiting and they gave me one line to say.  "He's so poisonously good".  And I was bit by the bug. 

What's the favorite role you've ever played?

"Mame".  Ironically she's very close to me personality wise.  Very much the caregiver.  Never had children of my own so I just kind of take care of the stragglers.

And what has been your favorite show you've done?

There are three.  Being Princess Puffer in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" at Village Theatre.  "Annie Get Your Gun" where I played Annie Oakley at Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre.  Because that's where I met Bobbi Kotula.   We're now best of friends and have been since we both went for costume fittings for the show.  And in 2007 I did "Putting It Together" the Stephen Sondheim revue in Coeur d'Alene and I got to work with Dane Stokinger and Christian Duhamel and Krystle Armstrong and people like that.  The music in that show.  I've always liked Sondheim but casually liked it.  I think that's why it was so rewarding because it was the hardest show I've ever done.  I would say to Jon (Judy Ann's Husband), "This stuff is so hard.  I can't get this into my brain."  And he would say, "Well, for God's sake Judy you're singing calculus."  OK, I guess I am.  And that show had every big number that Sondheim had ever written all rolled into one show.  I had 14 songs and that show.  But by getting that one done it was like "I did it.  By God I did it and they liked it."  It was very cool.

What is the role you've always wanted to play?

I would like to be Dolly some day.  I've come this close twice.

Who has been your favorite person to work with?

D.J. Gommels (her music director for "Judy Sings Judy").  And secondarily it's David Koch (her director for "Judy Sings Judy").  He understood who I was even though I'm always trying to hide that.   He understood the real Judy and thankfully he's incorporated some of that into the show so it's not all about Garland.

What's your Zen thing to do to unwind?

I go for a walk in my garden.

Everyone has something they geek out about.  What's your geekdom?

This may sound silly.  I absolutely love watching my friends on stage getting the accolades that they deserve.  I go to a show and it's funny, I laugh myself silly.  And I applaud and I stand up and I scream just as loud as I can scream because I know how much work it takes.  And boy, when they hit that mark I couldn't be happier for them.  I love it. 

If you'd like to catch more of Judy Ann, she will be performing her show, "Judy Sings Judy" at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue September 16^th through the 19^th.  For tickets or information contact the Bellevue Civic Theatre Box Office at 425-235-5087 or visit the show's website at www.judysingsjudy.com.