Quick Q&A: Kate Baldwin

Take me back to when you first heard that they were doing Finian’s Rainbow at Encores…

I’d done Finian’s Rainbow twice before, so I was very familiar with its structure and its beautiful score and the messages that run through it. But I have to admit – I had some reservations about doing the show first and foremost because, when I’d done it before, audience response had been a little wary. People had responded to the race issues especially with some hesitancy. So when I heard they were doing it at Encores I was excited about auditioning for a role I knew very well but I had some fear about how it would be received. I think the whole cast did until our invited dress. When we finally heard the audience laughing and giving over to the magic of the show we knew we were in luck.

Why do you think the audience reaction is not hesitant this time?

My guess is that the time is right. We are a nation facing an economic climate that is frightening, much like the people in Rainbow Valley in the show who are just learning about credit and the default that comes along with that. Also we have a huge plot point which concerns a racist white man who learns to be a better person after having a magic spell placed on him that turns him into a black man. America is ready for that message of hope and change – it sounds like a Barack Obama slogan the way I said it, but many of the lines deal with hope so it seems to tie in very well with what’s been going on in our country the past couple of years.

Since this isn’t the first time you’ve done a production of the show, I’d like to ask what you’d say director Warren Carlyle most brought to this one.

Warren brought an incredible amount of enthusiasm and trust in the script to this production. He recognized the tremendous leaps that needed to be made in the storytelling and he told us over and over again just to embrace the hurdles: “If you go full force and you believe it, the audience will come along with you.” We put our faith and our trust in him and we all leapt together and he was right. I give him a lot of credit for trusting the material and presenting it without a wink and with a full heart.

How would you describe the dialect you use for Sharon?

As you know, Glocca Morra is a fictional city that doesn’t exist. I would describe the dialect as Western and Southern. I worked with a dialect coach, a wonderful woman who teaches at NYU named Deb Hecht who suggested I go see The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Atlantic by the Druid Theatre Company. That production was first of all superbly acted by authentic Irish actors but secondly it gave me a real flavor for the Western-Souhern mentality of small town people who know each other very well. Their clarity and forthrightness led me to the Irishness of Sharon. Also it was important that Jim Norton and I sound like we’re from the same place. He was born in Dublin and lived there until he was about 30 years old. He has quite a gift for the gab and the Irish sensibility about him; I try my best to match him.

Is it a challenge to sing and maintain the dialect?

No. The songs are written in a rather low register – I can’t really tell you why because I don’t know why but that really lends itself to the dialect. We even added some Irish inflections into “How Are Things In Glocca Morra?” and “Look To The Rainbow” especially. As Sharon gets more Americanized her songs get less Irish, actually. I go from wistful ballad to hopeful ballad to seductive duet to charm songs to high-belting, joyful celebration.

How do you explain your chemistry with Cheyenne Jackson?

We just really like and enjoy each other in real life and I have a real respect for who he is. He’s one of the most generous, honest and funny people besides being handsome and talented. We have just one door between our dressing rooms – we can knock whenever we want and have our nightly “Laugh-In” moments. We’re exactly the same age and have the same pop-culture references. We first met 7 years ago when we were both understudies in Thoroughly Modern Millie; he was the new kid in town and it was the first show I had ever done from the very beginning from out of town tryout through the run. I knew he was going to go far. And now we’ve come full circle and get to rediscover each other 7 years later.

What’s been your favorite role before now?

When I did South Pacific in Washington D.C. at Arena Stage with Molly Smith it changed my life. She changed my life. She gave me confidence as an actress that up to that point I had been lacking. The role of Nellie Forbush made me trust myself which is so interesting because Nellie is so insecure initially. Molly supported and encouraged – she valued my opinion, asked me tough questions and demanded answers in a loving way. Her way of working is extremely collaborative: the first day we sit around and read scene by scene and after each one we stop and anyone in the cast can ask questions of anyone else. It’s all out in the open and it isn’t principals in one room and ensemble in another. It was really enlightening because you immediately get everyone’s point of view. She also taught me that the answer “I don’t know” is perfectly acceptable. That was a very special time.

Let’s talk about your upcoming gig at Feinstein’s. Have you set the song list yet?

I’m having my first meeting today with Rob (Berman, the Musical Director) to talk about instrumentation and what we’ll be doing. We’re not going to do the whole album but enough to give people the flavor, and we’re going to cook up some surprises, some songs inspired by ones I recorded.

Did the idea to record an album of songs by Lane and Harburg spring from doing Finian’s this time?

Yes, after Encores. I rediscovered the score and I reached out to 7 of my most accomplished arranger-musician friends and people I’d worked with before to arrange songs by Lane and Harburg. Rob was instrumental in making the album sound cohesive besides writing some of the most beautiful arrangements of “How Are Things In Glocca Morra?” and of one by Jule Styne and Yip Harburg called “Let’s See What Happens”, the title song. Also, a great rendition of a song called “The World Is In My Arms” – it’s the final track on the album and one of my favorites. Rob and I lovingly refer to It as our Beatles song because we made it sound a little bit like “Yesterday”. We hope that’s okay with the Lanes and the Harburgs.

I first met Rob about 10 years ago when the tour of Floyd Collins, a musical by Adam Guettel that I adore, played at the Goodman. I was really impressed with Rob because he was a young guy given a lot of responsibility – I think that score is one of the most sophisticated and complicated scores around – so he was on my radar. But we didn’t really work together until 2004 when we did a revue called Opening Doors which was constructed as a celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 75th birthday. We’ve been great friends since then – his taste is so good and I trust him. He was wonderful through all of the album-making and through Finian’s Rainbow too.

Have you read the reviews of the show?

I’ve read all the reviews. I’m not a person who usually reads them but it was unavoidable with Facebook. Also, some of the producers were giddy at the opening night party and talking about the reviews not realizing that some people don’t like to read them. It’s totally fine that they were happy and wanted to celebrate. Can’t fault them for that!