Behind the Curtain with Alli Mauzey

Photo courtesy of Broadway.com

Alli Mauzey was most recently seen as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway. She's also known for her roles in Cry-Baby and Hairspray.  

After finishing her show in Garner, North Carolina,  Alli answered a few fun questions we had about music and her career. 

   

What is your favorite cast album or one that inspired you greatly?

I don't tend to listen to a lot of cast albums often.  As far as contemporary singer/songwriters go, I like Sara Barellies and Ben Folds. I tend to listen to them a lot.

If you could sing a duet with anyone who would it be and why?
So many to choose from but a singer who I greatly admire is Judy Kuhn.  I love the versatility of her voice.  I was first introduced to her through a friend of mine in school who had a copy of the Tony Awards when she performed on the show as both Cosette in Les Miz and in the musical Rags.  I was so impressed with her beautiful soprano in Les Miz and her "meaty" belt in Rags. Both equally stunning. I just think she can sing anything and I was instantly hooked. I was also so impressed with her acting.

What was it like working with so many different actresses in Wicked? How difficult was it to adjust to playing with a different Elphaba?
I've gotten to work with so many fantastic women. Some of which will be my friends for life. I found that as long as the Elphaba and myself were open to what we each brought to the table and that we were both committed to telling the story every night then all was good.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given or one that you would give to aspiring actors?

Hard work was always good advice.  I had a teacher that said sometimes someone who might not have things come as natural right away can pass up someone who does.  When things come easy and you get a lot of attention it's easy to rest on your laurels and become lazy while someone behind you is doing the work and continues to grow.  And I think this doesn't just apply to actors but any field.

A Wickedly Good Evening with Alli Mauzey and Julia Murney

Broadway Voices series has brought some of the biggest names in Broadway to Garner since it began in 2011, including Stephanie J. Block, Christiane Noll, and Norm Lewis.  This year's season was a spectacular one with guests Elizabeth Southard and Gary Mauer, Capathia Jenkins and last night's final show with Alli Mauzey. We can't wait to see what is in store for next season! 

Alli Mauzey graced the stage at the Garner Performing Arts Center with her extraordinary voice and brought her good friend and fellow Broadway star Julia Murney with her to join in on the fun!  Julia was Alli's first Elphaba when she went on as a standby for Glinda.  The two have palpable chemistry and are incredibly nice and genuine people! 

The night consisted of some old classics, some out of the box songs, and more modern stage hits.  Alli took us on a trip through her childhood in Anaheim, California and led us all the way to present day Garner where her husband, Collin Batten, is from and where his family still lives.  

The night started with "Should I Be Sweet" and included "I'm Home" from Phantom by Maury Yeston, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow,""The Sound of Music," "Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long," "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera, "How About a Hand for the Hog," "Popuar," and "Disneyland" in the first half.  After intermission she came back out with "Love is Where You Find It" and the second half included "Somewhere That's Green," an orignial song that Alli wrote with her brother when they had their band 2 AM, "Screw Loose," and "I Could Have Danced All Night."  

Alli's Husband, Collin, came out to sing a beautiful rendition of "Suddenly Seymour" with her.  Julia sang "Ring Them Bells" and Julia and Alli together sang wonderful renditions of "For Good" and "I Will Never Leave You". 

This concert was a joy to be in attendance for and we hope we have to good fortune to see them in concert again sometime! 

Don't miss the announcement of next seson's Broadway Voices guests! Follow GPAC on twitter.

Stay up to date with Alli on twitter and Julia on her website and twitter. 

BREAKING NEWS: Julia Murney will join Alli Mauzey for Broadway Voices

It was previously announced that Alli Mauzey will be at GPAC for Broadway Voices on Friday, March 6.  Alli Mauzey was most recently seen as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway.

Julia Murney, known for her roles as Elphaba in Wicked, Queenie in The Wild Party, and Florence in Chess will join Alli Mauzey on stage in Garner for Broadway Voices on Friday, March 6.  Her work in regional theatre and cabaret performances leave audiences in awe of her powerful voice.  Her vocals, added with Alli Mauzy's, will be a pleasant treat for Garner audiences.

Alli Mauzy and Julie Murney

(Photo courtesy of broadway.com)

We are sure that this will be an amazing concert and tickets are still available! 

In the meantime, check out this awesome video of these two divas in action!

For more information about Broadway Voices, check out Garner Performing Arts Center website and Twitter. 

Be sure to follow Julia Murney on Twitter and check out her website. 

Broadway Voices: Capathia Jenkins

After making her Broadway debut in the Frank Wildhorn and Gregory Boyd musical, The Civil War, Capathia Jenkins' indescribable talent has taken her on an amazing journey.  She has worked with artists such as Burt Bacharach, Martin Short, and many others.  She starred as the Washing Machine in the incredible musical, Caroline, Or Change.  She also appeared in the 2000 revival of Godspell. She even found herself in the company of an amazing cast in Martin Short - Fame Becomes Me.  And that's just a few roles she has had.

She most recently starred as "Medda" in in Tony Award-winning show Newsies on Broadway. She came to North Carolina to perform her show, "More Woman Than You Know," at the Garner Performing Arts Center as a part of the Broadway Voices Concert Series.  This incredible artist brought a blend of soul, blues, Broadway, and jazz to an audience that was astounded by the immense level of talent from just one woman.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Capathia before her show.

Martha: How did you first get involved with singing and acting?

Capathia: I grew up, in Brooklyn, NY, singing in the church.  In third grade, my music teacher said to my mom "I think this girl has some real talent, you should nurture it." and my mom did. I started learning how to sing classically from then through high school, I went to the high school of music and art in New York, and then to Temple University in Philadelphia for a jazz program.  I always knew that I would sing.  From the time I was a little girl with a hairbrush, but I didn't know it would be theater necessarily until I got older and started to audition, and I just loved it.  I loved the element of it being live, and anything can happen.  It's risky and I loved that.

I started doing shows, and my first professional show was a review at a resort in Bermuda.  I was Aretha [Franklin], and there was a Dionne [Warwick] and Gladys Knight that we did for nine months.  I did quite a few of those for the next three or four years and then I realized that I could do those forever, or I could go back home and start to audition and see if I'm good enough to do Broadway or off-Broadway.  That's what I did.  I went back to New York and I started to book tours, for Ain't Misbehavin and Dream Girls.  I finally go my first Broadway show in 1999, Frank Wildhorn's The Civil War, and I haven't looked back.

M: Do you have a standard or go-to audition song that you use?

C: Well, auditions are so specific these days, I'll do a blues song if they want something big and brassy or something small where I just sing the melody, it depends.  I love songs like "Over the Rainbow".  I remember in my audition for Caroline or Change they wanted a 60s/70s R&B style song.  My agent told me I was going in to audition for "The Radio" and I went in and sang the Aretha Franklin song "'Til You Come Back To Me".  Apparently, when I walked out of the room

 George Wolfe leaned over and said "That's our "Washing Machine"." So you never know. I think auditions are so specific, and I try to give them what they ask for so I can be in the wheelhouse of whatever the project is.  Some of my friends have a standard song that they do regardless, it's something they know, it's in them, but I try to be as specific as I can with style and era, etc.

Sarah: You mentioned working with Frank Wildhorn, and you've worked with Burt Bacharach and other amazing singers and composers, are there people that you haven't yet gotten to work with that you would like to?

C: Here's the thing, you don't really know that you want to work with them until you work with them and you realize it's amazing.  I definitely have people I still want to work with because I love collaborating with other artists and seeing what makes them tick.  Having seen someone from a far for a long time and then getting to sit with them one on one is incredible.  That's how it was with Martin Short. He's so funny it was a wonder we were getting any work done and I'm such a huge fan.  I wish I could work with everybody just to see, so the list is probably infinite.

S: What was it like working so closely with Martin Short on Fame Becomes Me?

C: It was fun. To have something written for you is amazing anyway, who get's that chance you always have to audition.  I didn't have to audition, they just wrote it for me. Then I met Marty and he is so nice! I met his family, the kids, everybody, and he's such a regular guy but really funny.  We would be working on a scene and he's making jokes. Even when we were doing the show on stage, one of his favorite things to do during a slow matinee when people weren't laughing was to make cricket noises, he can make the sound with his mouth closed so you couldn't tell but we could hear him on stage.  I was the biggest crack up. Everybody else could keep a straight face but I would crack up laughing.  That's what it was like from the very beginning to the last day. He's just that kind of guy that makes you laugh from the moment you start talking to him! He's so great and we still talk.

S: Going into some of the other roles you've played, in Caroline or Change how did you approach th role of "The Washing Machine"?

C: We worked on it from the Public Theater.  The first time we worked on it the Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori had only written the first act, so at that time it was more like a reading the scenes and songs. By the time we got back and they had written the second act they were writing with our voices in their head.  George Wolfe really challenges you and he asks you "What do you think about this? Who is "The Washing Machine" to "Caroline"?".  I told him I thought she was like her good girl friend.  She was brand new, she's hot, she's sexy, she's the part of "Caroline" that she has covered up with anger and bitterness.  "The Washing Machine" is that side of her and she gives her a little groove in the gloomy basement, but she's also that good girlfriend that tells you the truth. That's what we played with when we put it up on its feet and George would push me and say "You've got to go further".  He taught me so much about reaching across the foot lights and not just having it be right here on stage, but really shooting your energy way out.  It's an interesting thing to play an inanimate object and infuse it with emotion and human feelings.  It was a huge challenge but one where I felt accomplished on the other side of it.

S: You most recently played "Medda" in Newsies, what was it like playing her from almost start to finish?

C: It was great.  They had done it at Paper Mill Playhouse, which I didn't see, but when they announced it was coming to Broadway they went on The View and I watched them on the view.  I thought "damn these boys are amazing" and then Jeremy [Jordan] came out and sang a little bit of "Santa Fe" and I knew I was going to go see it on Broadway. Then, I get a call that they wanted me to come in for Newsies. I said to my agent "It's all these dancing boys what do they want me to do?" because I hadn't seen it. I go in and I sing for them and I get it.  It was a cast full of young boys, most of whom were making their Broadway debut, Andy Richardson turned 16 the first few days of rehearsals and his mom brought cupcakes.  It was all of these kids who were so excited to be on Broadway, and for me, because by this time I was a veteran, it reminded me of how fun and amazing Broadway is.  To see it through their eyes when they get to the theater the first day and look up at the marquee and see their pictures and their names it was so exciting.  It was like I was back to my own debut.

I did take a break in the middle. I left the show about September and came back last June because LaVon [Fisher-Wilson] was pregnant and they asked me to come back and cover for her while she was gone.  I said yes, and then we got the closing notice so I got to open and close it. It's amazing and I tell them it's the happiest place on Earth to work.  It was just happy and wonderful and there were kids running around.  The story is so great, it's about these boys who galvanize themselves against these big guys and they win. I get to be sort of a mother, nurturing character which is the closest to who I really am because I was like that backstage with them.  It was a wonderful opportunity and amazing experience. I actually met up with the "Oldsises" of the tour cast a couple of weeks when I was in Charlotte. I just love those people and it was a wonderful experience.

M: Talking about characters, what do pull from for inspiration to take on a character when you get a script?

C: The best thing for me is to go with the words, what's on the page.  If it's music for me it's how do I tell this story so that it makes you come with me on the journey.  It's not about the sound of my voice or if I can embellish or riff, it's all about the words and the story.  How I approach a song or a script is first with the words, and then I try to get inside this character and to why are you saying these words.  I try to leave Capathia as far behind as I can and maybe bring a little bit of Capathia's life experience and sprinkle it in there and then be a vessel for the words.

M: You work closely with Covenant House, what has been the most rewarding part of working with the organization?

C: The most amazing thing is the kids.  I often say to them that they are my heroes.   As I was saying earlier, my mom nurtured my dreams and these kids articulate to me their dreams and they're so big in spite of their circumstances and they're my heroes. I could dream easily because I had people to help me, my mom was just there. These are kids and their stories are so varied and they somehow out of adversity still triumph. Every story, every chance I get to be with the kids is the biggest joy for me. It takes me out of myself.  What I do for a living is all about me, but with Covenant House it's all about them and they stretch my heart so big. Sitting on the Board of Directors is great because I get to help with policies, but really that's not my wheelhouse. But the time with the kids is everything. I'm happiest when I'm on stage, but Covenant House is a close second or I'm just as happy when I'm with those kids.

M: What's one piece of advice you would give to aspiring singers or actors?

C: I would say a couple of things. I can't take credit for this, I heard Quicy Jones say it, he said "Young people should use their time to instead of trying to get over, try to get better" so that when opportunities come you're ready.  My biggest note for young people is to trust your instincts, it has served me well throughout my career. That even means when life is swirling around you and seemingly everybody is doing a particular thing to make something happen and you feel in your gut that's not for you, you have to do something else. Trust your gut, it has never let me down. Even when it's unpopular, that's the hard thing.

 I went in for an audition for my Broadway debut in The Civil War, and I sat in a room and every girl that went in before me was singing the song and belting it out while I had planned to do it small and just the melody and the words.  I remember walking into the room and everybody was there, they started the into and I took a deep breath and said do what you practiced and trust your instincts and I got it.  From that day on I knew I had to trust my instincts even if they lead me wrong.  If I go into an audition and follow my instinct to make a bold choice, the worst thing that can happen is that the director says try it again and try it like this, and that's the worst possible scenario. So trust your instincts always. 

Capathia Jenkins' performance was phenomenal, to say the least.  She came on stage singing the iconic Chicago number, "All that Jazz."  She wowed the audience with her signature number from Newsies, "That's Rich."  After telling the audience about losing her best friend, she sings "Home," from The Wiz, as a moving tribute to a loved one.  She also sang one of her favorite songs, "Over the Rainbow."  Before intermission, she literally stopped the show with her Fame Becomes Me number, "Stop the Show."   Along with some jazz and blues numbers, she performed "Candle in the Window" by Frank Wildhorn.  She wowed us with her final number, Gladys Knight's "The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me."


Be sure to follow Capathia on twitter for updates!

The final show of this season of Broadway Voices will be Friday, March 6 with Alli Mauzey! Get your tickets now!

Broadway Voices - Elizabeth Southard and Gary Mauer

The fifth annual Broadway Voices season is bringing a fun-filled season of Broadway stars to Garner Performing Arts Center.  The popular series returns to Garner with a series of one-night-only concerts that will be filled with excitement, amusement, and awesome entertainment as three of the most popular Broadway stars present their particular brand of performance.


The sparks were real when Gary Mauer and Elizabeth Southard took the Broadway stage as the Phantom and Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Their electricity on stage was genuine.  The husband and wife met while working on a cruise ship, playing a pair of newlyweds in New York Honeymoon. They later married.  Mauer has played both the Phantom and Raoul opposite Southard and they were cast together as Gaylord Ravenal and Magnolia Hawks in Harold Prince’s Showboat.

Throughout their evening at the Garner Performing Arts Center, they filled the room with beautiful melodies of Broadway tunes. Paying tribute to Marvin Hamlisch, Mauer and Southard sang a medley of Richard Rogers songs such as "Hello, Young Lovers" and "Some Enchanted Evening," all of which were arranged by Hamlisch. They also sang some of their favorite Christmas songs, including "O Holy Night" and a parody of "Baby, It's Cold Outside."

Lucky for us, we got a chance to sit down with them to talk about their successful careers. 

Martha: How did you each get started?

Gary Mauer: Well, you all know networking is key, and it's about who you know. I can literally trace most of my career back to when I was working on the cruise ship where I met my beautiful wife here, a theatre that I had worked out previously was doing Jesus Christ Superstar. I had previously been in the ensemble, but I wanted to play Jesus, I was working on the cruise ship and couldn't go to the audition. Well, she convinced me to make a cassette recording to send in as an audition. She convinced me through, much pain and nagging, to make a cassette recording and send it in. I thought that was just crazy and no one was going to hire me. Long story short, I got the job and the guy who played Judas opposite me was an established Broadway actor. 

This was the beginning of my career. I was still in Tuscon, AZ, I had just graduated from college and I had done cruise ship jobs and summer stock work but I hadn't done anything big. This fella opposite me was a great guy and after our production was over he went back to New York and was in an audition talking to the casting director about what he had been doing and my name happened to come up. The casting director said "oh we'd love to see him , can you hook us up with this guy. 

Lawrence called me and asked if he could give them my number and I said of course! They called me for the show they were currently putting together, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. So I booked that show. But, the casting director for that show happened to also be the casting director for Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. So basically I can see the genesis of my whole career from that moment when I got into superstar. 

Elizabeth Southard: I don't have a clear delineation like that. But my equity card story is a funny. There's the conundrum of you can't get your equity card until you're in an equity show and you can't be in an equity show until, you have your equity card. So I had done cruise ship and toured around Europe, and I was working at a gym in the city and I had auditioned for s couple of who's but hadn't been cast. Theatre By The Sea in Rhode Isand called me because they had seen that'd I had played Christine in the Ken Hill Phantom in Germany. Their Christine had been hurt and they asked if I could be there soon. I was feeling cocky so I said I could be there tomorrow if they would give me my equity card and they said they'd call me back. About 20 minutes later I hit a phone call saying yeah we'll see you in the morning. So I went there and rehearsed for four days and went on and had never done that phantom before. So I got my card and starting working in the city. Before that I was more toward opera. 

Sarah: What is the greatest reward of performing with your spouse?

GM: Save on hotel rooms (laughs). No, it's that little extra bit of chemistry or comfort that we have. We're trained to act with complete strangers or almost complete strangers and to have that extra element of somebody that you know really well is just fun.

ES: Yeah, I think it makes it more fun and easier to rehearse because you know where to find each other.

GM: Sometimes it's good therapy too because we would go through life and while we were on tour with Phantom we'd have our kids and stuff happens and you get crazed and crabby at each other, but no matter where we were in our personal lfe prior to each show I knew that every show I cod get out there and basically seduce her all over again in "Music of the Night". 

ES: And forget all about life and lose yourself.

M: What is your favorite song to perform together?

ES: My favorite is a Show Boat Medley we do.

GM: I like doing "All I Ask of You" because we did it when I was Raoul and the when I was Phantom I hit yo listen to her do it... With another man.

M: What are your dream roles that you'd like to play together?

ES: We think about doing Next To Normal. That'd be fun. There's a great parody song on YouTube about a woman who doesn't know what it's about and sees it and in the end she ends up saying "who knew we'd fall in love with it?"

GM: We both would love to be in Ragtime. It's a dream show just to be in the show. I would be father which is a wonderful role but it's a smaller roll.

S: What was it like to perform as The Phantom and Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber's show and what was it like playing Raoul and Christine, especially since you're married?

SM: I'm a full Christine - Phantom shipper.

GM: Chrsitine - Phantom whater?

SM: Shipper, just go figure it out. My daughter's like "Mom, you're fleek man". You you played Raoul yeah it was fun, but I don't think that relationship is anything and it's what Christine is expected to do but that's not where her heart lies. Whoever was playing the Phantom, that's where my focus went.

GM: Compared to the passion that the Phantom and Christine's story evokes, Raoul can sometimes seem like just a prop. And so maybe when I played Raoul because of our history and chemistry I'd like to think that he was more than a prop, that what we shared in those characters was  more real than it can be in other times because it is so much about the Phantom and Christine, and it should be.

S: That being said. Would you want to go on to do Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sequel?

GM: We saw it when they broadcast the Australian show. I rather liked it. In a way, it was strange because some of the Phantom melodies were woven into the new score and it was kind of odd because we know the show so well after having done it for so many years on and off. Once we got past that I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was a perfect piece, but it was fun and there's the music, that song the Phantom gets to sing ("'Til I Hear You Sing").

S: What is the best advice you have ever been given or would give to aspiring performers?

GM: For me it was probably to make that cassette tape.

SM: You can't worry about what other people think. You have a certain product, everyone is individual and this is what we sell. You have to realize that everyone has their own gift. Don't sell yourself short and don't listen to other people. I think it's just to not take no for an answer and to believe in yourself and know that you don't have to conform because what you have is special and no one else can recreate that.

GM: I think the goal is to become the best possible you and not try to be anyone else.


As you can imagine, our conversation with them and their lovely concert were awesome events. It was yet another successful evening at Garner Performing Arts Center. 

Don't miss upcoming Broadway Voices guests Capathia Jenkins and Alli Mauzey in 2015.
Get tickets here.