Hi, everyone. It's me Seth. I'm standing here with the star of
Look at that extension flexed foot. Alright. It's Kelli O'Hara
Are you Jewish dear? - the O'Hara is so Irish
So Kels um first of all we're going to recreate an audition you had when did this audition happen?
2001 you were I was gonna say starring at the time, but you were hardly starring dear you were in the ensemble of
Follies
correct, and what happened?
I didn't get an audition for a new show called Sweet Smell of Success
So I decided I would crash their lunch hour.
I didn't know it was their lunch hour it was my lunch hour
So I thought I'd run over to Chelsea Studios on my lunch hour getting there knocking on the door a man answered
He said I'm sorry. We're on our lunch hour good timing
We need to stagger this somehow, but anyway. He said I said you must see me. I promise
I'm the girl for you, Susan is my role. I know it
So he shut the door he had a conversation with whoever was in there, and he came back and said alright
well, we'll let you sing for us he said but
Our pianist has gone to lunch most people have so I'm gonna have to play for you. I said "you'll do. That's fine."
So I come in and there's only two other guys behind the desk. I didn't know who they were either
Nick Hytner
director of the National Theatre, and
Craig Carnelia lyricist
so then she's saying so let's come on over here
So I get over and I'm very nervous
but I I knew that this was my chance and
This often happens at auditions so we're gonna recreate what happened with some more subtext. Yes
All my life I've been waiting
Okay, so the old Snippety snap the old snippity snap at the piano. I've endured many times however
I don't have 45 oscars. Who were you snapping at dear?
In my defense, I didn't know it was Marvin Hamlisch
Okay, so now we're going to the audition again now imagine me
I have all the oscars in my pocket my Tonys, my Pulitzer and please give me an audition
that's the chutzpah to do this
All my life, I wait, you know what sing one of my songs
Okay, the Hutzpah! but and yet you got it.
He must have liked it. Did he ever say to you
Thanks for snapping in my face.
Nope. Yeah, he would tell the story all the time in symphony concerts
He thought it was hysterical. Thought it was hysterical
He was an amazing person okay so Kels move back to your perch as we say we have staging in this week's obsessed
We never do um okay
So tell your story. Nice Work If You Can Get It, your figure's amazing, you apparently adopted your child
Well it's been three years, so let's give it. You know.
How did you lose the water weight?
How did you? Did you do crazy aerobics? What did you do?
Uh I had a trainer for a little bit, but mostly it's just doing the big dancing with Matthew Broderick
Well, you know you sound like those models "Chasing after my toddler keeps me size zero!" really. doing the dancing keeps you size 0
Oh, no, I do I work out
I I haven't been though since the show started, but I do I like to run in the park
I I did have a trainer this great guy, and I'm gonna tell you his name because then everyone's gonna try to work with him
But really doing this show. I don't I mean it's we do a lot of dancing.
okay. You look amazing.
Thank you very much
You also sound amazing so we thought we'd sort of combine the whole baby and the sounding good into one moment in this obsessed
This is a song I am completely obsessed with Written by Dave Rossmer right he's so cute
He was in Peter and the Star Catcher and Dan Lipton. Who I used to sub for on
Full Monty. They wrote this brilliant song if you know, what are they- why did they write this for you in the first place?
Um well you mean to be really honest
Kristin Chenoweth has Glitter and Be Gay and
but I never get hired to do the coloratura parts because I'm not it doesn't really match my
So I said I want a song like that
I don't want to sing Glitter and Be Gay because who can sing that like Kristen Chenoweth not moi, so I said well
How can you incorporate a lot of different parts of my life? You know I'm a country girl. I studied opera. I had a baby. Voila
so essentially uh giving birth is difficult especially when you have a high voice so Kelli's going to recreate
What it was like
when you're from the farm
so this is her in the audience. She's watching an opera and
She's an opera singer and she's giving birth in the audience of an opera, and it's pretty much
I guess what it's like to give birth. I've never given birth yet
Okay, tell us what it was like
but as vibratos start to shake
I feel my water break, I'd never even make it down the aisle
If you'd have been there, you'da seen from that second Mezzanine
first a head then two feet from my $90 seat I
Lifted up my gown to the doctor
it hurts like hell
Oh my God, oh my god, oh my god
contraction, contraction, contraction, contraction, my god I paid so much for Doctor Chung and now this
oh you son of a b**** no thank you, I mean it, oh f***
contraction, contraction, yes I feel that
ow, I'm pushing
I'm pushing
oh my god
My God, it's like pushing a watermelon
through a hole the size of a lemon
well it better be a boy
I'm so sorry about your dress
that's pretty much how it all went down
realistic portrayal without the graphic images I'm out
You still got it Kels