Whitney Bashor first stole the hearts of Broadway fans with her haunting performance in The Bridges of Madison County where she played Robert Kincaid’s (Steven Pasquale) ex-wife Marian. In the bossa nova infused “Another Life” she evoked precisely an entire lifetime that suggested Marian was worthy of a whole show of her very own. Bashor’s lovely voice and unique stage presence landed her the part of Bertie Barron in Beaches, where she stars opposite Shoshana Bean as Cee Cee Bloom. While we wait for the production to arrive in New York, following a successful run in Chicago, Bashor will delight us with a show at 54 Below where she will perform songs by some of her favorite songwriters. We talked to the talented rising star about what’s next in her career.
Can you tell us a little about the show you’ll be doing at 54 Below?
It’ll be my second time doing my solo show at 54 Below and this show is really gonna focus on songstresses of the 60s, primarily Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Judy Collins. The idea came from the fact that the song I sing in The Bridges of Madison County “Another Life” evoked feelings of Joni Mitchell in many people. So many people love her music, myself included, so I thought it would be fun to explore that kind of music since people associate me with that style of singing.
If I’m not mistaken your first show there got you Bridges in the first place, right?
It was actually a show that I did with Adam Guettel and Steven Pasquale, that Jason Robert Brown and Bartlett Sher attended that concert which got me the audition which got me Bridges. So 54 Below has done me well throughout the years.
What were some of the records by these ladies that you played over and over again?
From Joni Blue and Court and Spark were two of the albums that I listened to obsessively as a teenager, and know every word to. She was sort of my first experience with a female songwriter whose lyrics were so transportative that her writing would immerse you completely into the world that she was creating, and how powerful her storytelling was. I also love music that has an acoustic sound, that doesn’t feel overproduced. My mom listened to a lot of Judy Collins so we always had her voice in the house, I came to Joan Baez much later while rehearsing for Bridges because Joni Mitchell mentions in a book how much Baez inspired her.
Pardon me for using this corny segue, but Blue is one of the saddest albums of all time, and other than Bridges, you also did the stage version of Beaches which are based on two of the saddest movies ever.
(Laughs) Yeah! I seem to like making people cry, I’m drawn to material that takes people to that very human experience and lends itself to a good cry.
Preparing for Beaches did you watch the movie many times or did you try to distance yourself from it to make your performance fresh?
I had seen the movie a couple of times throughout the years and when I found out I’d be doing the show, I actually did not watch the movie, I read the book. I wanted to get as much information about the character as I could, I wanted to do my own interpretation of the role, Barbara Hershey’s was so iconic in the film, so there was no point in trying to do what she did, because no one will ever be as good a Barbara Hershey as Barbara Hershey is.
How has it been to originate a part in a musical?
Doing new musicals is absolutely my favorite thing that I get to do, and I’ve been lucky that it’s been the majority of my career as a professional actor to do new shows. It also depends on the stage where you arrive at them, sometimes you take the shows from their adolescence to their adult stage, or from being a child to a teenager, you get to take the material to the next stage of its life which is so rewarding. Working on Beaches we did so much in the room, and did so many changes during our months-long rehearsals. The friendship between these two women is what makes the show so powerful, because I think everyone has a love letter they made to a friend. People who know the story know my character ends up being very sick, so touching on that, so many people have had loved ones who have passed away too soon, so for me it was recalling memories of those loved ones and maybe the things they would’ve said if they could and the feeling that their life was coming to an end too soon.
I can already see myself sobbing like a crazy person when I see this show.
(Laughs) It’s hard to find a dry eye in the theater for sure. The last 20 minutes of the show are very human, and pretty heavy.
Moving on to something happier, we rarely get to see musicals about women, so how exciting is it that this show is about two women!?!
It’s so exciting, you’d think with how successful something like Wicked has been, they’d try to recreate that formula of female empowerment and friendship all the time, but you’re right, it’s few and far between that we get these stories about two women lifting each other up, they’re not competing over a guy, they’re both leads, they are two powerful female presences in the show. It’s great to be half the equation on Beaches, because Shoshana Bean is incredible in the part, I don’t think people are ready for how incredibly funny and warm she is as an actress. Everyone knows that she can sing better than anybody on the planet.
Another theme in your career has been your affinity with 80s movies since you were also in the musical version of Diner.
(Laughs) Yeah!
If you could turn your other favorite 80s movies into musicals what would they be?
Oh my gosh! Nobody’s tried doing The Breakfast Club or any of those John Hughes movies and those might be interesting because those archetypes are so strong. I think that would be a cool thing to explore.
You played Clara in The Light in the Piazza a few years ago, and like you mentioned you ended up doing Bridges with Bartlett Sher who directed Piazza on Broadway. Did this connection add anything to your work relationship with him?
It was definitely a show we talked about, I met Kelli O’Hara for the first time doing Bridges too, and it was so special to meet her because she fulfilled every expectation I had, not only as a performer, but also as a lovely, wonderful, generous human being. Piazza was a show we all discussed because it meant so much to us. Anyone who’s ever done that show certainly have a special place for it in their hearts.
Last, even though you’ve been lucky in getting to do all these new musicals, what iconic roles would you like to tackle some day?
The biggest one is Julie Jordan in Carousel, I would do a very different take on her, so I’d like to put my two cents on her. I’d like to do a modern, immersive, real sand on the stage, water, something really sensual.
Whitney Bashor performs at 54 Below on September 15. For tickets and more click here.
