Julia Murney will be joining a myriad of Broadway stars to celebrate the holidays with The Muppets at NJPAC’s Broadway Sings The Muppet Christmas Carol to mark the occasion we spoke to the iconic leading lady.
Do you have special love for The Muppet Christmas Carol?
I do not know it well, but there’s a Christmas album The Muppets did with John Denver that I listen to every year.
What are you looking forward to the most about the performance?
It can be evenly split between singing with all the wonderful performers, and seeing the faces of the little ones in the audience enjoying themselves. I love the holiday spirit and sharing it with others.
Did you have any holiday traditions growing up?
I’m very tradition oriented, I already put my tree up! I love the light in the room, it makes me feel warm. I feel very nostalgic towards my ornaments as I unpack them, I’ve had some since I was a kid and I’ve bought many from the places I’ve traveled. So I always reflect on where I got each of them. I grew up in NYC so I loved going to the Thanksgiving Parade or even the night before seeing the balloons being blown up, it’s all about whether you can handle crowds though. I loved seeing the tree at Rockefeller Center, the Rockettes, and food, don’t let me forget food! I always have people over, we make Christmas cookies, we make about 17 cookies and then eat the batter.
What about your famous pancake breakfast on New Year’s Day?
I did that for 24 years at my parents’ apartment because they had a big kitchen, but then they moved so I stopped, because I can’t cook pancakes for 200 people in my smaller apartment. I loved doing that, being able to see all the people I love and making food for them. I miss that tradition, I have to find a way to recover it.
Host it at a Broadway theater!
Some people have suggested we can get the space, but part of what was great was me being in the kitchen and everyone else being nearby.
What about your favorite pop culture related traditions?
TCM or AMC start showing Christmas films 24/7 and I love that if I’m home and there’s some film I don’t know, I’ll watch it. I love It’s a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Meet Me in St. Louis, anything can make me weepy. I also love the Barbra Streisand Christmas album, and there’s also an album called Great Joy by Broadway Inspirational Voices which is an album I pop any time of the year when I want hope.
You’ve done family friendly fare like Wicked but you’re also famous for The Wild Party, is there an intersection between those fans?
If a child who loves Wicked came up to me and said they loved The Wild Party I’d be very concerned (laughs). There’s something to be said about the fact I did those shows a long time ago, I sometimes forget people grow up, and Wicked has a huge fanbase, The Wild Party has a small but rabid fanbase, sometimes they find that album because of the other performers. What’s great about Party is many universities do that show, so when I teach in schools, without fail someone will say they did that show. It makes me feel ancient but it also makes me feel good.
You’re known for working with lesser known composers, and picking lesser known songs for your shows and albums. Do you think of yourself as a champion of shining a light on music people maybe haven’t been paying attention to?
I never thought of it that way, but now I would say yes. I’m a champion of music that I love, it doesn’t matter to me who wrote it, or how well known it is. Good music is good music and I hope people will respond to it like I do. When I do solo shows in the city I feel the liberty to do lesser known music, but even when I do mostly familiar songs I throw in one or two lesser known titles in the hope people will seek those composers out later. Everybody wins!
As an educator, what do you tell to students who see arts funding being cut?
Young people need to understand that regardless of why things happen it’s on them now to make sure that it keeps going. They need to figure out the way they can fight for arts and make sure the arts get covered. Arts education isn’t about raising someone to be an actor or a musician, I went to school with people who aren’t performers now, but arts infused them with the confidence to do things differently. People who studied violin learn about discipline and working with others. I think it’s incumbent on the younger generation to turn the spotlight on art.
What are your favorite Sondheim songs and the characters you’d love to play?
Mrs. Lovett is my number one, I’d love to play Mama Rose, Dot too, but I fear time has run away from me on that one. There’s a song that’s not one of his most popular called “I Remember”, from his television broadcast Evening Primrose, and it’s so beautiful. It’s complicated in the Sondheim way but also very stunning. I just love that song, whoever sings it needs to understand what it means, it has about 15 layers going on, you understand it differently at different times in your life.
For tickets to Broadway Sings The Muppet Christmas Carol click on the link.
