In a little under a decade, Laura Osnes has become one of Broadway’s most beloved leading ladies. After making her Broadway debut in the 2007 revival of Grease, she has gone to star in South Pacific, Bonnie and Clyde and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella for which she received her second Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. On May 2, she will join a roster of legendary performers set to pay tribute to musical theatre legends Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg at The New York Pops Annual Gala. To celebrate the occasion we spoke to Ms. Osnes about how she came to love the work of the composers, her star turn in the Lyric Opera’s production of Carousel, and her thoughts on musical theatre on TV.
So was it Les Mis or Miss Saigon that got you into the work of Alain and Claude-Michel?
To be honest, both! I sang “Castle on a Cloud” at my kindergarten talent show so I knew that musical from a very young age. And I remember seeing Miss Saigon shortly after, there was a touring production that was coming through in Minneapolis where I lived, and I was probably in second grade. I probably was a little too young for it, my parents warned me, but I was enthralled! We got that album and I started wanting to sing like Lea Salonga.
I think we all did. Lea was also a Disney princess which helps.
She was a Disney princess after Miss Saigon right?
Yeah, but it’s also this beautiful thing you’re perpetuating with your princesses both on Broadway and the shows you do at 54 Below!
It’s definitely a fun thing, I would love to voice an animated princess, that’s my next goal.
Maybe Frozen on Broadway.
That would be a thrill!
Beyond Les Mis and Miss Saigon what other works by Alain and Claude-Michel are your favorites?
Martin Guerre actually originated at the Guthrie in Minnesota so I also saw that. It was the first time they’d done it in the USA in 1999, so I saw it and Stephen Buntrock and Erin Dilly were in that cast. I made my Broadway debut with Stephen in Grease, and when I found out he was in that Martin Guerre that I saw, I was so excited. We also got that CD and I know the music very well. It came full circle because we spent our first Christmas in New York with Stephen and Erin, so it was very cool to have seen them and then to connect with them in New York.
Before I forget, do you think we’ll get to see you and Steven Pasquale do Carousel in New York?
Oh my god, I would be thrilled if it happened, but to be honest we need to talk to higher powers to answer that question. Steven and I would love to do it, we are trying to do our part to see if there’s interest in it, but it doesn’t look like our production is the one they want to transfer. There are a few other people in talks of doing a production of Carousel but it won’t necessarily be the one we did in Chicago. If Steven and I can remain in the dream casting it would be awesome. If enough people keep making noise about it maybe they’ll take a hint and make it happen, so spread the word (laughs).
Going back to Alain and Claude-Michel, how excited are you about the Gala on May 2?
I’m thrilled! I always love singing with The New York Pops, I’ve been able to do it a few times and at Carnegie Hall, for Pete’s sake, it’s the best place to sing. So many of my friends are involved too, Stephanie Block, Jeremy Jordan, Montego and Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga, I’m so honored to be a part of it.
Earlier today I was taking a look at the Kennedy Center Honors tribute for Barbara Cook from 2011 and less than five years from that you’re a big Broadway star. Has the experience been surreal in any way?
I’m so grateful for the opportunities that have come my way and I wouldn’t trade anything for the world. It’s always been my dream to be on Broadway and when I was asked to be part of that tribute I was elated. The Broadway divas that are involved in that tribute are great! They wanted someone like me to represent young Barbara with “This is All Very New to Me”, and so to get to do that was monumental, and to do it with Rebecca Luker, Sutton, Patti LuPone and Glenn Close! I was like “what is my life?” (laughs) The Kennedy Center Honors are the classiest event every year, my husband and I have been lucky enough to attend since 2011, I’ve performed twice and we get to go see them. I remember when we did that I was in Bonnie and Clyde, I left on a Saturday night after my show and we drove through the night to get to DC at three in the morning, and then we sang on Sunday. It was crazy.
You played Cinderella who is the ultimate rags to riches story, but there are elements of this in Bonnie and even Sandy in Grease. Do you ever see patterns in the shows you’re doing?
It’s an interesting thing to take note of but I also feel it’s a common journey for a character to go on in a way. Characters transform much like Cinderella and Sandy, Bonnie wasn’t rags to riches, but she definitely was rags to fame. She became famous overnight and there’s something to be said for that too. I feel it’s a common theme for main characters, but it definitely has not been intentional in my work.
Are you interested also in doing non-musical plays?
Oh yes, I would love to do a play, I actually just auditioned for one a few days ago. The thing is, they’re very hard to break into, because often times they are very small casts and they cast movie stars. They’re bringing movie stars to do the short running plays, so it’s tricky. Hopefully the right opportunity will come along, I audition for them, I just don’t book them (laughs). Same with TV and film, I audition a lot for those and they never happen. But I have to be honest, musical theatre is my first love, it’s where I’m most happy and fulfilled. I’m not complaining where I am right now, I’m very happy. I feel like I will always come back to the stage though.
Is there a dream role in a play you’d love to tackle?
That’s a great question and one I should have a better answer for. I’ve only done one play in my whole life, so I don’t even know the world of plays as well as I know musical theatre. I played Anne Sullivan in The Miracle Worker in high school and that was amazing. I remember it being such an epic, special piece, so that would be fun to revisit. I took a year of sign language in college, I think it’s an actor’s language because it’s all about the expression, along with the signs, so that fascinates me.
Cinderella was the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical they did for TV which then transferred to the stage, so having played her and also having done Grease, which was stage to movie to TV, how excited are you about the future of musicals through the TV adaptations Fox and NBC have been doing?
It’s an incredible thing to gain exposure for people who may not be able to come to Broadway shows, or who wouldn’t ordinarily see a musical. Putting it on TV and casting big names in it suddenly exposes the show to a brand new audience and people will tune in and watch. But I also hope people don’t take it as a replacement for live theatre. There is nothing like sitting in an audience and experiencing something live in a theater, as opposed to through a TV screen. Theatre has a palpable energy that can’t be transported through a television. I think it’s a huge feat that our industry is trying to accomplish, so kudos to everyone involved making it happen, but it shouldn’t replace live theatre or original versions of things. Grease just came out and The Sound of Music was done, but I still think the next generation needs to see Julie Andrews as Maria and Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.
What are your absolute favorite Sondheim songs and your dream roles from his shows?
I have to be honest, I have yet to do a Stephen Sondheim show. I’ve gone down the Rodgers and Hammerstein route but obviously I love Sondheim to the moon and back. I think my dream role would be Sunday in the Park with George, I actually haven’t seen the show, I know the music and that great female role which would be fun to tackle. I have a version of “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” that I sing in my concerts and I absolutely love, and then it seems so cliché, but “On the Steps of the Palace” and actually also “Moments in the Woods” is so clever. Sometimes I sing that to myself, I’ve never sung it in front of anybody (laughs), “It Takes Two” is great too, I’ve sung that with Santino Fontana and Rob McClure. There’s no end to the vast creativity and perfection that are Sondheim’s scores, you can listen to them over and over and still find new things.
For tickets and more information to The New York Pops Gala click here.
