Judy Kaye has starred as some of the most iconic musical theatre characters of all time, but you wouldn't know from her modest tone. The two-time Tony winner (along many other awards), known for a vocal range that works as well for opera, will shift to a more intimate style for her new cabaret show at Feinstein's at the Nikko on June 12 and 13. Kaye will perform songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim in a night of storytelling as well.
"This show is really about not only them but about me and them," said Kaye in a phone interview from her upstate New York home. "The songs all have signifiance to my relationships with the two gentlemen, and my relationships to theatre."
Kaye worked with each of the composers in "Candide," "Follies" and concert events. Collecting and choosing her favorite songs was what she called "an embarrassment of riches."
Her own career is quite rich as well. Having played Mrs. Lovett ("Sweeney Todd"), Mama Rose ("Gypsy"), Nellie Forbush ("South Pacific"), Maria Von Trappe ("The Sound of Music") and Annie Oakley ("Annie Get Your Gun"), as well as her Tony-winning featured performances in "Phantom of the Opera" (1988) and "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (2012), seeing Kaye perform in a nightclub will be a rare treat for musical theatre fans.
Locally, Kaye recently starred in the role she created as Anna Madrigal for A.C.T.'s musical adaptation of Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City," as well as A.C.T. co-productions of "Sweeney Todd" and "Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins."
Kaye's initial rise to Broadway success has its own theatrical twist right out of a Ruby Keeler musical. At first an understudy with a small onstage role in the Broadway production of On the Twentieth Century, Kaye ended up replacing actress Madeline Kahn, then touring in the lead role. While she had performed in "Grease" as Rizzo, the "understudy outdoes star" angle worked for the media, and Kaye became known as more than a character actress-singer.
"I almost didn't take that job, because I didn't want to be an understudy," said Kaye. "It's one of the most difficult and heartbreaking jobs. You have to study and learn, and yet you have to believe with all your heart that you're never going onstage. I have such appreciation for those who understudy."
Her own life does have a few other magical moments, like the time her husband to-be David Green proposed to her on a tiny 19-seat plane while on tour for a show. While they were for a while "bouncing off the clouds," Kayes, said, other show tours have not been easy.
"Tours are for the young, " said Kaye with mock exhaustion. "You get eight-hour bus rides, you get to a town and have some dinner, see the stage, get to your room and maybe take a shower; that was it, then you got onstage."
Kaye's notoriously worst tour was the 63-city, 18-week touring production of "On the Twentieth Century" in the early 1980s.
"They had shrunk the show, taken away our wonderful porters; actors were doubling and tripling. Thank goodness that amid all that, David and I met each other and became good friends."
Kaye has become much more selective in her theatre travels these days. She balked at deciding which would be her favorites among her famous roles (which include everything from Lucy Van Pelt in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" to Mary Magdeline in "Jesus Christ Superstar").
Kaye did admit that her San Francisco shows are among her favorites.
"I have the most fun with the most elegantly written roles," said Kaye. "They're just great, and sometimes hard to find."
For her upcoming Feinsteins concert tribute to Bernstein and Sondheim, Kaye worked with her husband Green, who is also her music director. They premiered the concert to great reviews in New York earlier this year.
"We boiled it down to what I wanted to perform, then we put it into an order; segued with my stories of the first times I ever worked with them," said Kaye. "Between the two of us, David was able to help me solidify it and give it a through-line. I don't just get up and sing a bunch of songs."
While fans can expect a few classics, there will be a few obscure songs from the greats. "It's sort of a stream of conciousness chronology," said Kaye, "with a bit in my life, and theirs. The cogniscenti might know the unusual songs, but maybe not."
Show Times
One classic musical from which we hope Kaye selects a few songs is Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Kaye has played the role three times, each with some of the most known actors who played Todd: Len Cariou (who created the role), George Hearn, and in the most recent tour to San Francisco, David Hess, with whom Kaye and the cast members also performed musical instruments.
"I took a few tuba lessons for that version," Kaye said.
But that was not the hardest duty. "I accepted the proposition of replacing Patti Lupone on Broadway while she was out. When they asked if I would do the road company, I thought long and hard. The thought of going on the road again was pretty scary. The first time I got on the stage in New York when I replaced Patti. I don't think I was ever as frightened. Because I thought I would screw everybody else up. I don't wanna be the kid in the orchestra who hits a wrong note. And several of the cast members are also brilliant instrumentalists. For the opening, my first night, I was standing onstage with a triangle. It was dark and the lights came up. I worried I was gonna lay an egg. Even the triangle scared me."
But Kaye is clear to note that, while obviously a professional who knowns and handles stage fright, she never compares herself to actresses who originated or also starred in roles she's had.
"There's no point in comparing yourself to another actresses," said Kaye. "Ethel Merman in 'Gypsy' was the strongest. You can't compare. Some fans like to comment to me, but, hey; it's not a competition."
Although, there are those fun awards ceremonies, and Kaye, when asked, mentioned that her many awards are on the piano in her New Jersey home.
But one jewel Kaye would like to see re-polished is the role of Anna Madrigal in "Tales of the City." The show, which had a successful run at The Geary Theatre, is allegedly being "re-worked" by its creative team (Jeff Whitty of "Avenue Q" and Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears) before being considered for other stages.
For Kaye, creating an original take on the role of the wise transgender landlady was a treat. "People still come up to me, telling me how much they loved it, or that they heard about it and want to see it in New York," said Kaye. "I wish they would just finish it. I'm not getting any younger!"
Despite her many years in musical theatre, Kaye, now 68, can be known for a bit of physical comedy, particularly as the tone-deaf Florence Foster Jenkins in "Souvenir," and in "Nice Work If You Can Get It," where Kaye swung from a chandelier.
Asked about her musical versatility in performing pop styles versus the classics, Kaye stated simply, "You learn it the same way you do Mozart; you make the adjustment. "Tales of the City," despite the '70s style, is pretty much a classic Broadway score. It's got its own sound, but it's not a pastiche."
Asked about her preparation for the show, Kaye said she waited until after creating her own Anna Madrigal to read the books and watch the BCC series (with Olympia Dukakis as Mrs. Madrigal).
Similarly, she brought her own take on "Gypsy," how she learned about the original stage mother, the real Rose Hovick.
"I've been asked to do it a few more times, but it's tough," said Kaye. "It's basically like King Lear. Vocally, it's one of the most amazing mountains to climb. I consider playing Annie [in "Annie Get Your Gun," another Ethel Merman role] as a mere triathlon by comparison."
Kaye mentioned not only the classic theatre-within-theatre tradition of "Gypsy," but Sondheim's clever lyrical puns, and the emotional toll on Hovick's life through the story.
"I can't say it's fun to do," said Kaye. "Although to sing that music and wrap your brain and vocal chords around it, particularly the finale song, 'Rose's Turn,' that's pretty amazing."
Equally challenging was playing the crafty piemaker Mrs. Lovett in "Sweeney Todd" to three different costars, a role which fortunately has some comic moments amid the grim murders.
"I didn't hear the audience laughing when I did 'Sweeney Todd,' " said Kaye, adding that the chemistry between her male co-stars was the pivot point. "We're playing this game between us. With each different cast, I listen to the other person on stage. Performing with the likes of Len Cariou can be like sparring."
Unlike such classic and frightening roles, Kaye said her cabaret show will be "relaxing and intimate. I've done some of this material onstage, but this concert sort of connects the material."
So, no chandelier-swinging?
"The world has seen the last of my chandelier-swinging," Kaye added with a chuckle. "If I ever write a memoir, it'll be called 'High Notes and Low Pratfalls.' "
Judy Kaye performs her intimate show celebrating the music of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. $35-$50. June 12 & 13, 8pm. Feinstein's at the Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com www.judykaye.com