This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Charlotte D'Amboise: She is an acclaimed figure in American musical theater. She is a two-time Tony-nominated actress. D'Amboise made her Broadway debut in Cats in 1984 and has since taken on a multitude of roles, notably Roxy Hart in Chicago, which she's currently starring in, a Tony-nominated performance Best Actress in a Musical for Jerome Robbins Broadway, a Tony-nominated Featured Actress performance for Cassie in the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, and in 2013 she originated the role of Fastrada in Pippin, performing alongside her husband Terrence Mann. Her diverse career extends beyond the stage with appearances in films including The In Crowd and The Preacher's Wife, and on television in shows like Law and Order.

[0:58] Jeff Malone: So, Charlotte, welcome to Half Hour Podcast, and thank you so much for joining us today.

[1:04] Charlotte D'Amboise: Yay, happy to be here.

[1:06] Richie Grasso: Yay, thank you.

[1:07] Jeff Malone: So before we get into your performance of Roxy, which we just saw you do last week, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself and how you got started in the industry?

[1:18] Charlotte D'Amboise: I was blessed to grow up in New York City, so I lived on 71st Street, Upper West Side, right near Lincoln Center, and so I grew up going to ballet with the School of American Ballet at eight years old, so I would go there after school. I went to a public school, a real tough kind of public school, so I was a real New York kid, and then I would go to this ballet world, and then at a very young age, I didn't care that much about the ballet. I cared about being on stage, and so I would be in all the kid ballets, Nutcracker, and the Swede, and all the New York City ballet where they needed children. I was there, and so I kind of hung in that ballet world until I outgrew all the kiddie ballets, and then I was like, how can I be on stage now? So I started taking jazz classes and everything else, and my next goal was to be on Broadway, so I was just very focused at a really young age, wanting to just get in a Broadway show. You know, that's all I wanted.

[2:23] Richie Grasso: And for those of you who are listening who may not know this, Charlotte's father, Jacques D'Amboise, was a famous ballet dancer and choreographer and educator, and her brother Christopher is a Tony-nominated performer as well. I actually just recently learned that, which is so, so cool. What is it like? Tell us a little bit about what is it like to come from a family of dancers, and how has that kind of shaped your career as it is today?

[2:43] Charlotte D'Amboise: You know, you grow up surrounded by art and artists, and my mother was also a ballet dancer at Lincoln Center, and at that point, Lincoln Center, when I was a kid, had just been built. So it was kind of the mecca, and I actually never went down to Broadway. I was in the Lincoln Center area. So I was just, it absolutely, I mean, our house was just filled with, go do whatever you want, and you know, we're taking piano lessons, and I knew I wanted to sing, and I don't know, it was just always, you know, your parents lead you. And, you know, I have one daughter who's now in New York City Ballet, actually.

[3:28] Richie Grasso: Wow!

[3:30] Charlotte D'Amboise: And then the other daughter, yeah, was very much exposed to the arts. So we were blessed in that sense, and we have four kids in my family. Two of us went to the arts, and two didn't.

[3:42] Jeff Malone: Okay.

[3:43] Charlotte D'Amboise: But we all started in the arts. We all started dancing. We all, because my parents didn't have any money, and they were just like, School of American Ballet was free for them, because they worked there. So it was like, throw this hyperactivity into something, you know what I mean?

[3:58] Richie Grasso: Yeah, I always—

[3:59] Charlotte D'Amboise: They're just hanging out in the streets of New York City, like, you know, we—

[4:03] Richie Grasso: Right, no, putting kids in the arts at a young age is so important. I think that's amazing and wonderful, and it's so great.

[4:09] Charlotte D'Amboise: Mystic, no, not Mystic Pizza, Pizza something that was about the 70s, in the 70s.

[4:15] Jeff Malone: Oh, I don't know.

[4:16] Charlotte D'Amboise: Pizza something.

[4:17] Jeff Malone: Oh, it's gonna, it'll come to us. I don't know.

[4:20] Charlotte D'Amboise: It's like the 70s, and that's like, exactly how we all were. Like, there was no supervision. We just like, ran around.

[4:28] Jeff Malone: So, speaking of your family, I don't know how often you get asked about this, but I know that you had the chance to perform with your brother at Kennedy Center Honors for your father back in 1995. I'm just dying to know, I've watched this clip multiple times, and I'm just dying to know, what is it like? You're in the Kennedy Center, the President of the United States is there, your father's up there, you're there down on the stage with your brother, like, making it look like it's the easiest thing in the world, and your father is beaming, I just, I have to know more about what that was like for you.

[4:58] Charlotte D'Amboise: I have to say, one of the highlights, first of all, Chris and I, my brother and I danced together in Song and Dance, so that show that he was in on Broadway, he was nominated for Tony for that, I think.

[5:08] Richie Grasso: Right, right.

[5:09] Charlotte D'Amboise: We danced together in that. So, we grew up, obviously siblings, but very close, because we both wanted to be in the arts, and he, you know, we understood each other. So we danced a lot together. And so, all he knew, my dad, was that we were performing. He didn't know what we were doing.

[5:25] Richie Grasso: Wow.

[5:26] Charlotte D'Amboise: He choreographed, my brother choreographed it.

[5:28] Richie Grasso: Wow.

[5:29] Charlotte D'Amboise: And all, if you see it, and if you know my dad, and you know his ballets, because Balanchine choreographed many ballets for him, Apollo and all of it, there's all odd pieces from his choreography, so famous signature moves of Balanchine's, of like Apollo, and throughout the piece.

[5:47] Richie Grasso: Wow.

[5:48] Charlotte D'Amboise: So only my dad would recognize, or anybody from New York City Ballet. So we choreographed it very specifically for him. So it was just a one-shot deal.

[5:55] Richie Grasso: Wow.

[5:56] Charlotte D'Amboise: And I think I was doing Company on Broadway at the time, and so, you know, we had to go there one day to film it, and then go back again and do it live. Yeah, I mean, I've done the Kennedy Honors three times.

[6:08] Richie Grasso: Wow.

[6:09] Charlotte D'Amboise: At that point, I had already done it once before. And it is the most nerve-wracking ever, ever.

[6:17] Jeff Malone: Oh, I bet.

[6:19] Charlotte D'Amboise: Live, and you're backstage with, like, you know, Steve Martin, and the, you know, Billy Joel, and, you know, and they're all so nervous. They're, like, shaking with nerves, all these icon, you know, actresses, and there are, Meryl Streep is going to go speak, and you're sitting there going, oh, my God, they're so nervous. And it is, it's the most nerve-wracking thing ever, because everybody's in that audience.

[6:48] Richie Grasso: Oh, yeah.

[6:49] Charlotte D'Amboise: Everyone. Politicians, and plus, you already, the whole weekend, you've gone to state dinners, you've gone to this, you've gone to that. You know, you're all, it's a wild experience, and nerve-wracking because it's live.

[7:02] Jeff Malone: Yeah.

[7:03] Charlotte D'Amboise: So, and when I did Peter Pan, I remember I got all caught up. I did it for Mary Martin. I did, I'm flying, and I remember the live performance, I got all caught up in the wires.

[7:12] Richie Grasso: Oh, my gosh.

[7:13] Charlotte D'Amboise: They ended up doing a taped version and cut that out.

[7:17] Richie Grasso: Oh, okay, okay.

[7:18] Charlotte D'Amboise: They edited it out somehow, but anyway, it's, anyway, it's an incredible experience, the Kennedy Honors. Anybody who's ever done it will know it is just nothing like it.

[7:26] Jeff Malone: Oh, I bet.

[7:27] Charlotte D'Amboise: My dad, yeah.

[7:29] Richie Grasso: And that was just, was so beautiful to watch that. He's just smiling, and he leans over the president and his wife and just says something, and he's just there in his glory. I mean, oh.

[7:39] Charlotte D'Amboise: It was an incredible night.

[7:40] Richie Grasso: It was amazing.

[7:41] Charlotte D'Amboise: It really was, I mean, for all of us.

[7:43] Richie Grasso: Amazing.

[7:44] Charlotte D'Amboise: For all of us.

[7:45] Richie Grasso: Yeah, I bet, I bet.

[7:46] Charlotte D'Amboise: Yeah.

[7:47] Richie Grasso: Richie just recently showed me that performance for the first time, and I was like, wow, this is, like, everything was so perfect in.

[7:54] Charlotte D'Amboise: Yeah.

[7:55] Richie Grasso: I don't know if it was, like, you might know more than we do, but for us, watching it, everything looks so effortless and perfect, and your dad is so happy, and it's just, like, you have this big smile watching the performance that you're just like, wow.

[8:07] Charlotte D'Amboise: And you would never know anyone's nervous.

[8:09] Richie Grasso: I always say to Richie all the time, I'm like, everyone's just as nervous as you with anything that you're doing, so just have fun with it.

[8:15] Charlotte D'Amboise: Right.

[8:16] Richie Grasso: That's what you guys made it look like. It was just fine.

[8:18] Charlotte D'Amboise: Yeah.

[8:19] Charlotte D'Amboise: It helps when you can, for me, being physical when I'm nervous, because I can put energy out that way. When I just have to stand there and talk or whatever, it's much harder for me, because I can't, like, at least with dancing, I can just kind of focus and breathe and put it out, you know, put it out.

[8:37] Jeff Malone: Speaking of where you have to stand and talk during some things, let's talk about Roxy and Chicago. Can you tell our listeners a little bit more about your history with this current revival of Chicago, and how long have you been in the company playing Roxy?

[8:52] Charlotte D'Amboise: I did the first national company that went out of Chicago, which was a year after it opened, or about nine months after it opened on Broadway. So I've been involved like 20, I mean, like 25 years involved with Roxy.

[9:09] Charlotte D'Amboise: And when I went out on that first national company, it was really kind of scary, because it was the first time they used young people for Roxy and Velma. And it was always cast with older people in mind. And, you know, Bob Fosse did it originally for Gwen, who was in her 50s or close to her 50s, for an older, you know, person. So it was sort of always thought out to be that way. And Anne Rankine, who originated it here the second time around, was older, too. So it was like, will it work with younger people at that time, you know? And I was 30 at the time, but I looked like 25, you know? And Jasmine Guy did it with me. So it was kind of like, is this going to work or not? And it was a very nerve-wracking thing.

And it did work. And that was a big lesson on their part, knowing that this role can be cast in such a range of ages. And then I did it. And then I came to Broadway, did it there. And then I left and did other shows. And then they would always call me back. Come back for another. You're free for six weeks.

[10:14] Charlotte D'Amboise: I was very different. At the very beginning, I was so physical. When I first started, I was doing back falls, came down in the physical part. It just goes with your life and what you're able or capable of or whatever. Anyway, yes, that's so funny.

[10:37] Jeff Malone: Prior to you going on the first tour, how did performers like Gwen and Anne Rankin, who played the role before, kind of help you shape your Roxy and also how did you make it your own?

[11:01] Charlotte D'Amboise: Well, I've done a lot of replacing in my career in lead roles with iconic people. I've always been very much about finding your own thing. What I always do is I figure out how I would play the role and then I would go look at them do the role and then I would steal everything that they did that was great, whatever I had come up with, how I would do it because they're there for a reason. You want to make it your own and that's what makes it interesting and that's what makes me interesting. I don't want to do a carbon copy. I can't do a carbon. People that copy performances completely, you're not bringing anything to it. I want to bring something to it. That's me.

[12:31] Charlotte D'Amboise: I really always had an affinity for Roxy. Anne Rankin put me in the show. Walter Bobby and Annie put me in the show. Annie hired me with Walter Bobby and she influenced me completely. I mean, absolutely. I stole all the stuff she did. You can't be Anne Rankin. I was young. Anne Rankin had such a confidence in that monologue. I'll never forget it, the way she would walk across that stage. I was like, oh my God, she's this powerful woman that's like an animal that's so in her body and so sexually in charge of who she was. I was 30. I didn't have that. You can't have that when you're young yet. You're not there. If you do, you're putting it on. I had to find my own way in and Annie allowed me to do that.

She saw that. I remember that line, I'm older than I ever intended to be. I could never say it. Then finally, Annie literally did it for me, stood up, made me do it really big, really broad, just make a big choice with it. It worked, but I was copying her. The line was not true. Then it became true. Now, this is my favorite line in the show. I am Anne Rankin doing it.

[14:06] Jeff Malone: I love that.

[14:06] Charlotte D'Amboise: Annie was so special. Walter, Bobby, both of them, they trusted me. Because of that, I was able to flourish and grow and learn and make mistakes and then keep growing. They allowed me to do all that. They allowed me to make stupid mistakes. They trusted me.

[14:31] Jeff Malone: That line, now that you say it, that line actually does stand out for me when you said it recently because you gave it that life at the same time where you're just listening and you're like, oh, and I took that out of the theater with me. Hearing that and hearing you say this and listening about how Anne is such an inspiration in that way is so great, which talks about Chicago as a whole. It's become such a staple in American musical theater, but when it originally was on Broadway, it wasn't as successful as what this revival has done and what the movie has done. Why do you think it wasn't as successful when it first was on Broadway?

[15:10] Charlotte D'Amboise: Because of many reasons, but the main reason why was one, it came out the same year A Chorus Line came out. Also, America was not ready for cynicism. They didn't know how corrupt the government was. The O.J. Simpson's trials that were aired hadn't happened. It wasn't televised how corrupt our world was. People believed that we were a great country. They didn't have Bob Fosse's cynicism, the regular public. Also, Bob Fosse went full on with it. Our version is actually full on and in your face, but it's less stingy. It's actually less dirty than Fosse really went there. He was so way ahead of his time. He went there in a real darker way. That's number one.

[16:11] Charlotte D'Amboise: Number two, they trimmed down the book a lot. They cut a third out of it. Now, it's streamlined to just have enough of each character. You just get enough of Amos to care. You just get enough of Billy Flynn to know who he is. You don't have any fat on it. They were able to do that. I think that helped, too, for all those reasons. Yet, that original production, which I didn't see, God, I wish I had, was just ahead of its time. You had Gwen, you had Chita, and Liza at one point. These names were insane at the time. The performances were absolutely insane. I mean, it was beyond brilliant. I'm sure the show was beyond brilliant. It's great, because when you see the movie All That Jazz, I don't know if you've seen that, but if you haven't read Listeners, you must see it.

It's All That Jazz. It is about the making of Chicago. It's really interesting, because Bob Fosse just hated it. He thought, I'm doing the biggest piece of shit show. He was like, this sucks. He struggled with that show. It's so interesting, because I always think to myself, a lot of times when I'm in the middle of a show, I'll think, Bob Fosse up there, listening, does he know what a hit his show has become? Literally, the longest running show on Broadway.

[18:00] Jeff Malone: What do we think the future is of this? What is your future in the show? Do you like coming in and out of it? Do you think this show is going to run another 25? Where are you thinking of the future of this?

[18:25] Charlotte D'Amboise: It's so interesting, because it is timeless, the show. Our government is corrupt, and it's showing its faces more and more and more and more and more and more. The show opened 25 years ago. When I did it, I remember I would name specific things. Now it's just like, this country. That sense is timeless, and the music is timeless. It really is. It's that jazz music of Kander and Ebb is never going to be out of style. Because of that, and because there is no scenery, because it's flat, it sort of never goes out of style. I think it's going to last a long time. The upkeep of it is not very expensive compared to most shows. It's a great show. All of those reasons, I think it is going to last. I don't know about another 25 years, but it will last a bit longer. As far as my part in it, I love coming back for short stints. As long as I can do it, I'll probably come back for a little short stints here and there. I hope to do it forever, as long as I can.

[19:49] Jeff Malone: That's definitely a fun part of this show, because people can come in and do short stints. We had recently just gone back to see it when Jinx was in it as Mama Morton. That was such a major thing, especially for the drag queen community that want to see more drag queens on Broadway. I was like, oh, are we going to see more of that in Chicago, too? Because there's plenty of them out there that are talented and can do that role.

[20:28] Jeff Malone: I did want to steer away from Chicago for a little bit because I would love to know a bit more about your time in A Chorus Line. I did get to see you in the revival production, which was phenomenal. And we wanted to talk a little bit about Every Little Step as well, because that was such an inspiration to so many young performers. What was it like working on that production of A Chorus Line and getting that phone call?

[20:53] Charlotte D'Amboise: Yeah, that phone call was amazing. It was a hard ride. That documentary is very accurate, but we did exactly what happened. The only thing is that there was actually another girl, Nancy LeMeninger, who was up for the part. There were three of us that were really in the final end, but she chose not to be in the film. I'm really sad she wasn't because I felt she was really my competition, actually. I was sad she wasn't in it because she was such a talented lady. That part of it, they had to cut her out, her whole audition, which she was very much part of to the very end. It's very accurate and very on, so if you haven't seen it, it's really true to life. That phone call was fantastic. I mean, dream come true.

I always wanted to play Cassie when I was young in New York. A Chorus Line was going on and I was doing Cats, and A Chorus Line was kind of dying out. I remember Tom Reed, who kind of did both. Anyway, he was like the dance captain for both Michael Bennett and then also for Cats. I remember him always saying, I would love to see you do Cassie. I'd love to see you do Cassie, but I was like 19 at the time, you know what I mean? 20. That was always in my mind. It was great and exciting to be part of that.

[22:22] Jeff Malone: I'm sure. What an iconic role and an iconic show. That's amazing. I also want to let some of our audience know a little bit also that Charlotte is married to Broadway actor Terrence Mann, and together they run a musical theater intensive for teens interested in pursuing a career in the arts at triplearts.com. Can you let our listeners know a little bit about that program, how that got started, and how that's going?

[22:42] Charlotte D'Amboise: I love that. Thank you for plugging it. Of course. Of course. It's important. I've done it in the last few years. I feel bad you plugged it. I saw it in your bio and I was like, oh, this is great. I want to talk about it. We did it for 13, 14 years. Wow. Then we stopped because COVID happened. Okay. Yeah, we were all set up and then COVID happened. Then we never kind of got it back together because we both missed two years and then we had jobs during the summers and we just kind of never pulled it back together again, but we will pull it back together again. It's very much something we've done for years. It's a program, a very intense musical theater program. A lot of these programs are lovely camp experiences that are this and that.

This is not. This is people that really want to pursue careers and we put them through boot camp in the sense of what it would be like to be in a Broadway, to be in rehearsals and putting a show together. It's amazing. It starts at nine in the morning and you work till 10 at night. Wow. I think you have one day off. We give them one day off and rehearsals. We put on a huge show and we have mics and we have this. Because to me, when I was a kid, that's what I wanted. As I said before me, you learn so much. You can be in class forever, but when you got to get on a stage and perform, everything is notched up that much more. By the end of the three weeks, you've learned so much. You have to be in that position of putting yourself on the line as in A Chorus Line and up in front and dance and having to excel to a certain level, not just in a class. That's how we do it there. I love it. We've had amazing students that I'm so proud of and I nurtured over the years. It's something that we will get back to.

[25:05] Jeff Malone: Yeah, of course. Yeah, I think that's important. We'll be back at it. Yeah, that's wonderful. It's so important for sure. It's an amazing thing to talk about because we actually had started a program too where we were teaching kids how to audition and we've noticed the same thing. With COVID, it kind of threw a wrench into the mix. Then also, young teens, we're starting to see how are we going to get them back involved in theater. When we saw that you do this, I was like, I hope that they're going back and they're doing these programs. It's just so hard to find them right now because I think COVID just scared everyone around the arts for a little bit.

[25:38] Charlotte D'Amboise: Yeah, you're right. It scared everyone. I think also financially, people were struggling. Their parents are going now, don't go into the arts. It's a commitment. At least our program is a commitment. It's a three-week. It used to be two weeks. We could make more money. We could do this. We could do that. For us, I have to really feel like I'm doing something. I can't feel like I'm bullshitting or that we're taking people's money. I have to feel like they're walking out of there, a changed person. I felt we needed the three weeks. It's an intense program.

[26:23] Jeff Malone: For sure. We are almost out of time, but we do have one final question for you. We ask this to all our guests. What is a fun behind the scenes moment or memory or story or journey with Chicago or any show you've done that's something fun behind the scenes that you could share with our audience?

[26:36] Charlotte D'Amboise: First of all, there is nonstop fun backstage. There's a lot of fooling around going on in a way with the cast the whole time. Literally, last night, I did the show two nights ago. This just happened. I always take my jacket off for Roxy, so I'm in this sexy dress. I have a jacket on for Gunn. I'm supposed to take my jacket off and have this sexy dress. I totally forgot to take it off. In 25 years, I've done this show. It's so funny because all the boys are watching me, and they see I have the jacket on. I literally forgot and did the whole monologue, started the song before the boys come on, not realizing I had the jacket on. Suddenly, when I started to move, I was like, oh my god, I have a jacket on.

Of course, as soon as my face triggers, I can hear laughter because it's like they've been waiting. They're all sitting there waiting for when is she going to notice that she has the jacket on. Then they see that recognition, and then I just hear laughter. Then it's like, I'm not going to take this jacket off easily. I'm going to make a big thing out of it. You know what I mean? Anyway, we took it off. Then, of course, we could barely get through the rest of the number. There's so many stories backstage and so many stuff because I interact with the audience. There's many, many hilarious stories that go with the audience.

[28:19] Jeff Malone: Actually, there's one moment when you were doing your monologue when we saw you back in Jinx back in January or February. There was maybe a young child in the front. I think you had said, you are too young to be here or something like that. I thought it was so funny.

[28:33] Charlotte D'Amboise: I've done that line where I said, you're too young to be here. How old are you? They go, 27. I'm like, oh, what skin care do you use? You look really good. It's great. It's so great. I love it. I love it so much.

[29:07] Jeff Malone: I can't believe we're out of time. I could do this for all day long. This is just so wonderful talking to you. We thank you so, so, so, so much for being here and listening. Thank you all so much for listening to today's episode of Half Hour. We really appreciate having Charlotte here today. It's been wonderful. We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Charlotte. Charlotte, where can our listeners find you if they want to learn more about your work or connect with you?

[29:30] Charlotte D'Amboise: On Instagram. I'm always on Instagram. That's the only one I really do. It's charswebnyc. You can message me there and all that stuff. Instagram is the place.

[29:52] Jeff Malone: To all our listeners, if you have any suggestions for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. You can also connect with us on Instagram and TikTok at halfhourpodcast. Also, if you'd like to check out our full review and thoughts on Chicago, you can go back and listen to our past podcast episode on that, which is linked in the description of this podcast episode.

[30:06] Charlotte D'Amboise: Can I just say one more thing? I say charswebnyc, or did I say charswebnyc? It's charswebnyc. I'm glad you clarified it. That's great. I'll link it in the description for everyone too, so they can go and easily follow. So that's super easy. Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Charlotte. We can't wait to see what's also in store for you next. I'm Jeff.

[30:32] Richie Grasso: I'm Richie, saying ta-ta for now.