Favorite ThingsTheir Favorite Things: Tony Winner Donna McKechnie Shares Her Theatregoing ExperiencesPerformances by Chita Rivera, Cynthia Erivo, Barbra Streisand and more made McKechnie's list of favorites.
By
Andrew Gans
July 13, 2016
Donna McKechnie
Tony-winning A Chorus Line star Donna McKechnie will join Tony and Olivier Award nominee Tony Sheldon (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) in The New York Musical Festival’s upcoming production of Icon, a romantic new musical with book by Sebastian Michael and music and lyrics by Jonathan Kaldor that will be seen July 20-26 at The Duke on 42nd Street. Here, triple-threat McKechnie shares the theatregoing experiences that most affected her as part of the audience.
Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl
Johnny Desmond and Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl.
Friedman-Abeles / The New York Public Library
Just because she's Barbra Streisand and “the greatest star”!
Chita Rivera in Bye Bye Birdie
Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera in Bye Bye Birdie Friedman-Abeles
For a young dancer from Detroit just arriving in New York, this performance gave me the courage to go forward with my decision to make the transition from the ballet world to the world of musical theatre. Chita was absolutely thrilling, a total inspiration!
Ben Vereen in Pippin
Ben Vereen in PippinMartha Swope/NYPL
I wanted to make people feel the way he made me feel as he performed “Magic to Do”! Brilliant.
Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
When Jack sang “I'm Lovely” to Zero, I could hardly breathe it was so funny and touching. Seeing two great actors work off of each other with such spontaneity was a rare pleasure.
Uta Hagen in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Uta Hagen, Arthur-Hill and George-Grizzardin Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
She was daring and powerful and moving, and I made a decision to study with her when I saw this incomparable performance.
Gwen Verdon in Sweet Charity
Gwen Verdon
Murray Korman
After seeing her performance, I followed her light wherever I could. She became my beacon, and 24 years later taught me this role that was written for her. I feel forever blessed by her generosity.
James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope
James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope
His performance was so profoundly moving that I forgot I was in the theatre and heard someone sobbing.... and it was me.
Walter Matthau and Art Carney in The Odd Couple
Walter Matthau and Art Carney in The Odd CoupleFriedman-Abeles Collection/NYPL
An all-time favorite. I had to see it more than once because it was so funny, and people laughed so hard that I missed about 50% of the lines.
Lena Horne in The Lady and Her Music
Lena Horne in The Lady and Her MusicMartha Swope
She raised the bar for all forms of musical concert and musical theatre performances with this engagement. She changed the game for the mainstream by illustrating her point of how it takes 20 years to sing a ballad, by singing “Stormy Weather” wonderfully in the first act and then blowing the roof off the theatre when she sang it again in the second act.
Cynthia Erivo in The Color Purple
Cynthia Erivo in The Color PurpleMatthew Murphy
I don't think I can find the words to describe how moved I was by John Doyle's powerful production. One of the most brilliantly calibrated and heartbreakingly beautiful performances I have ever seen. When she sang the last song, I swear I felt the whole audience levitate.
Two-time Tony winner Nathan Lane, who will star in a one-night-only staged reading of The Man Who Came to Dinner next month to benefit the Roundabout Theatre Company, recently released a children's book entitled "Naughty Mabel," which he co-wrote with his husband Devlin Elliott. The Broadway favorite shares the performances that most affected him as part of the audience.
Playbill.com's new feature series, Their Favorite Things, asks members of the theatre community to share the Broadway performances that most affected them as part of the audience.
This week we spotlight the choices of five-time Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald, who is currently celebrating the release of her newest solo recording, "Go Back Home" (Nonesuch Records), with a multi-city concert tour that continues through December.
Playbill.com's feature series Their Favorite Things asks members of the theatre community to share the Broadway performances that most affected them as part of the audience.
This week we spotlight the choices of Olivier and two-time Tony winner Patti LuPone, whose "Favorite Things" are arranged chronologically by female artists, then male artists and, finally, show title.
Tony Award winner Alan Cumming will celebrate his new album, "Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs" (due Feb. 5 on the Yellow Sound Label), with a Feb. 8 concert at Carnegie Hall, where he will be joined by Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss and Ricki Lake. Here, the Cabaret star shares the performances that most affected him as part of the audience.
Playbill.com's new feature series, Their Favorite Things, asks members of the theatre community to share the Broadway performances that most affected them as part of the audience.
This week we spotlight the choices of multiple Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, who is currently represented on Broadway with the award-winning Newsies at the Nederlander Theatre and Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The world premiere of his first play in nearly 30 years, Casa Valentina, will open at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in April 2014, directed by Joe Mantello.
This week we spotlight the choices of Tony winner and Kennedy Center Honoree Barbara Cook, the iconic soprano who starred in the Broadway productions of The Music Man and Candide.
