INTERVIEW: VANESSA WILLIAMS Vanessa Williams, On Life & Performing In The UK Interview by Lydia Parker Do you find working in London theatre different as compared to Broadway? The work ethic and talent level is the same in the West End as on Broadway. The only difference is you have “tea breaks” and we have “coffee breaks”. What have you found challenging as an American living in the UK and what do you like? There have been no challenges transitioning from New York to London. There’s Uber, subways, buses and taxis always available, but I tend to walk daily and that’s the best way to get my bearings and discover neighbourhoods. I try to not take the same route often but mix it up. As a musical theatre major in college, was your ambition always to be on stage? Growing up within an hour from Broadway, musical theatre was always a tangible goal for me, just an audition away. Being a recording artist, TV and movie star was a dream come true.
Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Williams, renowned American singer and actress, famous for her TV roles as Wilhelmina Slater in Ugly Betty and Renée Perry in Desperate Housewives, as well as for her star turns on Broadway, makes her West End stage debut in City of Angels, which opened in March at the Garrick Theatre. Theatre reviewer for American in Britain, Lydia Parker, got the chance to ask her a few questions about her extensive performing career and her time in London. 24
AMERICAN IN BRITAIN
Have you been to the UK before? If so, what are your favourite things to do here? I’ve been to the UK several times. I visited my uncle’s family while he was working here in the sixties, I sang on Top of the Pops, and I recorded the strings for my Christmas album at Abbey Road Studios. My favourite things to do while in London are of course going to the theatre, walking in the many parks and heading out to Bicester Village for designer bargains!
Who are your favourite musical theatre composers? Did you find working on Sondheim musicals a challenge more than other composers? My favourite composers for the stage are of course my friend Stephen Sondheim with whom I worked twice (Into the Woods, Sondheim on Sondheim) Harold Arlen, Leonard Bernstein, Micheal John LaChiusa, Frank Loesser, the list goes on. Sondheim’s songs are unique, heart wrenching, witty and delicious to dive into and master as an actor. Besides having the honour of working with musical theatre legend Sondheim, I was directed by Hal Prince for Kiss of the Spiderwoman with music by Fred Ebb and John Cantor and choreography by Rob Marshall in 1994-95. I’ve appeared in many wonderful Broadway musicals: St. Louis Woman in 1998, Into the Woods in 2002, Sondheim on Sondheim in 2010, A Trip to Bountiful in 2013, After Midnight in 2014 and Hey Look Me Over in 2018. I also recorded the cast albums for Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Into the Woods, Sondheim on Sondheim and St. Louis Woman.
