#kelli o'hara

[adamsvanrhijn]

"I don't know what you mean." "Nor should you. You're far too well brought up."

▹ JORDAN WALLER as OSCAR WILDE

The Gilded Age (2022–)

[whartonists]

The cast of The Gilded Age celebrate the premiere of season 2 in NYC, photographed by Emilio Madrid

[alexguerinss]

season 2 behind the scenes via harry richardson’s instagram 🙌🏼

[blake-ritson-love]

Blake Ritson as Oscar Van Rhijn in season 2, episode 2 of The Gilded Age (Photos: HBO Max Nordic)

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 3

Broadway's leading soprano, Tony winner, and critic darling, Kelli O'Hara (1976) is the sole reason I didn't make this poll a 50+ affair. With seven Tony nominations, Kelli has received acclaim for every role she's ever had since 2005, including South Pacific (2008), The King and I (2015), and Kiss Me, Kate (2019). She is one of the few musical theatre actresses to successfully cross over into opera. Her divine performance in The Hours (2022) will play an encore run this coming season. Kelli took her final bow in Days of Wine and Roses (2024) on March 31st.

Lea Salonga (1971) made history in 1991 as the first Asian performer to ever win Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Miss Saigon. She was just twenty years old at the time, the second youngest, and now all these years later, she qualifies for our MILF tournament. Lea has starred in six Broadway shows including Les Miserables (as first Eponine and then later Fantine), Once On This Island (2017), and most recently a brief stint in Here Lies Love (2023). She is also the singing voice for Disney's Mulan.

NEW PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"I don't believe in any god, but Kelli's voice is the closest I've ever felt to divinity here on earth in my life. I know history is against her for Best Actress this year because her show closed, but truly she is *the* choice for the Tony and if politics and marketing and all those other non-talent related factors didn't play a role, she'd win."

"When Lea Salonga returns to Broadway next year in a Sondheim revue, I will ascend to a higher plane of being."

[lushbliss]

[glimeres]

2024 - Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James perform Evanesce from the musical Days Of Wine and Roses

[droughtofapathy]

The Gilded Age's Broadway Divas: Aurora Fane (Kelli O'Hara)

Beloved by all, Aurora Fane enjoys a powerful position in Mrs. Astor's New York. Having suitably recovered from impending financial ruin last season, this season, Aurora has done some ill-fated matchmaking, worn some fantastic hats, and provided beautiful window dressing to scenes where she just sits there and looks pretty.

One of Broadway's (few) leading sopranos, Kelli O'Hara is a dying breed. As trends shift towards a more pop/rock sound, and classical musical theatre becomes a thing of the past, Kelli nevertheless finds her niche. A seven-time Tony nominee, Kelli has won Best Leading Actress in a Musical for the 2015 revival of The King and I. You'll recall another Gilded Age Diva who won for that same role some years prior. A proshot of the NT Live production can be found online. It is a gorgeous shoot, even if I take issue with that show as a whole.

She has also been nominated for Kiss Me, Kate (2019), The Bridges of Madison County (2014), and The Light in the Piazza (2005). Ironically, though Aurora Fane supports The Academy, Kelli is a classically trained opera singer who has appeared on the Met Opera stage three times, and will play Laura Brown in an encore run of The Hours this spring. (See my breakdown post over costumes here.)

However, prior to her opera appearance, Kelli will be starring in the new Broadway musical Days of Wine and Roses for a limited 16-week run, opening on January 28th. Kelli has been nominated for every role she has played since 2005, and this will almost certainly be no different. Booked and busy.

#1: "Shall We Dance?" The King and I (2015)

Kelli's voice is otherworldly angelic. That much we already know very well. The King and I opened in 2015 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center, the third musical Kelli has starred in at that venue. The Beaumont is, of course, right next to The Met Opera, and the only Broadway theater outside the theatre district in Midtown.

As Anna Leonowens, Kelli travels to Siam to teach the children and wives of the king how to speak English. Orientalism aside, the show is a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the score is divine in Kelli's mouth. Fun fact: Kelli's replacement was Marin Mazzie in one of her last onstage roles. Marin was the Passion co-star and dear friend to Donna Murphy, our Mrs. Astor.

This video is from the 2015 Tony performance and showcases the incredible quick change Kelli makes between singing "Getting to Know You" and "Shall We Dance?" aided by a team of unbelievable dressers. It is a marvel to witness. As is Ruthie Ann Miles, Kelli's co-star who recently performed in the Encores! production of Light in the Piazza.

#2: "What More Do I Need?" Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration (2020)

In 2020, despite a global pandemic, the theatre community still found a way to honor Stephen Sondheim's milestone 90th birthday with an online concert. Kelli performed a song from Saturday Night, Sondheim's first professional musical that was slated for Broadway in 1955, but was scrapped. It only got its New York premiere in 2000. This particular number is a cabaret favorite, and Kelli is an absolute delight with just a camera and digital accompaniment.

Fun fact: it wasn't until this particular performance that I truly started to appreciate the wonder that is Kelli O'Hara. I had previously seen her in concert just that March, and loved her, of course, but I have a complex relationships with sopranos. I now recognize that I love mature sopranos, but it's the ingenues I can't listen to without wincing.

#3: "They Don't Let You In the Opera" (2016)

Lest we think Kelli is limited in her range and style, this song was written especially for her to showcase her vast talent and comedic timing. Kelli, an Oklahoma farmgirl, isn't the sort of person you'd expect to be both classically trained and country literate.

Kelli, who has been typecast as refined and often repressed characters who go through harrowing emotional experiences, much like Aurora Fane, is more than capable of bringing a rollicking comedy to the mix.

This number is a favorite in Kelli's concert repertoire. There isn't much more to say, except that you need to witness its hilarity for yourself.

#4: “Heaven? Somebody else’s heaven?” The Hours (2023)

Speaking of opera, here is an excerpt from a scene in Act II where Laura Brown has fled to a hotel room to contemplate some very serious courses of action. Kelli, alongside soprano Renee Fleming and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, makes up a trio of phenomenal women in Kevin Putts' adaptation of the book and movie.

The Met Opera theatre seats nearly 4,000 people across six levels. The performers do not use body mics or amplification of any kind, but rather rely on intense vocal training to be heard across the theater. For this reason, alongside the vastly different vocal techniques and styles, musical theatre actors rarely cross over into opera, and vice versa. Notable exceptions include Renee Fleming, Kelli's Light in the Piazza co-star Victoria Clark, and Mary Beth Peil, who made her musical theatre debut in The King and I as yet another Miss Anna, hers in 1985.

#5: "So in Love," Kiss Me, Kate (2019)

Starring in yet another Golden Age musical revival, Kelli brings a different take on Lilli Vanessi, a glamorous movie star in a turbulent relationship. Kelli's vocal talent, of course, speaks for itself. For Kelli, this role was a tribute to her dear friend, the late Marin Mazzie, who had passed away some months before the show opened. Marin, who replaced Kelli in The King and I, had played this same role in the 1999 Broadway revival to great acclaim. In her first entrance of the show, Kelli wore a costume that featured the very same hat Marin wore in her show.

Though this video is beloved, my personal favorite rendition can be heard below. It was taken at a concert Kelli put on at the 92Y in New York last February. In it, Kelli sings for and to Marin, and the entire theatre wept.

Bonus: "Back to Before," Ragtime Reunion Concert (2023)

The role of Mother was originally workshopped by Donna Murphy in Toronto in the early 90s, but she left to do King and I, which worked out well for her. In came dear friend Marin Mazzie, who originated the role on Broadway, and established a precedent no other has been able to top. Also in that cast? Audra McDonald as Sarah, for which she won a Tony, of course.

In 2023, after years of pandemic-related delays, they staged a one-night reunion concert of this special show. And who better to take on Marin's iconic role than Kelli O'Hara? Listen to her "Back to Before" here, and then do yourself a favor and run, don't walk, to listen to Marin's.

[tothineownomelette]

Just look at them…

[greaterstokesawareness]

Stokes News! Ragtime Reunion Concert will play in select theaters in March 2024

There’s no official announcement or website yet that I can find, but it looks like tickets are available on Cinemark, Regal, and AMC websites ✨

[nonesuchrecords]

NPR's Jeff Lunden talks with Days of Wine and Roses composer Adam Guettel, script writer Craig Lucas, stars Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James, and director Matthew Greif about the creation of the new musical, now on Broadway. You can hear the Morning Edition piece here.

[catullus101]

Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato and Kelli O'Hara sing the Final Trio from the opening night of The Hours

Metropolitan Opera House, November 11th, 2022

[blake-ritson-love]

The Gilded Age Season 2, Episode 1 - Blake Ritson as Oscar Van Rhijn & Kelli O'Hara as Aurora Fane

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 1D

Broadway's leading soprano, Tony winner, and critic darling, Kelli O'Hara (1976) is the sole reason I didn't make this poll a 50+ affair. With seven Tony nominations, Kelli has received acclaim for every role she's ever had since 2005, including South Pacific (2008), The King and I (2015), and Kiss Me, Kate (2019). She is one of the few musical theatre actresses to successfully cross over into opera. Her divine performance in The Hours (2022) will play an encore run this coming season. Kelli will take her final bow in Days of Wine and Roses (2024) this Sunday.

Heather Headley (1974) is a Tony-winning actress and successful recording artist. She began her career in 1996 understudying for Audra McDonald in Ragtime. She went on to play star turns in Aida (2000), The Lion King (1997), and The Color Purple (2016). She played The Witch in the NYCC Encores! production of Into the Woods, but did not move to Broadway with the transfer. In 2010, she won a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album.

PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"Kelli O'Hara's high notes are a sexual experience. Listening to her crystal clear lyrical soprano fill a Broadway theatre is the closest thing you will ever get to divinity on earth. It's extremely difficult to sing up the scale as she does and still retain a clear and precise diction in the lyrics, but Kelli doesn't sacrifice an ounce of the lyrics' integrity. As she's gotten older, she's been able to develop the rich lower register of her range, and it is sublime. I am deeply in love with this woman. She is, in all ways, the legacy and successor of Marin Mazzie and Rebecca Luker. Who else could possibly take over Marin's Mother in the Ragtime reunion concert? Also, have you *seen* her arms? She could run a marathon with me on her back without breaking a sweat."

"Heather Headley doesn't do much Broadway, all things considered, but when she does, it's wonderful. Listening to her sing "Too Beautiful for Words" stole my breath away. I was less blown-away with her Witch for Into the Woods, if I'm being honest, but it was still wonderful to see her back on stage."

[glimeres]

Please...If anyone out there has this footage...

[droughtofapathy]

I've been a little glum about Aurora Fane's costuming this season just because I miss the motifs of always having her chest out for some reason, and being almost exclusively in shades of blue for the whole of last season. However, one outfit from this season is a standout on every level. But how did we get here. Come with me on this journey.

This is the dress Aurora wears whilst visiting the The Met Opera prior to its official opening. It's beautiful. It's blue, and floral, and she just looks so divine in it. See more about its creation below.

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A post shared by Eric Winterling (@ericcaseywinterling)

Now, here is Kelli O'Hara's costume in The Hours, an opera that premiered last fall at The Met, and will play an encore this coming spring.

Like... come the fuck on. I am obsessed. (Side note: this costume is even more incredible than at first glance because it does something really fun and innovative for the on-stage quick change. Do yourself a favor and see it live.)

The costume designer put Kelli O'Hara in a blue dress with pink roses for the scene where she stands upon the Met Opera stage* and I have been thinking about it for weeks. But here's the kicker. Season Two filming took place in summer of 2022. Kelli was learning the score to The Hours during this time. At this point, the costume design, creation, and fittings for The Gilded Age had almost certainly already happened, because y'know, they were actively filming and these things take time. The Hours costume design would not have had any chance to see Kelli's Gilded Age costume, nor would they have cared for the purposes of the character. The earliest promo shots of Kelli for The Hours are from October 2022, and she is in a completely different dress (green with blue roses). Someone explain to me how this happened, because it is too much for me to handle. I need to sit down with Kasia Walicka Maimone and Tom Pye right fucking now so they can explain themselves.

*yes, I know the Met depicted in the show is not the Met currently located at Lincoln Center, but let me have this.