a conversation with DEBBY BOONE, starring in 42ND STREET at Scottsdale Musical Theatre Company

by Gil Benbrook

For anyone who was alive in the 1970s Debby Boone was a household name due to her huge 1977 hit song "You Light Up My Life" which spent 10 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Boone garnered more attention when she performed the song on both the Oscars and Grammy Awards and she would go on to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and have a successful career in music, theatre, TV and film.

Boone has been performing since she was just a teenager when she toured with her father, Pat Boone and her sisters, and she has had a varied music recording career in various music genres including pop, country and gospel.

In 1979 she married Gabriel Ferrer, the son of Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney. Boone and her children toured with Clooney and she even recorded a duet with Clooney of her famous holiday song "White Christmas" on Boone's Christmas album "Home For Christmas."

Boone has appeared in many theatrical productions, including the Broadway production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and starred as Maria in the revival of The Sound of Music at Lincoln Center.

Boone comes to Phoenix to co-star next week in the Scottsdale Musical Theater Company production of 42nd Street and Boone took a break to answer some questions about the show and her career just before joining rehearsals this past week.

For someone who doesn’t know the show, what would you tell them 42nd Street is about?

"42nd Street is about the creation of a big Broadway show in the 1930’s  called Pretty Lady. It gives you an inside look from several different points of view, a jaded director who needs a big success for financial reasons, a past her prime diva who desperately needs to be relevant again, a young dancer singer with stars in her eyes and hopes for a big career on Broadway. You see the camaraderie of a hard working Broadway cast. It’s a musical within a musical and has all the elements you could expect from a Broadway show. Great songs, great dancing, big sets, conflict, romance and a lot of heart!"

How would you describe the character you play, Dorothy Brock?

"Dorothy Brock is a successful theater actress who hasn’t had any great success in a decade. She is desperate to feel relevant in the theater again. Her insecurities are masked by over-the-top demands. She knows the real reason she has the part in Pretty Lady is because of her relationship with Abner Dillon who has put up the money for the show, and yet she knows that she has what it takes to be the leading lady the show requires."

What is it about the character of Dorothy Brock that you connect with most? 

"I think I connect to her insecurity and her confidence which sounds strange but I think most performers would identify with that statement. You can know you have talent and something to really bring to a show and at the same time question yourself and compare yourself to others in a way that undermines your abilities, especially as you get older."

How do you prepare when you're stepping into a show in this capacity and specifically how did you prepare for 42nd Street?

"When I come into a show like this where the rehearsal period is very short, my main objective is to come in with my lines and songs learned. Beyond that, if I feel I need to work with a vocal coach I will, and in this case - I did. I also spend a lot of time imagining a life for the character that I’m playing. I wonder what experiences have brought her to this point in her life what do all of her relationships look and feel like, etc."
.
What are you looking forward to most about performing in Arizona? Have you performed here before or have any connection to the Valley? 

"It is been a very long time since I’ve performed in Arizona. One of the most memorable was being part of Rosemary Clooney’s White Christmas party with my kids. It was the first city on our tour and the first time my kids had ever been on stage. It is a lovely memory that I will always cherish. I am very much looking forward to working at the Scottsdale Musical Theater Company. It looks like such a beautiful place and I know they have put on some fantastic productions!"

You do tons of concert work across the country. What drew you to a traditional musical like 42nd Street? 

"Honestly, David Hock, the director, talked me into it! I would never have seen myself as right for this role. We spoke on the phone and I really like to take he had on the character of Dorothy Brock. It seemed much more real and within reach, and yet a challenge too. I absolutely love musical theater and working with a company of talented people. It is going to be so fun to be a part of a big musical like 42nd Street."

Any favorite moment in the show? 

"It’s hard to say since I have not joined the rehearsal yet. I am anticipating that my final scene in Act II where I have a heart to heart with Peggy Sawyer will be a highlight for me."

What do you need with you when you're on the road or performing out-of-town? 

"The most important thing is my French press and good coffee! I never leave home without them."

You had a huge hit song when you were just 21, won the Grammy for Best New Artist, have recorded various styles of music and have also done plenty of TV and stage work, I even saw you play Maria in The Sound of Music at Lincoln Center and thought you were wonderful. Which is your favorite medium and why? 

"I can’t really answer that because what I love is the variety. I have been so fortunate to be able to do concerts, sing many kinds of music, to do musical theater, television and even a few movies. I guess if I had to narrow it down, the experience of singing a beautiful song on stage that allows me to communicate heart to heart with an audience, that is what I love the most."

42nd Street glorifies the golden age of Broadway. You obviously grew up in a famous family and your father Pat Boone had a hugely successful career just after the time period depicted in the show. What connection to the time period or the songs from that time do you have?

"I don’t really have a strong connection to the time period of the 1930s but I have a strong connection to the American Songbook which I have ended up singing almost exclusively at this point in my life. As I said, I love musical theater so being a part of a musical about a musical is double the fun."

What do you hope audiences will take away from seeing 42nd Street?

"I hope audiences come out of the theater smiling because they had a great time. This is a chance to see a classic Broadway musical. I think the excitement of the opening number will transport audiences right out of the pressure of their daily lives and the show will delight them all the way to the big finish!"

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs July 6th to July 15