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BROADWAY QUICK CHANGE w/ Robert Hartwell and Kelli O'Hara!
Nov 8, 2022
BroadwayWorld.com, the most visited theatre site on the net, presents its exclusive TV series - BROADWAY QUICK CHANGE. This newly minted series follows Broadway phenom Robert Hartwellon inspirational shopping outings, then into the dressing rooms of Broadway's hottest stars, where wielding his interior design chops, and extraordinary taste, transforms their home away from home, from the Drab to the Fab, the Blah to the Ahhhh! In this latest episode, watch Robert as he helps out Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara at The King and I!
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Hey guys and welcome to Broadway Quick Change, the show where we transform the
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dressing rooms of Broadway's hottest stars. As a Broadway performer, I understand
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the need for a home away from home, so I come in with a fresh solution. I'm your
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host and interior designer Robert Hartwell and welcome to Broadway Quick Change
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Today we're at Lincoln Center Theatre where five-time Tony Award nominee Kelly
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O'Hara is preparing to open The King and I. Now Kelly and I actually did nice work
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if you can get it together on Broadway. And I am so excited to get backstage and to see her
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Her fans have just been, like, ridiculously excited for us to do this Broadway Quick Change for her
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And I cannot wait to do an interview and to see the space and get to designing and just to see her
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because she is simply the best. All right, come on, guys. Let's do this
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Hey, guys. We are here with Kelly O'Hara, who's playing Miss Anna here at The King and I at Lincoln Center
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How are you feeling? Good. Excited. It's gonna be amazing. I hope so
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So I was walking in the stage door today and I kind of freaked out because I haven't told you this yet
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I don't know if you remember, but when I was a senior in high school, I met you at the stage door during Light in the Piazza
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Oh my god, why did you tell me that? Because it didn't come back to me until just now and I walked in and I'm like, this is so full circle. Yes
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It's so cool. But in the meantime we've done a show together and everything and I didn't even know that
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So Kelly, let's talk about this room. What's going on in here
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No, I love this room, actually. Lots of good memories. In fact, I had this dressing room for South Pacific
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I had one just like it across the hall for Light of the Piazza. They're all done beautifully, all the rooms
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Just a little bit different from each other, but they're already set. And I love it
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It's just so comfortable, and I've always loved it. But this time, because I've done it twice already
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and I'm in a different place in my life. I'm going to have my kids here sometime
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I just wanted something different and fresh and light and energetic. So as far as a game plan for the room
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because your kids are definitely going to be coming in and between the kids and the show will be there
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So it has to be comfy. It has to be cozy. How do you feel about color
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I like color. You like color? Yeah, I'm pretty conservative. I wouldn't say your taste and mine
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might be really perfect, but for some reason I'm excited about it
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I want you to put Robert Hartwell in my room. I want to be there all the time
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Okay, done. We're going to do it. I'm excited. But I think it will be fun to bring a mashup of
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who you are as the wonderful, beautiful woman and the mother and the wife that you are and marrying the two with Miss Anna
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and seeing how we can play with India but also play with your actual real life in the room
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Oh my gosh. If you can do that, you're a master. Okay. So I'm thinking one, the rug, the carpet that's in there. Yeah
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It's beautiful. But since there so much pattern on the floor I thinking if we went with something light our eye will probably gravitate towards that so we don see all the busyness around it And then I think we should recover the
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sofa. Right? I think we should do that. Bring in some color. I'm not sure exactly what we're
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going to do with artwork yet, but our resident artist, Nona McKay, is incredible. There's
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a resident artist. Oh, there's a resident artist. Broadway, quick change. She's going
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to come in and she's going to do a couple of pieces, and I cannot wait to see what she
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comes up with. But before we go, I have got a couple of questions from some fans from Broadway
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World. Hey, Broadway World. Antoine Smith says, if you had the chance to play any male role in a
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play and or musical, what would it be? Oh, gosh. I don't know. I love, you know, I've so often wanted
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to play the guy that I was playing opposite, you know, but I could take little pieces. Like
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I'd love to sing soliloquy, you know, I'd like to have that moment, or I'd like to be, I'd like to do
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Professor Higgins, you know, so all of Rex Harrison, so it's all lots of speaky, speaky
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speaky stuff. You know, the big roles that like King Lear and all those are so wonderful, but also
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I don't think it's a combination of things, George in, in Sonny Clark, you know, because he had such
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complicated mind and digging through that while being a sympathetic character at the same time as
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you know, Amanda Patinkin. So there's a lot. Sorry, that's not a one. No, I love it. I think
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Antoine will be really happy. Speaking of bridge kids, tell me who are, because the bridge kids
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you guys came with a full force on these questions, so I have got to know. They're awesome
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These wonderful women are, it started in Bridges and Madison County, obviously, Bridge Kids
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I believe, and they've written me the most beautiful letter, thank you very much, together
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It moved me deeply. They show up at my things, they're my support system
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I think they latched on to the idea of women, strong choices, believing in your dreams, caring through
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and that is actually something that I have kind of lived my life about
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and to have people acknowledge that and a group of people kind of come together and be inspired by that
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is very special and so I'm very grateful. Well, they love you
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They love you. Reading their messages was just beautiful. Trevor Hennigan writes in and goes
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if you could go back and give your 22-year-old self any piece of advice
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before hitting New York City, what would it be? Oh, my gosh
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I tell this to people, kids in master classes. If you try to be something that's already come before you
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it's an absolute, you're murdering yourself. The only thing you have to do is to be who you are
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Sell your goods. And if I had known that, because I remember thinking, and I see kids doing this, oh, I sound like, you know
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I sound like Idina Menzel, or I could, I mean, I'm going to try to, because that's obviously the going thing
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or maybe I look like Kelly O'Hara, whatever it is, you know, I'm not putting myself up, I'm just saying, like, you know
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like someone who already working So if I had stopped doing that if I had said well they really like this type so I can be this type or I try to be more like this that was such a waste of my time and it wasn until I started to kind of land in what I could do or wanted to do that I started to actually get work and find my place in this town
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you know um there were a lot of people that you thought you should be like um and you want to do
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that's called inspiration and that's great but that's not gonna that's not gonna keep you working
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it might get you in the door but right you gotta have something that is your own sustains yeah
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right absolutely like mr robert hartwell oh you stop it man you stop it admire you
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a leak ask do you have any hidden talents besides being a triple threat if so can you
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please demonstrate. Listen, he thinks I'm a triple threat, which I was going to say
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You are a triple threat. We were together. We shared a great moment
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We shared a great moment in the American musical theater history. Yes
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We are Fred Astaire Award nominees. Because I'm a major dancer, like Robert Hartwell
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I don't know if you know that, so that makes me a triple threat. Triple threats. The most ridiculous nomination
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No, honestly, though, in Nice Work, you and Matthew were dancing. your patooties off. Still. What other kind of dancing was going on that year on Broadway
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But anyway, yes, thank you for calling me a triple threat. My other talents include
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strange faces. Yeah? Like for instance, you know, there's the easy one like, but then I can also stay in this
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for as long as you want. I can laugh, I can sing, I can eat, I can talk
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And be comfortable. Yep, I can keep that. And not very many people can keep that
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And it's unattractive. Wait, can you sing like that? La la la la la
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Hey! You're the best. Wait, okay. Seriously, though, I should probably let you go eat some lunch
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And I should probably go do your room. Oh, my God. I can't wait
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I can't wait. Any, like, final request? Anything you can, like, think of
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You know, I just go. Just go. But I... Just go. Okay. Yeah
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But, you know, just go. Okay. That's all. No, it's fine. I'm excited
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I'm excited. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you for doing this
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No, thank you. Okay. Bye, Rob. I'll see you soon. Alright. For the reveal
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Thanks for watching. Bye. Thank you Oh it so beautiful
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It's so bright. I love you. I'm so happy that you like it
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It's going to make everything so happy. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, so you can nap
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The kids can come over, all the kids in the show, your own kids. Everybody just take a nap and, like, huddle
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Covered that? We covered that. Actually, our seamstress Liz came in, and literally in a day, she's like cutting fabric, sewing things, and everyone in the wardrobe department has been so incredible
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And I know you guys are in previews and rehearsal craziness. So everyone has been so wonderful here to us
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And how about this makeup, Sam? I think... I mean, it's so bright, and it just makes me feel like it's a very positive energy. It's a very positive energy
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Look at that! Little things that they have. Just like little touches
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The elephant is the good luck there. We say that in the show
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In the pictures of my family. I think that's so important, especially you. You're such a nurturing, wonderful spirit
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I really hope that you just soar here, and I'm so happy for you
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So I had to introduce you to Monette, who did all of the custom artwork
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I mean, it's so moving. How did you pick, and it's like one of my favorite quotes in the show
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I know how it feels to have wings on your heels and to fly down the street in a trance. You fly down the street on the chance that you meet, and you meet not really by chance
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Isn't that just beautiful, though? It's just so whimsical. How did you know? I just love it
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We are just connected. And that's fantastic. It's perfect. I just love it
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It's very personal, and that's what I really appreciate, because I always try to put something in the dressing room that makes me, that connects me to the show
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but you guys did it for me and you chose things that I would have chosen so and the things that
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I never knew that I would have chosen that I love so I love that one that works out you know we definitely had you in mind thank you it is I can feel that I really really appreciate it
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of course well we appreciate you for having us here and just being so wonderful and we love you
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I love you too and um I can't wait to see the show I'm so excited thank you thank you so much
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Of course. This is going to make it all really positive. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to another episode of Broadway Quick Change
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And come check out this phenom, Miss Kelly O'Hara, in The King and I, playing at the Vivian Beaumont
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And we will see you guys next time for another episode of Broadway Quick Change
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Bye, guys. Bye. I love this part right here
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And I'm gonna stay right here And I'm gonna stay right here
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