MAMMA MIA! STAR BRANDI BURKHARDT

PLAYBILL “DIVA TALK” FEATURE

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http://www.playbill.com/news/article/125743.html

Brandi Burkhardt is now starring as “Sophie Sheridan” in MAMMA MIA! at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway.

PLAYBILL – January 30, 2009

DIVA TALK: Chatting with Mamma Mia!‘s Brandi Burkhardt

By Andrew Gans

A year ago, Brandi Burkhardt, the young singing actress with the beautiful, rounded soprano, had yet to make her Broadway debut. Fast-forward a few months, and the talented performer is currently starring in her second Broadway musical. Burkhardt began the season as Lucie Manette in the short-lived musical A Tale of Two Cities at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, and she recently joined the cast of the long-running, international hit musical Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden. In the ABBA-scored production, Burkhardt plays bride-to-be Sophie Sheridan and gets the chance to show off another side of her vocal talents, her Broadway belt. Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with Burkhardt, whose theatrical credits also include the Reprise! staging of Li’l Abner (as Daisy Mae) and the international tour of Jekyll & Hyde: Resurrection (as Emma); my interview with the former Miss America contestant follows.

Question: How did the role in Mamma Mia! come about for you?

Brandi Burkhardt: After A Tale of Two Cities closed, I did a reading called Silas. The musical director was Wendy Bobbitt Cavett. I knew she was [musical director] for Mamma Mia!, and I asked her – and, actually, my Sky [in Mamma Mia!], Chris Peluso, was in that reading as well. I just asked her, “Hey, are you guys seeing Sophies?” And she said, “Yeah, we’re actually seeing Sophies on Monday. But you’re not really a Sophie, are you?” I was like, “Well, I think so.” I think she said that because she had only heard me sing legit, high-soprano stuff and playing sad English ladies. So, essentially she called casting and said, “Hey, maybe you should see Brandi.” I went in and… history!

Read the rest of the feature: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/125743.html

For more information about MAMMA MIA! around the world:  www.mamma-mia.com

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