NR:  Let’s talk about The Look of Love. Give me a little background on the show for the people who haven’t seen it.

LC:  It’s a celebration of the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It’s a revue but it doesn’t feel like a revue to me. They’re trying for an evening of music and dance. I’m a Bacharach/David fan from way back.

NR:  Even as a kid?

LC:  Yeah, I listened to all that stuff. I had an album of instrumentals by Bacharach, and when I met him in December I asked him to autograph it. I was so embarrassed but I’ve always loved his stuff. I love just hearing the music, whether I’m singing it or whether I’m listening to my fellow castmates do it. I think it’s incredible.

NR:  I’m picturing you when you were 10 or 12 listening to this album, and now you’re standing on a Broadway stage singing it.

LC:  I know. It’s amazing. I used to listen to the Fifth Dimension and now I’m doing “One Less Bell to Answer.” When I first started singing it, it was hard to erase that in my mind. I hadn’t listened to it in years, but when you listen to something a lot, especially when you’re a child, you never forget it. I kept thinking, “I have to make this my own,” but it’s cool. I never thought I was going to do this. My son knows Burt Bacharach from Austin Powers so it’s nice to bring this music to a younger audience. I think it will appeal to a lot of people.

I got to work yesterday and we made changes. We re-choreographed. We added stuff, we made some costume changes, and we had to put it in that night. I love that.

NR:  Doesn’t that scare you?

LC:  It scares me but I love it. I find it very challenging and exciting. To me, the most interesting process of putting together a new show is putting in new things and seeing if they work. I’ve had experiences where it was a catastrophe, but I love the process. It’s live and it’s a great challenge. Generally, I react well to that kind of challenge.

NR:  What happens if you’ve been doing a role for a long time and it becomes routine? Do you still react well, or do you find that more difficult?

LC:  It’s a different kind of challenge. When I did Cats, people would say, “How can you do it so long?” but I never got tired of singing “Memory.” I got tired of putting on that make-up but I didn’t get tired of doing the show because there are very different ways you can do it. I tried to do new things. Certain shows I couldn’t do that long because it wouldn’t be that interesting. It depends on the show and the role.

This is singing pop music and trying to make it theatrical. It’s very much trying to find a context in these songs and put them on a Broadway stage. It’s a very tricky thing to do, but it’s an interesting challenge. I’m still finding things. I will need every minute of this preview. The first preview that we did felt like a first rehearsal to me because a lot of this show we couldn’t stage in a rehearsal studio. We could stage the dance numbers but not the solos because we didn’t know the set and the lighting. It’s a real growth process.

NR:  Have you created little characters for the songs?

Photo: Joan Marcus

LC:  Not so much characters in terms of completely different people, but the context of the storyline for the song. You really have to invent it because for the most part, it’s not there in pop music. That’s the challenge for the actor on stage. How do you put this on a Broadway stage without it being just a plain concert?

NR:  I was wondering about that before I saw it. I didn’t know if you were going to try and have a little story to run it together, but you really didn’t do that.

LC:  And I’m glad they didn’t.

NR:  It reminds me a lot of the variety shows from the ‘60s.

LC:  It’s very different. Originally the Roundabout did something in San Diego with completely different creative people. They tried to have a plot, and when you try to put a plot to pop songs, it’s very difficult. Mamma Mia! did it, but that’s a little more tongue-in-cheek. This music is so sophisticated. If you study the lyrics, there’s a lot of fun stuff in these songs, but there’s also a lot of great, profound, adult themes in them. A lot of what I have are these ballads so you can’t put a plot to it. That has to be done with great care. I did Marry Me a Little years ago and that’s all Sondheim songs that had been cut. They were incredible songs but it’s very hard to turn that into an evening because he writes specifically for each show. And yet I see why people keep trying to put a plot to songs. I think there’s going to be a real trend of trying to have pop songs on stage.

NR:  You mentioned September 11th before. Between the economy and the war, Broadway is really hurting. You can see they’re trying a lot of different things to answer the question, “What’s going to get people to pay $90 to $100 for a ticket?” It’s such a challenge.

LC:  The prices are just ridiculous. It’s so horrible. It’s tough, but that’s the way it is and I don’t think it’s going to go backwards. It’s a shame. I personally would like to see discounted kids’ tickets. That’s a crusade of mine. Tickets for kids should be half off. That’s still a lot of money, but who can afford full price? I don’t take my son to very much theater because I can’t keep spending $90 apiece. Kids’ Night on Broadway is great but I think kids should be able to come to the theater like they can go to the movies.

There can be a real audience for this show. People are wanting something different and I think Broadway is trying to build a bridge between itself and the pop world. There are shows like Movin’ Out and Mamma Mia!. I hear about all these shows being optioned out that are the music of the Beach Boys, and other groups like that. I think it’s great. We’ll see if they’re done well and we’ll see what the public thinks, but I think it’s a new source.

NR:  And being cynical, that’s easier to put together than a book show.

LC:  It is. That’s why I’ve told my son that if he wants to be a writer, there is a need for playwrights and lyricists. Book shows are hard, but they’re great.

NR:  You don’t see a lot of brand new shows that didn’t come from another source because it’s such a huge gamble now.

LC:  It is. The odds are so against anything being really successful.

NR:  Which is why you see a lot of revivals like Oklahoma!. If people are going to see one show a year and pay $200 for it, they’re likely to go with the safe bet and not gamble on something they’ve never heard of. That’s a shame.

LC:  It is sad, but that’s the gamble of Broadway. That’s what I like about doing shows - we all do what we do and work hard and see what happens. I almost feel sorry for people whose first Broadway shows are huge hits because they have nowhere to go but down. In my case, it was something we worked so hard on and it was not successful, but it was a great experience.

NR:  You enjoy doing it no matter how it turns out?

LC:  Yeah. In order to get on stage you have to believe in what you’re doing. I’ve been in some real turkeys in my time, as everyone has. But there is a point when you commit to what you’re doing.

NR:  Are you on the Internet at all? Do you ever see any of the online theatre discussions?

LC:  Not too much. I hear about it. I don’t even go to my own website. I’m so shy about things like that. I think it’s great that people have a source, but you read some really great things, and then you read one bad thing and that stays with you. You have to be able to go on stage, and if you hear bad things that aren’t constructive and you can’t do anything about them, it’s hard.

I know that people can be really nasty. I know that people come to the first previews of things and just kill them.

NR:  How do you feel about that?

LC:  I’ve learned to not read it. One reason to come to a first preview of a show is if you want to see an early one and a late one to see what they do. I’ve done that because I’m interested in the process. The only other reason to go is to see it be bad. You’re seeing a show at its worst. The night before our first preview we ran through the show for the first time ever. We hadn’t done a run-thru in three weeks. If people come for the beginning and then they’re going to tell the world what this show is, it’s not a fair judgment of the show. It can only be better than that. When I did Merrily We Roll Along, word of mouth on that show was so terrible. The show really improved tremendously by the time we opened, but the word of mouth killed it, and this was pre-Internet. If the Internet had been there, I can’t imagine.

I understand that word of mouth is important. People have strong opinions and they’re entitled to them. I can see why people would want to post their opinion because they feel powerless otherwise. You have three theater critics who will review a show, and if a person doesn’t agree with that, they want to be heard. That’s very valid. That they are charged full price for a preview is also a very valid point. I remember when previews were less. At least the first week of previews should be less.

NR:  Isn’t the audience helping the creative team? Don’t they listen to feedback from the audience during previews?

LC:  Yes, but everyone has different opinions. With this kind of show, some people just love it and some hate it. You can listen to people’s reactions to Gypsy or Nine and people have strong opinions. But I do know that there is a group of people who come to early previews ready to attack. They’ve always been around but now they have a bigger soapbox with the Internet. And yet, there are things that are great about the Internet.

NR:  Hopefully, when people go home from the show and do a search on your name, they can look at your site and learn more about you.

LC:  That’s really nice. That’s a positive part of it.

NR:  Do you read reviews?

LC:  I don’t as much as I used to. I do for some things. I don’t read interviews. Sometimes I’m misquoted. I don’t think of myself as the most articulate person and sometimes I don’t express my thoughts as eloquently as I wish I could. It’s the same reason that I don’t like the self-promotion part of this business. I’m not comfortable with it. This is a lovely conversation, but usually, it’s a necessary evil. I don’t like to talk about myself - that’s just me. I don’t seek to find out what they say about me. I just like to do my work as much as I can. (laughs) But God knows there are times when I can use strokes - like right now when I’m so exhausted.

As for reviews, it depends on if I’m going to take it personally. Sometimes I’m curious. It’s easier to read reviews of a book show when you’re a character. You may be critiqued for your performance but you’re not critiqued for the writing of it because it’s not your words. When it’s my own thing, then I take it more personally. For the most part, I get good reviews. My husband and my mom will read them. I’ve gotten doozies from John Simon, although in recent years, he’s liked me more. In the beginning, I had a t-shirt that said, “I was panned by John Simon.” (laughs) Then, the first time he gave me an ok review, I was almost disappointed because I was bracing myself. But you know, you put yourself out there, and that’s the risk of what you do.

With longtime collaborator, Alex Rybeck

NR:  Well, you keep working, so obviously you’re doing something right. Is there anything you still want to do that you haven’t done? Or do you just want to keep doing it?

LC:  I’d like to keep doing it. I’d like to keep doing new book shows, and as you said, there aren’t a lot of brand new ideas not based on movies. I would like to keep doing interesting projects. I don’t have any career aspirations of “this is my pinnacle achievement.” I don’t really feel that way. I want to do good work and try to improve. I want to stretch myself and take some risks. You’re kind of at the mercy of other people when it comes to working. I’m really lucky to do a lot of concerts and other work like that. It’s job security to know that I can work. I’m very happy to be back on Broadway. It’s fun. I’ve missed it. I was happy for a break. I was really happy to step away for awhile. I’m happy to be doing something new. We will see what happens. Who knows?

NR:  I have a feeling you’ll keep working for a long time. And I hope you decide this is one interview you’ll want to read! It’s been great talking to you.

LC:  Thank you so much.

Visit www.LizCallaway.com for more about Liz.