Final Five Questions with Kate Baldwin
Tony-nominated actress & singer looks for deeper meaning outside of Broadway.
Kate Baldwin has been performing professionally for more than 25 years. She’s currently leading an all-star cast in 42nd Street at Goodspeed in Connecticut. Before that she starred as Irene Molloy opposite Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce in the hit Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! for which she was nominated for the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critic’s Circle awards. Baldwin originated the role of Sandra Bloom in Big Fish on Broadway, and earned accolades and a Drama Desk Award nomination for her work in Michael John LaChiusa’s Giant at The Public Theatre. She also received a Drama Desk Award nomination for her role as Jen in Keen Company’s 20th Anniversary revival of the Andrew Lippa/Tom Greenwald musical John & Jen. Her performance in Tom Kitt and John Logan’s Superhero at Second Stage garnered critical acclaim as well as a Lucille Lortel Award nomination.
However, among her many Broadway and Off-Broadway nominations, Baldwin has yet to win a single award. But she takes it all in stride and appreciates the nominations all the same, realizing that at this point these awards would only confirm her already well-established theater career.
Recently she joined Why I’ll Never Make It to talk about such awards and what truly brings meaning to her personal and professional lives. Here she answers five final questions about lessons he’s learned and what “making it” really means to her.
1. What job within the arts do you feel is the most undervalued and why is it so important?
The most undervalued job is music director! I think people don’t understand what a music director does, so much so that there is no Tony award designated for the job. The MD is as much a creator as a director or choreographer. They make vital decisions which shape the production and they are the only member of the creative team who has to show up and run the show along with the cast. They have a foot in both worlds and should be recognized for all of the valuable contributions they make.
2. What does success or “making it” mean to you? And how has it (or has it not) manifested in your life?
I think success is the ability to choose your next project. That can look like financial security that lets me turn down work I’m not passionate about to clear space for something exciting to surface or choosing between two jobs or the freedom to support my family by being the primary parent for my son while my husband takes a theatre job. I audition plenty and I see roles go to my friends and colleagues, most of whom I’ve known for 20 years and yes sometimes I’m disappointed that I don’t get picked. But I feel grateful to be in the mix and to be well regarded in this fickle business and to call my colleagues my friends.
3. What frustrates you most about how the business has changed since you started?
Can I be petty? It’s riffing. I can’t stand it. It always takes me out of the story. I can think of only one time when I was watching a musical and the riff was earned. Of course riffing in pop music is perfectly acceptable because pop is about a groove and a variation on a fairly simple melody. Great musical theatre writing is about a story and I want to hear and be moved by how the lyric sits in the line of the melody. (I’m 97 years old.)
4. Describe a personal lesson that took you awhile to learn or one that you are still working on to this day?
My friend Darren Lee told us when were rehearsing Thoroughly Modern Millie (20 years ago!) that, as far as the ensemble was concerned, we were in charge of making our own show, so we should make a show we like to do each night. Create a track that you look forward to performing! That way, when the repetition gets difficult and you’re tired and sore, you’ll have something to look forward to. It’s easy for me to get wrapped up in other tasks and projects that I do all day and bring my frustrations and fear into the dressing room with me each time. I have to remember that staying present in each moment of the show will bring the most joy and satisfaction.
Also, a good one is to reach out and tell people what they mean to you and be the light in someone’s day. Lighten their load. Keep ’em loose and laughing. We are all in this together. Also: if it can be misunderstood, it will be. I overexplain and ask a lot of questions. And then I have to sit back and shut up to see if what I was trying to convey was heard and received in the spirit in which it was sent. It is so helpful to have too many conversations than too few.
5. What’s the most useful advice you’ve received AND how have you applied it to your life or career?
Go where you are loved. I’ve given up on pursuing the things that are not for me, and I think I’m happier investing in what and who is next to me from moment to moment and not worrying about what other people are doing. I also think it’s important to recognize that you’ll be happiest if do what you want to do more than what you think you should do. Cultivating self-awareness is the greatest empowering action you can take. Showing curiosity in the world around you will bring you joy. I’m grateful for it all and that goes a long way toward alleviating any pressure or stakes I may feel. One of the best feelings is the beginning of something new and looking forward to what’s next.
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