"victor/victoria"

Thirty-five years after her final performance in the musical Camelot, Julie Andrews surprised the entertainment world by returning to Broadway in a stage version of her film Victor/Victoria. I interviewed her for The New York Times before previews began. She was lovely and self-deprecating; everything you hoped Julie Andrews would be. She expressed concern that she’d be performing eleven songs in the show and hoped that the audience would’t expect miracles.  She needn’t have been concerned. Her charisma and ability to carry this enormous and somewhat unwieldy vehicle was undiminished. I remember being particularly moved when in the second act, a black curtain swept in front of the elaborate multi-level set and there was Julie Andrews at last alone onstage. She sang a new song written for the Broadway production, an emotional ballad called “Living in the Shadows.”  With all of the stage scenery suddenly vanished, we were able to witness in the purest way that increasing rarity: a genuine star.

Charles Busch

A hand signed limited edition lithograph of this work is available for sale.