A 'Tapestry' All Her Own :: Liz Callaway Channels Carole King at the Pops

Every spring, The BSO Pops Orchestra brings a bit of Broadway to Boston by inviting Broadway celebrities to perform with the Pops. Already this season, the Pops has brought Sutton Foster ("Thoroughly Modern Millie," "Anything Goes") and Mandy Patinkin ("Evita," "Sunday in the Park with George").

This week, on June 9-10, the Pops will feature Tony-nominee Liz Callaway, who will perform her new cabaret show, "Tapestry: The Carole King Songbook." Callaway has starred in six Broadway productions, including "Baby" for which she garnered her Tony nomination, as well as "Merrily We Roll Along," "Miss Saigon," and "Cats," where she held a five-year run in the role of Grizabella. Fans of the animated film "Anastasia" will recognize Callaway as the singing voice of the title character, while local audiences may even better remember Callaway for her children's television show, "Ready-To-Go" which was filmed in Boston (1987-91) and for which Callaway earned an Emmy Award.

One might think that a program about the music of Carole King would be a radical departure for a Broadway performer. But one look at Callaway's history as a concert and recording artist, one finds that she has rarely strayed too far from the pop sounds of the '60s and '70s. Among her six solo recordings is "The Beat Goes On," an irrepressible joyfest of music from the '60s, including songs written by and/or made famous by The Beatles, Laura Nyro, Jimmy Webb, John Denver, and Lesley Gore, not to mention a nod to Broadway with songs from "Hair" and "Promises, Promises."

One of her two live duet albums done with close sibling Ann Hampton Callaway, "boom!," keeps the spotlight on music from the baby boomer generation, and hints at her love of Carole King's music with the inclusion of "You've Got A Friend." Edge spoke with Callaway about her show, but also about her sister Ann, Provincetown, and outgrowing stage fright.

EDGE: In addition to 'Tapestry: The Carole King Songbook,' which you've been touring around the country, your recordings, 'The Beat Goes On,' and 'boom!' (with sister Ann Hampton Callaway) illustrate your affinity towards music of the '60s and '70s. Why do you gravitate toward that era, and why devote a whole show to Carole King?

Liz Callaway: Music of the '60s and '70s is the music I grew up listening to. Maybe not always as they were happening, but perhaps a few years after. 'Tapestry' was different. I got that when it came out. Ann and I had and still have such different tastes in music, but 'Tapestry' was our common ground. We both loved it.

Michael Krajewski, who is the guest conductor, we did a Christmas program about a year ago, and we enjoyed working together so much that we wondered what else could we do together, and he suggested a Carole King show. And I said I love her! She's very much in the news, with 'Beautiful' on Broadway, she's writing a novel, she's such an amazing person. And her music is really relevant now. People really love this music. They get this music, it means a lot to them. They jump to their feet. I share the stage with two amazing singers, Allison Blackwell and Bryce Ryness. If I'm not singing solo, I'm singing backup for them which I love. In fact on 'boom!,' I love most when I'm singing backup to my sister Ann on 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling.'
The Concert includes [King's] most familiar songs, but also some songs people won't know she wrote: one made famous by the Monkees, one by The Carpenters.

EDGE: What songs of King's do you identify most with?

Liz Callaway: I identify with everything from 'Tapestry' of course. They all kind of fit me. But the show and her repertoire have a great deal of variety. It's a different kind of thing for me. It's not theater music. But I always try to bring theatricality to any kind of pop song I'm doing. It's refreshing to do this style. And there are some unexpected styles and arrangements that we had done just for the concert.

EDGE: What has been your experience singing with the Boston Pops and working with the Pops?

Liz Callaway: For my guest conductor, Michael Krajewski, it might be the first time he's conducting the Boston Pops and he's really looking forward to it. The Pops Orchestra really gets this music. You can give them any style and they get it, including pop music. I know that when I sing 'It's Too Late' with the full orchestra that will be a Cinderella moment for me.

EDGE: In the past decade or so, you've been doing more and more performing and recording with your sister Ann. Why is that?

Liz Callaway:I love singing with Ann. It's so funny, I was talking about it last night. Ann was doing a jazz set at Birdland this past week, and I went to it. Someone sitting near me said they didn't realize we are sisters. We don't look alike, our voices aren't the same; we are very different. But when we are singing together we are a lot alike. We are working on a show together: 'West Side Story to Wicked: Broadway with the Callaways.' We've done it twice together, and maybe we will bring this to Boston. We've both been so busy lately we hardly get to see one another! So, doing this show allows us to see each other! I'm really looking forward to it.

EDGE: You will be performing with Ann in Provincetown this summer. Have you performed in Provincetown before?

Liz Callaway: Yes! We performed there last summer. It was our first time performing together in PTown, and I did a solo show in PTown five years ago. The audiences are so great!

EDGE: In some past interviews, you've admitted to being shy when singing in cabaret or concert settings, but that doesn't read at all to the audience. How would you describe the difference between performing in a musical theater show, and performing as a cabaret/concert singer?

Liz Callaway: I suppose I still feel a little shy, particularly before I go out on stage, I think 'Why aren't I a travel agent?' But the minute I'm out on stage, I love it. With a lot of time and experience, I've come to love this kind of performing. When you are a character in a play or musical, then it's not you up there. But in cabaret, you are yourself, and more exposed and vulnerable. Ten years ago, I would have told you the hardest thing is seeing people's faces. On Broadway, the audience is dark. But now, in a cabaret setting, if I can't see the audience's faces, I ask to put up the house lights so I can see the faces better.

Liz Callaway will perform 'Tapestry: The Carole King Songbook' with the BSO Pops Orchestra on Thursday, June 9, and Friday, June 10, 2016 at 8 p.m., Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts, Avenue, Boston, MA. Tickets: $24-$99. For tickets, call 888-266-1200, or visit the Boston Pops website.