Interview: Laura Bell Bundy Presents BORN TO ENTERTAIN Concert at Holmdel Theatre Company 7/16

Laura Bell Bundy headlines Holmdel Theatre Company's next installment of its "Broadway at the Barn" series on Saturday, July 16. The Broadway favorite will perform a solo concert called "Born to Entertain," which takes audiences through a journey of her life and career. The concert will feature songs from the popular Broadway shows Laura has starred in like Hairspray and Legally Blonde, mixed with original music from her latest album Women of Tomorrow, and even a few impressions added in throughout the night.

Laura Bell Bundy is a Tony nominated Broadway actress & Billboard top 5 recording artist. She is also the founder of the Women Of Tomorrow Foundation and a National Women's History Museum ambassador. After a career in entertainment for over 31 years, she chose to channel her artistry into activism with a focus on women's rights and equality. Laura Bell Bundy made her debut at age 9 in the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, since then she has originated the stage roles of Tina in Ruthless (Outer Critics/ Drama Desk Nominations), Amber in Broadway's Hairspray, and most notably Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical where she received a Tony Nomination, and played Glinda in Wicked. Bundy has recorded multiple albums - "Achin & Shakin" Universal Music Group (Billboard Top 5 Country album), "Another Piece Of Me" Big Machine. She was signed to Sony Publishing from 2008-2013 and toured with her music all over the world.

Bundy has appeared or starred in blockbuster movies and over 100 episodes of television including roles on Perfect Harmony, How I Met Your Mother/Father, Hart of Dixie, American Gods, Anger Management, Good Behavior, Documentary, Dream Girls, Jumanji, among others. She is currently starring in the new "Fairly Odd Parents: Fairly Odder" on Paramount Plus and can be seen on "Call Me Kat" on Fox. As a writer/composer she's developed web series Mashville for Netflix & Girltime for Freeform, a women's history sketch comedy variety show. Her most important job is being a mom to her son Huck, 10 sheep, two goats, two dogs and a cat on Hardscrabble Farm in Tewksbury, NJ.

Broadwayworld.com had an opportunity to interview Laura Bell Bundy before her concert.

How did you get started in the entertainment industry?

I won a pageant when I was 5 and I won a new car, and it gave me an opportunity to come to New York City in 1987. I was asked to be a part of the Phil Donahue Show on an all-expense paid trip to New York. While I was there, my mother took me to Ford Modeling Agency and they signed me to a contract. That essentially got me into show business. I'm originally from Kentucky and started coming up to New York City every summer to do modeling with Ford. My mom would have different teachers and training things going on every time I came into the city. When I was 9, I auditioned for Radio City's Christmas Spectacular and I got the show. I was a child actor and went back to Kentucky for high school and came back as an adult.

What do you love most about performing before a live audience?

I love performing live, I love the energy from the audience. I think performing live is an exchange of love. The performer (or the cast) has created a show out of love, and they give it to the audience. It's this wonderful, back-and-forth exchange of love. And that is why I love it so much because by the end of it, everyone feels high. It's a remarkable experience.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hairspray and the 15th anniversary of Legally Blonde on Broadway. What are your favorite memories from those two iconic musicals?

I was involved with Hairspray from the very beginning. I did the very first official reading when there was only one act and there was only one song for the second act, which was "I Know Where I've Been." It was amazing, I knew from the very beginning that I was a part of something special. I had been one of those kids who loved the movie Hairspray (the John Waters original movie with Ricki Lake), and I loved the character Amber Von Tussle and I was so excited about playing her. It was just a special thing to be a part of that show, and to be a part of the creative process of that show, to be a part of those readings every six months for two years until we went into rehearsal. Whether we started at the beginning or people came into it, there was a really strong sense of family with that whole cast. We love each other so much and still do.

Legally Blonde was such a life-changer for me. It was such a big part of my life in terms of a career change, I felt like I became a woman doing that show. I really learned what it was like to have a true character arc, and be able to play this character who went through this incredible journey every night of highs and lows, and really understand how an audience responds. I actually learned that how an audience responds every Tuesday night is similar to every other Tuesday night, every Wednesday matinee is similar to every other Wednesday matinee. They were all similar to each other. It was almost like an experiment in Sociology. It was a great teacher for me on how to be a better actress. I'm so grateful to have that opportunity. And again, I love that cast. We had an amazing cast who were so close. We had such a great connection and we still do.

You recently appeared in TV shows including Call Me Kat, and The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder. How is working in television different from theatre?

With Call Me Kat, unfortunately we're not performing to a live audience because of COVID, but normally we would be. Multi-camera is the most similar form of television format to musical theater when there is the element of a live audience. When there's not, it's much more like single-camera. You're not getting that audience reaction or that energy from the audience. It's a bit more subtle than theater, the stories that we're telling are shorter in terms of we're only telling a 22-minute story versus a two-hour long story. No matter what it is, comedy has to be rooted in the heart, rooted in truth, and then how far you want to take it in terms of how big you're going or how ridiculous we're getting. It just depends on the tone of the show itself, whether that is musical theater or television. I'm one of those people who really enjoys the variety of the things I get to do in my career - whether that'd be TV, musical theater, a concert, movie, directing something, or writing something. And I like to learn from all of those things.

What can audiences expect from your upcoming concert "Born to Entertain" at Holmdel Theatre Company?

I'm actually going to take you down a story of my past. We're gonna go on a bit of a sentimental journey of my life and my career, how I got into this business, a little bit of my history about my mom, and our time in New York when I was a kid. And then getting into doing a musical called Ruthless (where Britney Spears was my understudy). Covering Hairspray, Legally Blonde, and all of those shows. I'm also doing songs that are from my current album project Women of Tomorrow. I'm taking you through the past and bringing you to the present. I will also be doing impressions because I learned how to sing by mimicking women.

Tell us about your nonprofit foundation Women of Tomorrow and how people can get involved.

The Women of Tomorrow Foundation looks to raise the social consciousness around women, the treatment of women, and women's experience. We raise our voices around the issues that women are facing today. We hope to make a difference by educating through entertainment. I have this album Women of Tomorrow, and we have a podcast called "Women of Tomorrow" on the Broadway Podcast Network. We've done a comedic web series called "Womendemic" where we look into the ways where women are adversely impacted during the pandemic, whether they've become homeschool teachers or are working from home (and 90% of nurses are women). We're starting a Women of Tomorrow community and mentorship program to figure out the work that we need to do as women to feel fully empowered and move through society as full complete beings and believe we deserve the same equal treatment as men.

What other projects are you currently working on?

I've been doing a TV series called The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder. It's a brand new series on Paramount + and it's based on the original animated series, The Fairly OddParents. It just came out at the end of March, and I would love for people to watch it. It's hilarious, and it's very much for families. And it's such a fun show!

To keep up with Laura Bell Bundy, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok at @laurabellbundy, or visit her website at www.laurabellbundy.com. Please check out the website for her foundation, Women of Tomorrow, and watch the series The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder now streaming on Paramount +.

Tickets for Laura Bell Bundy's "Broadway at the Barn" concert can be purchased by calling 732-946-0427 or by visiting the Holmdel Theatre Company website at https://www.holmdeltheatrecompany.org/laura-bell-bundy. The show will be performed in the Duncan Smith Theater on Saturday, July 16 @8pm. The theatre is located at 36 Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel, NJ. For more information on Holmdel Theatre Company, you can follow them on Twitter @RealHTC, Instagram @holmdeltheatrecompany, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/holmdeltheatrecompany.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart