Theater News

Time of Her Life

Meredith Vieira, Bebe Neuwith, Priscilla Lopez, and stars from the original Company, Follies, and A Chorus Line help Donna McKechnie celebrate the publication of her memoir.

New York City

Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie (center) celebrated the publication of her new memoir, Time Steps: My Musical Comedy Life, with a very special party at the National Arts Club on September 7. The highlight of the evening was a musical presentation in which McKechnie was joined by fellow Broadway stars Kurt Peterson, Priscilla Lopez, Pamela Myers, and Harvey Evans, who sang the numbers they made famous in Company, Follies, and A Chorus Line.

Meredith Vieira, soon to start as host of The Today Show, was on hand to party with her dear friend .

The musical presentation was directed by Thommie Walsh, who played Bobby in the original production of A Chorus Line opposite McKechnie’s Cassie.

Lopez, who played Diana Morales in the original Chorus Line, brought the crowd to tears with her rendition of her showstopper “What I Did for Love.”

Cheering from the sidelines was the still-fabulous Kelly Bishop, who won her own Tony Award for her portrayal of the acerbic Sheila in A Chorus Line.

McKechnie was thrilled to have two of her co-stars from the original production of Company on hand: Teri Ralston and the amazing Myers, who wowed the house with “Another Hundred People.” Next month, these two lovely ladies will be co-starring in the new musical Hats! in Denver.

Among the many other celebrities at the event: the ever-gracious Tony Roberts, who starred with McKechnie in the London production of Promises, Promises and The Paper Mill Playhouse production of Follies…

…Tony Award winner Cady Huffman…

…former Trading Spaces host and ex-Chicago star Paige Davis…

…and the gorgeous Jane Krakowski, who is also having the time of her life filming the new NBC sitcom 30 Rock with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin.

Last, but by no means least, here are two very special women: Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth, who made her Broadway debut as Sheila in A Chorus Line; and Baayork Lee, that show’s original Connie and the choreographer of the hotly anticipated revival, which begins performances on September 18 at the Schoenfeld Theatre.