A Flying Interview with Dana Ivey
	Dana Ivey

Written by Armistead Johnson

On April 20th at 8 p.m. at Carnegie Hall, the Collegiate Chorale, led by Robert Bass, who celebrates his 25th anniversary as Director of the Chorale, continues its 63rd season with a Verdi and Shakespeare concert featuring scenes from Verdi’s operas Otello, Macbeth and Falstaff, with sopranos Heidi Grant Murphy and Kallen Esperian, tenor Lando Bartolini, baritone Mark Delavan, actors Dana Ivey and Richard Easton and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Dana Ivey, who has performed countless supporting roles in high-profile films such as The Color Purple (1985), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Sabrina (1995), and Legally Blonde 2 (2003), was gracious enough to give me two minutes of her time over the phone before she jetted off to California.

I have always been curious about people as accomplished as Ivey as to whether or not they ever considered doing anything other than their respective vocations, or if they felt it was some sort of calling.

“I knew when I was six years old that I wanted to be an actress,” Ivey says. “I never wanted to do anything else.”

Ivey started as a stage actor and has appeared in numerous American and Canadian theater productions before making her home in New York. She made her Broadway debut in Noël Coward's Present Laughter. Roles in Quartermaine's Terms and Driving Miss Daisy (as the eponymous character) earned Ivey two Obies. Subsequent work in the Broadway production of Heartbreak Hotel earned her two supporting actress Tony nominations in the mid-'80s. Although her career leaned increasingly toward feature work, Ivey also remained true to her stage roots, appearing in such plays as The Glass Menagerie in 1998 and Major Barbara in 2001.

Pressed for time, I try to get to the point of my call, which was to ask about Ms. Ivey’s upcoming concert and what drew her to the project.

“I have loved classical text and classical music my entire life,” Ivey explains. “In fact, I used to be a classical music DJ.”

Written and conceived by Maestro Bass and newly-appointed Artistic Associate Roger Rees, this multi-disciplinary event combines the talent of both well-known opera singers and actors in order to explore the vital artistic significance of Shakespeare’s writing in Verdi’s life. This concert will feature music of Verdi: Act I of Otello; “The Witches’ Chorus,” “Lady Macbeth’s Drinking Song,” and the Act I Finale of Macbeth; and “Honor Monologue,” “Nanetta’s Aria” and the Act III Finale of Falstaff. Corresponding Shakespearean scenes will be read by Ivey, Easton and Rees. The concert is performed in honor of Shakespeare’s birthday on April 23rd.

As Ms. Ivey's car arrived, I awkwardly blurted out, “Thank you so much for your time... I love your work and I grew up an Atlanta... and my mother said to tell you how loved your mother was in Atlanta ( Ms. Ivey is the daughter of acclaimed actress Mary Nell Santacroce).”

“Well… thank you so much,” Ms. Ivey stated before hanging up.

Nothing like getting tongue-tied in front of a legend!