Lauren Kennedy took up residence long ago in New York, where she's been a fixture on and off Broadway in shows including "Les Miserables," "Spamalot" and "Sunset Boulevard." But she always finds reasons to come back to Raleigh and help out in her old hometown.
The latest thing to bring the singer/actress back is "Bringing Broadway Home," a benefit show for N.C. Theatre, Monday night at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium.
"De Ann Jones, who started North Carolina Theatre, saw some things in me and just made sure I always found my way onstage there," Kennedy says by phone from her home in New York. "All my first professional training was there, through high school and summer camps. It's been an important training ground for me."
Monday's program also includes Clay Aiken, Terrence Mann, Sharon Lawrence and Quiana Parler - who all have connections to N.C. Theatre. Native son Aiken appeared in two NCT productions in 1996 before going on to "American Idol" stardom (and also a role on Broadway in "Spamalot"). Parler starred in NCT's 2008 production of "Dreamgirls." And Mann and Lawrence starred together in "Camelot," the company's very first production back in 1984.
"That's what set North Carolina Theatre apart for me, the association with Terrence Mann," Kennedy says. "He was an incredibly successful Broadway and film actor, and NCT's artistic director when I was in high school. So at a young age, I got to learn from New York actors of a very high caliber through NCT."
Kennedy and her husband, the Tony-nominated actor Alan Campbell, are still actively involved in theater in North Carolina. They oversee the Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy series (which they took over from Kennedy's parents last year). And they're both regular participants at the theater bearing their name at Barton College in Wilson.
Kennedy will star in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Tell Me on a Sunday" at Kennedy Theatre in August, a production that will then move to Barton in time for the start of the fall semester. Along with performing the show at Barton, she'll also teach some classes.
"We could have said we didn't want to do anything down there," Kennedy says. "Just to focus on things in New York. But it's important to me to stay involved with the arts community in North Carolina, which has been so integral to my success. And my husband loves the area, so we continue to come back. We hope to build up a good-enough reason to come back after we accomplish our dreams in New York."
She directs, too
To that end, Kennedy has begun directing in recent years, including productions of "Drift," "True West" and "Romance/Romance" for the Hot Summer Nights series. Eventually, the behind-the-scenes work might become more of a focus for her. But not yet.
"It's hard in our business to say what you'll do in the future because you never know what will get thrown your way," Kennedy says. "I do want to pursue directing and producing, but there are still things I want to accomplish as a performer, actress and singer. I love being on stage so much, and the camaraderie with other performers. I'm not ready to give that up, but you never know - it may be done with me first.
"And I also love creating with more control, seeing a project through from beginning to end as opposed to showing up as an actress to do a part and that's it. I hope to be able to do both."
