Vanessa Williams And Seth Rudesky On Their Friendship And Pride Month Concert

Vanessa William made her Broadway debut in 1994 as the title role in “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” Seated at the piano during rehearsals was a musician named Seth Rudetsky.

Years later, she had become a multiplatinum recording artist and star of television, film, and stage. He was an Emmy-nominated writer and popular host on Sirius/XM’s Broadway channel. They were placed near each other at a wedding. “We were like chitty chat, chitty chat,” Seth remembers. He then said, “I do these really fun concerts, where instead of doing scripted patter, I get to interview you in between each song. It’s really spontaneous.” Vanessa said, “Sure. Yeah!” And they’ve been doing these shows together ever since.

On Monday, June 20^th, 2022, the friends collaborate during Pride Month for “Seth Rudetsky’s Broadway Starring Vanessa Williams” at New York City’s Town Hall. In this Q & A, Williams and Rudetsky talk about the importance of equity and inclusion, the lack of diversity in Broadway audiences, and William’s latest stage role in “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.”

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Vanessa, the work you’ve done is so diverse. How have things evolved since you started your career?

Vanessa Williams: Things have evolved organically for me. For instance, I was doing a musical called Sondheim on Sondheim, and Mark Cherry is a huge Sondheim fan—so huge that every episode of Desperate Housewives is named after a Sondheim song. So, he came to the show, and the following day, I got a call saying, “Do you want to join the cast of Desperate Housewives?” Every opportunity to show up brings another opportunity. The master plan is to work, to enjoy my work, and to work with great people. But you never know where the opportunity is going to come, and who it’s going to come from. So that’s how my career has morphed into what it is.

What are some of the experiences that have shaped your views on equality and inclusion?

Vanessa: And in terms of being an ally? Both my parents are educators, music teachers, and very open and encouraging. I grew up my whole life seeing a lot of fabulous gay men. Particularly with me being a dancer and in this theater world, so, so young, I was always exposed to and friendly with the LGBTQ community. The same with my kids. They’ve grown up with hair, makeup, fashion for as long as they can remember. I thank God the generation that we have raised ask questions like, “Why is it such a big deal? You know, people are people.” That’s fantastic.

Seth, the Tonys were just on—which is always the gayest night on primetime television. This year, it was especially so with Ariana DeBose—she’s out and an Oscar winner—as host and “A Strange Loop”— a musical about a queer black man writing a musical about a queer black man—winning Best Musical and Best Book. What did you think of the evening?

Seth Rudetsky: It’s interesting. Ariana said that she was glad Broadway was reflecting the culture that loves it. And it reminded me—actually made me sad—because Broadway audiences are still very white. And I really wish they could be more diverse.

Really, the first time I saw an audience be super diverse was with Vanessa. I was playing in the pit at “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” and when Vanessa took over, I looked at the audience. And I was like, “Oh, my God!” It was the first time I didn’t see a sea of just white faces. I wish there was still some way that Broadway was more accessible. And one of the most horrific things that happened—I don’t know if you saw it—the Tony Awards had student discount tickets for $250! Wait, what? So, yes, I was happy with the diversity, in terms of sexuality, 100%. Everything’s getting better, but I just want it to get even better than it is.

Is the lack of audience diversity about the content or the ticket prices?

Seth: A lot of it is the price. It’s also making people know they like Broadway. Until every single school group in New York City is seeing at least one Broadway show per year, how is anyone going to know they like Broadway? There are constantly empty seats in Broadway houses. There should never be empty seats. There should always be a school group coming. I know so many kids that grew up in Brooklyn and have never seen a Broadway show.

“Hamilton” tried to do that. Lin-Manuel Miranda wanted to make sure that students did have access—not to $250 tickets, but to $20 tickets. Do you think that direction needs to come from the show’s producers?

Seth: It has to be the Theater League. If there are 40 seats left over in a theater, schools are on a need-to-know basis and that morning are called and told, “Give me 40 students and we’ll fill the seats.” It should just be a normal thing in New York City. The Theatre League can do that. You’re going to miss school for one afternoon? Is that gonna make a difference? No. But it’s gonna make a difference if you see a show one afternoon.

Vanessa, you’re now playing the First Lady in the Broadway play, “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.”

Vanessa: It’s a farce and it comes out guns blazing. The first word of this show is ‘c—t.’ And boom—mic drop. It’s wildly insane and chaotic and amazing. I play the First Lady, who’s referred to by her husband as having a “c—ty morning.” I play someone who is very direct, but also highly educated and accomplished. There’s no reason why she should not be the president. All the ladies who are running the seven characters that you’re introduced to in the play—they’re all highly capable. It’s a note to society saying that any of these women can do a better job than who we’re referring to as POTUS.

I wear red jumpsuit. That could be a nod to Nancy Reagan. I wear a string of a triple pearls. That could be a nod to Barbara Bush. The character’s a Stanford grad, Harvard Law School, has a talk show, has a cookbook, has a regular book, has a gallery and is proficient in Taekwondo. That could be Michelle Obama or anyone. I wear a headband in Act Two. That’s my nod to Hillary.

You’ve got a performance coming up on June 20th here in New York at Town Hall. How many of these concerts have you done together?

Seth: We’ve done Provincetown, San Francisco, Toledo, Florida—and they’re always different. That’s what’s so fun. She’s willing to do anything. I’ll be like, “What role did you play in high school?” and I’ll print out the music and then we’ll sing it that night. it’s really off the cuff and always a different concert.

Vanessa: He also read my tell-all book and he’s always giving me these scorching . . .

Seth: It’s the best. You cannot believe what a nightmare that one was in her teenage years. The worst!

For tickets to the upcoming concert on June 20th, 2022 at 8 PM, please visit the Town Hall website.