I want to pick up with something else Tommy Tune told me. He feels that he is now obsolete and that there isn’t a place on Broadway for him. He also can’t bear to work without his regular collaborators who have passed away. How do you handle loss and what do you do differently than Tommy?

I just stay. I keep my eyes and ears open and say yes. I look forward to tomorrow. I absolutely do. It keeps me young and in it. It keeps my laughing. it keeps me a part of it. Freddy is gone [Fred Ebb – lyricist for Chicago and Kiss of the Spider Woman] but his lyrics have not. His memory is not. If the opportunity comes, why not if you are asked to? Why not? Why not seek another view or way of doing things? I’m always hungry for new things. And I’m loaded with old things. And they are good. You know listening to scores you love that they are still relevant. They are still exciting, beautiful and moving.

With YouTube a lot of people can see some of your old television and stage appearances. For example, I watched you perform “I Got Plenty O’ Nottin'” on Judy Garland’s show. How do you feel about that?

With that hair? Have you ever seen so much hair in your life? You’d think there would be three little people underneath all that hair! I think it’s fabulous. It’s wonderful. I’m not really a part of this new age. I don’t do all that Facebook and all that stuff. It’s great, except sometimes people think they are critics and they are heard now and they kind of go crazy with their opinions. People aren’t nice enough today. They think criticizing is far more interesting than adoring or liking something. They think that darkness is more valuable. I don’t. I think the light is far more interesting and alluring.

Whatever happened to class?

Freddy had it absolutely right But mind you, they are two murderers who sing that song. That’s what’s funny about it. That they had the audacity to ask, but they are the least classy people to ask. But yes, whatever happened to class.

Can you believe the revival of Chicago is still running?

I’m so glad it’s running now and I’m so happy for the kids. But it just doesn’t compare with Tony Walton’s original sets and the show the way Bobby [Fosse] directed it. It just doesn’t compare. You just sort of wish people had seen it in its original state. That big elevator that Velma came up on. Amazing design.

Speaking of class, as a Puerto Rican, I have to believe you are less than impressed with the US Government’s response to Hurricane Maria.

Oh please. [She lets out the biggest sigh.] I made a promise I would wake up every day and not turn on the news. I think it’s disgusting and disgraceful. I’m embarrassed and ashamed and I’m angry. And you know who I’m angry at. I don’t even like to say his name. I don’t understand. I don’t understand that or the people who put him there.

One time when I spoke with your Sweet Charity co-star Shirley MacLaine, she said “I’m so old. But I’m current. If there audience is with you, there’s nothing like being on stage.” Do you agree and, if so, do you still feel that way?

That’s exactly right. I totally agree. I guess I would add with her…it’s just that age brings a whole other fantastic bit of, what can I say, we bring our adventures, our knowledge and our history with us. And so we have a double thing going. We’re current because Shirley is not going to give in. She’s not going to go anywhere. She’s going to go with what’s going on. She has to know. Just like I am. She’s a bit more curious than I am. On top of the years she has been here she has all the other lives before. She’s got a bag bigger than anybody’s. She was the cherry on the top of my adventure of doing the film of Sweet Charity. That’s what’s nice about having all these fabulous people who are my friends. I still have them and I will always have them.

Ever the pro, Chita knew exactly when our allotted amount of time was up. But she one more thing to say which surprised me.

I had an interview just before you. I could not have been more bored. I thank you for saving my day. You have a wonderful sense of humor and great background and questions. Thank you.

Even if I didn’t know what you ask someone who has been so peppered with questions her whole career, I guess it didn’t go too badly after all. Thank you Chita!

Chita Rivera and Seth Rudetsky appear on Thursday, May 10th in two performances of Broadway @ The Wallis: Chita Rivera.

For part one of our interview, please go here.

Main photo: Chita Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Photo by Martha Swope. Courtesy of the NY Public Library.

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So this column is dedicated to anyone who might want to go on Jeopardy! one day, or anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge of musicals, musical-comedy and the men and women who have created them.

Option #1 is The Contemporary Broadway Musical being offered by the Pasadena Playhouse.

This is a ten-class series presented by Broadway producer Adam Epstein. He’s a five-time Tony Award nominee who took home the trophy for Best Musical when Hairspray won in 2003.

Here is the schedule for the ten classes:

February 22nd: High Flying Adored: Eva Peron delivers a Broadway coup de thé·â·tre; Gower Champion dies

March 1st: Michael Bennett’s Dreamgirls vs. Tommy Tune’s Nine

March 8th: The Empire Strikes Back: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh and the “colonization” of Broadway: Cats, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon

March 15th: La Cage Aux Folles and Into the Woods

March 22nd: Americans vanquish the British (again!): City of Angels, Crazy for You, and the return of the musical comedy

March 29th: Falsettos: William Finn and his Tight Knit Family move uptown

April 5th: Broadway in the 1990’s: Disney conquers Broadway; Rent and Ragtime conquer hearts

April 12th: From Celluloid to Greasepaint: The Producers, Hairspray and the changing face of Broadway in the 21st century

April 19th: Avenue Q and Wicked: a theatrical tale of David and Goliath

April 26th: Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and the future of Broadway musicals

All of the dates above are the live presentation of each week’s topic. However, those who sign up for the classes can catch up even if you start halfway through the series. The classes will remain available to you beginning 24 hours after the conclusion of each live class. The 10-series course costs $179. (Members at Pasadena Playhouse receive at 20% discount).

Option #2: What Makes It Great?

Gershwin. Berlin. Arlen. Rodgers. Bernstein. You don’t need to add first names to the list of composers in this title. They are all legends whose work has catapulted them to the upper echelon of composers.

Rob Kapilow, the author of Listening For America: Inside the Great American Songbook from Gershwin to Sondheim, is conducting a five-episode series of classes called What Makes It Great? Celebrating the Great American Songbook beginning on February 23rd and running through March 30th.

Kapilow has teamed up with the Kaufman Music Center and JCC Thurnauer School of Music to lead explorations of these five men and their work. The classes stream on Tuesdays at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and include a live Q&A afterwards. For those for whom that schedule doesn’t work, the classes will remain available through April 15th.

Here is What Makes It Great‘s line-up:

February 23rd: George Gershwin

March 2nd: Irving Berlin

March 9th: Harold Arlen

March 23rd: Richard Rodgers

March 30th: Leonard Bernstein

Tickets for the five classes are $50.

There is a bonus attraction on April 6th. Kapilow will be joined by Nikki Renée Daniels (the upcoming revival of Company) and Michael Winther (the upcoming Flying Over Sunset) for a performance called What Makes It Great? Stephen Sondheim. Tickets for that show are $15 and will allow ticket purchasers to watch the show through the middle of April.

With either or both of these classes, I assure you you’ll not just learn about musicals. You’ll also improve your trivia games, impress your friends who thought you knew nothing about the subject and more importantly you’ll know the difference between August Wilson and Stephen Sondheim when it’s your turn to play Jeopardy!

Photo: Broadway’s Shubert Alley (Photo by Christopher Firth/Courtesy New York Public Library Archives)

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Hair – 1969 Tony Awards

Nominated for Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical, Hair opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre and ran for 1,750 performances. The show, directed by Tom O’Horgan, did not win any Tonys. Amongst the original cast members were two of its creators Gerome Ragni and James Rado, Diane Keaton and Paul Jabara. The 2009 revival of the musical won the Tony Award for Best Revival.

Purlie – 1970 Tony Awards

Purlie was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical. Cleavon Little and Melba Moore won Tony Awards for their performances. The show, directed by Philip Rose who co-wrote the book, first opened at the Broadway Theater and later moved to the Winter Garden and the ANTA Playhouse.

Chicago – 1976 Tony Awards

The original production of Kander and Ebb’s musical Chicago was nominated for 11 Tony Awards. It won none of them. Directed by Bob Fosse and starring Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach, the show ran for 936 performances at the 42nd Street Theatre.

A Chorus Line – 1976 Tony Awards

This is the reason Chicago didn’t win any Tony Awards. Michael Bennett’s show, with music and lyrics by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban, was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won nine of them. Its run of 6,137 performances made it the longest running Broadway musical. It is now number six on that list. Ironically, the revival of Chicago, still running in New York, is currently number two on that list with 9,692 performances so far.

The Act – 1978 Tony Awards

This is also a Kander and Ebb musical with the unique distinction of being the only Broadway show directed by Martin Scorsese. The show received six Tony nominations with the only win being for Liza Minnelli. The Act played at the Majestic Theatre and played for 233 performances.

Sweeney Todd – 1979 Tony Awards (though I have no idea who is sitting in as Sweeney)

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical was nominated for nine Tony Awards. The show won eight of them including Best Musical, Best Actress for Angela Lansbury and Best Actor for Len Cariou. Directed by Harold Prince, Sweeney Todd played at the Uris Theatre (later renamed The Gershwin Theatre) for 557 performances.

Evita – 1980 Tony Awards

Evita, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, was nominated for 11 Tony Awards. The show won seven including Best Musical, Best Actress for Patti LuPone and Best Featured Actor for Mandy Patinkin. Directed by Harold Prince, Evita played at the Broadway Theatre and ran for 1,567 performances.

Dreamgirls – 1982 Tony Awards

Dreamgirls was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won six of them. The show, directed by Michael Bennett, played the Imperial Theatre and ran for 1,521 performances. The Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen musical featured the staggering Tony-winning performance by Jennifer Holliday as “Effie White.”

Cats – 1983 Tony Awards

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical inspired by T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won seven including Best Musical. Trevor Nunn directed Cats which played the Winter Garden Theatre. The musical broke A Chorus Line‘s record for longest-running Broadway show with 7,485 performances. Betty Buckley won a Tony Award for her performance as Grizabella who sings the show’s best-known song.

Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur – 1988 Tony Awards

Jerry Herman’s musical Mame opened in 1966 and was nominated for eight Tony Awards. Amongst the three winners were co-stars Angela Lansbury (as Mame Dennis) and Bea Arthur (as Vera Charles). 22 years later they reunited on the 1988 Tony Awards and performed their classic duet from the show. (This was the year The Phantom of the Opera won Best Musical.)

Grand Hotel – 1990 Tony Awards

Grand Hotel was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won five including two for director and choreographer Tommy Tune and one for Michael Jeter as Otto Kringelein. The show opened at the Martin Beck Theatre and later transferred to the Gershwin Theatre. Grand Hotel ran for a total of 1,017 performances

Kiss of the Spider Woman – 1993 Tony Awards

Kander and Ebb won yet another Tony Award for this musical based on Manuel Puig’s novel (which also inspired the Academy Award-winning film.) Kiss of the Spider Woman received 11 Tony nominations winning seven of them including Terrence McNally for Best Book of a Musical and for the performances by Chita Rivera as “Spider Woman/Aurora,” Brent Carver as “Molina” and Anthony Crivello as “Valentin.” The musical, directed by Harold Prince, opened at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran for a total of 904 performances.

Passion – 1994 Tony Awards

The film Passione d’Amore by Ettore Scola was the inspiration for this Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical. The musical opened at the Plymouth Theatre near the end of Tony season and ran for only 280 performances. Donna Murphy, Jere Shea and Marin Mazzie starred in Passion. All three were amongst the 10 Tony nominations the show received with Murphy taking the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress. The musical won Best Score, Best Book and also Best Musical.

The Wild Party – 2000 Tony Awards

Composers Michael John LaChiusa and Andrew Lippa wrote musicals called The Wild Party. Both were based on Joseph Moncure March’s poem of the same name and both were produced the same year. LaChiusa’s show, directed by George C. Wolfe, made it to Broadway’s Virginia Theatre where it was nominated for seven Tony Awards. It did not win any and closed after a run of only 68 performances. The cast featured Toni Collette, Mandy Patinkin and Eartha Kitt.

Caroline, Or Change – 2004 Tony Awards

Playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and composer Jeanine Tesori teamed up for this 2004 musical (also directed by George C. Wolfe) that received six Tony Award nominations. Anika Noni Rose was the sole winner for her performance as “Emmie Thibodeaux.” Caroline, or Change was scheduled to have a revival this season, but those plans have been postponed until next season. For anyone who saw the show at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre during its brief 136 performance run, Tonya Pinkins‘ performance of “Lot’s Wife” will stand as one of the greatest performances in modern Broadway history.

Fela! – 2010 Tony Awards

Fela! electrified audiences when it opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in 2009. The musical was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won three (including Best Choreography by Bill T. Jones). Jim Lewis collaborated with Jones (who also directed) on the book of this musical about legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. The show ran for 463 performances.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch – 2014 Tony Awards

It took 16 years for this Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell musical to finally make it to Broadway. The show began its life off-Broadway at the Jane Street Theatre in 1998. Directed by Michael Mayer and starring Neil Patrick Harris and Lena Hall, the show was nominated for eight Tony Awards. Harris and Hall both won and Hedwig and the Angry Inch was awarded the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. The show ran for 507 performances at the Belasco Theatre.

The Color Purple – 2016 Tony Awards

Alice Walker’s novel inspired this musical by playwright Marsha Norman and composers/lyricists Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. This revival, directed by John Doyle, opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre and was nominated for four Tony Awards. It won for Best Revival of a Musical and for Cynthia Erivo’s performance as Celie. The Color Purple ran for 450 performances.

Hamilton – 2016 Tony Awards

Much like A Chorus Line (which also began its life at The Public Theater), Hamilton was the juggernaut at the Tony Awards that couldn’t be beaten. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical was nominated for 16 Tony Awards and won 11 of them. The show, directed by Thomas Kail, is still running at the Richard Rodgers Theatre with 1,919 performances so far.

What makes this performance particular emotional is that the Tony Awards took place just after the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Given the recent events the cast opted not to use the prop guns that are usually seen in the show.

Those are 18 of my favorite Tony Awards performances. Let me know what your favorites are by posting your thoughts in our comments.

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The Year of Living Dangerously – May 12th

It never occurred to me that Peter Weir’s 1982 film The Year of Living Dangerously would make a good musical. But I have to admit, it never occurred to me that it wouldn’t. Thomas Tierney and Jeffrey Haddow have adapted the novel by Christopher J. Koch and this is a concert presentation of the musical.

Scarlett Strallen (A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder) takes on the role of Jill, played in the film by Sigourney Weaver. She’s a homesick attaché at the British Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1965. Guy Hamilton, played in the film by Mel Gibson, is an Australian reporter covering the events there as the nation teeters on the edge of revolution. Kevin Earley (A Tale of Two Cities) plays this part. An in the role of Billy Kwan, the diminutive Australian-Chinese photojournalist, is Marc delaCruz (If Then.) Filmgoers might remember that this is the part for which Linda Hunt won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Andy Karl and Orfeh: Legally Bound – May 14th

We previously wrote about this show when married couple Andy Karl and Orfeh performed at Feinstein’s at Vitello’s. You can read the show’s description here.

Joe Iconis and Family – May 15th

When Be More Chill opened on Broadway last spring, it became almost a cult musical. Its fans and followers were devastated when the show didn’t reach a broader audience and closed in August. Joe Iconis wrote the music and lyrics for the musical.

When he isn’t writing musicals, he’s often found on the stage at Feinstein’s/54Below performing with his “family.” By family we mean his extended family. In this concert from May of 2019, his family included his Be More Chill cast members George Salazar, Morgan Siobhan Green, Gerard Canonico, Lauren Marcus and Jason SweetTooth Williams, plus Annie Golden, Krysta Rodriguez, Nick Blaemire and over a dozen more performers.

For fans of Iconis’ work, according to his website he has three musicals in development: The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical, Punk Rock Girl and Love In Hate Nation.

54 Sings Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Concert – May 17th

In 1990, Grand Hotel was nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical. It won five of those awards including two for Director/Choreographer Tommy Tune and one for the late Michael Jeter for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show, original cast members Liliane Montevecchi, Karen Akers, Tim Jerome, Walter Willison, Brent Barrett, Ben George, David Jackson, Ken Jennings, Hal Robinson, Meg Tolin Piper, David White, Penny Worth and Chip Zien reunited to sing the songs of Robert Wright, George Forrest and Maury Yeston. They are joined in this concert by Michael Choi, Bill Coyne, Joshua Dixon, Erin Marie, Nathan Meyer, Chelsie Nectow, Michael Jayne Walker and Jackie Washam.

There’s even More Cabaret from Feinstein’s/54 Below next week. Check back for updates!

Photo Joe Iconis by Ben Arons/Courtesy of Joe Iconis’ website

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Tommy Tune Tonight! – Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts

March 16th

Tommy Tune is a Broadway legend. He won 9 Tony Awards (including back-to-back wins as Best Director and Best Choreographer of a Musical) and because the Tony Committee didn’t feel nine (however appropriate that number might be for Tune) was a great number, they awarded him a 10th Tony for Lifetime Achievement. In this show he will tell stories about the many legends with whom he has worked and will also sing and dance. He’s 79 and was still rehearsing for this show when we spoke with him. You can see that interview here. And for those of you in San Francisco on Sunday, he’ll be doing two shows at Feinstein’s at the Hotel Nikko.

Lagrime di San Pietro – LA Master Chorale at Walt Disney Concert Hall

March 17 & March 18

The Los Angeles Master Chorale revisits Orlando di Lasso’s deeply emotional and musical complex work. They first performed Lagrime di San Pietro (Tears of St. Peter) last year and are, in the words of director Peter Sellars, “taking another look at it.” These two concerts are in advance of a national and world tour of the work. Grant Gershon conducts the concerts. Sunday’s performance is also part of a gala event for the Los Angeles Master Chorale. For more information on Sellars thoughts on this work, please see our interview with him here.

The Magic City – Plaza del Sol Performance Hall at Valley Performing Arts Center

March 18

This shadow puppet experience from Chicago company Manual Cinema is inspired by a 1910 novel about a young girl whose life at home is made better through her own imagination. The novel is “The Magic City” referring to the world the young girl has created in her mind. The performer employs vintage projectors, multiple screens and a wild amount of creativity. This is the perfect option for families.

Neighborhood Concert  – First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

March 18

Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles team up for this free concert on Sunday afternoon. The program feature Grieg’s From Holberg’s Time (Suite in Olden Style), Movements 1, 2, 5; Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in E minor, RV 484, Movement 1; Brahms’ String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Movements 1 and 4 and Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances. If single performance or season tickets with the Los Angeles Philharmonic are out of your price range, this is a great opportunity to hear a performance by members of one of the most highly-acclaimed orchestras in the world for free.

Jarrod Spector & Kelli Barrett: Funny How It Happens – Catalina Bar & Grill

March 18

Jarrod Spector won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Barry Mann in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. He also played Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys. Kelli Barrett has appeared on Broadway Wicked (as Nessarose) and the musical adaptation of Dr. Zhivago. But I’m sure if you asked them what their favorite roles are they would say husband and wife.

In this cabaret show the couple will share stories and songs from their careers and stories not just about what it took to make it on stage, but also how they met and fell in love. Call it the cabaret version of When Jarrod Met Kelli.

For those of you in San Diego, they will be performing on St. Patrick’s Day at Martini’s Above Fourth.

Photos courtesy of Chris Isaacson Presents

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Tommy Tune won his first Tony Award in 1974 for the Broadway musical Seesaw. He won for Best Featured Performance by an Actor in a Musical. The show was directed by Michael Bennett (who won a Tony that night for Best Choreography before going on to do a little show called A Chorus Line.)

Tune won subsequent Tony Awards for A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine (Best Choreography), Nine (Best Director of a Musical), My One and Only (Best Actor in a Musical, Best Choreography), Grand Hotel (Best Director of a Musical, Best Choreography) and The Will Rogers Follies (Best Director of a Musical, Best Choreography). To even things out he received a Special Tony Award in 2015 for Lifetime Achievement.

I recently spoke by phone with the 79-year-old legend who had just completed rehearsals in New York for this week’s performances. We discussed his upcoming shows and his philosophy about life.

You are still rehearsing your show?

It’s my job to keep it fresh. I did 1,500 performances of My One and Only and we didn’t change the material, but that’s the technique. I sit down over tea in the morning and figure out my show. Then I go with the music director and figure out what works and what doesn’t. It’s a constant process. I have to keep changing it up. That’s the director/choreographer in me. If I were just a performer I would be grateful to do the same show every night. I can’t do it that way.

Instead you are on the road doing hundreds of performances a year. What do you do on the road to make each show unique for that audience?

I love being nomadic and going to different cities to do my show. When you are out doing a show, it’s very important I do one new thing every day like go to a museum for forty minutes to look at one painting. You pick up the vibe in the city because every city has its own vibe.  It’s important to take in one new thing.

Cerritos is a big place and then I go to Feinstein’s in San Francisco and I have to reign it in. It’s tricky. It takes a lot of time to perfect this type of entertainment. You aren’t with a company. Your scene partner is your audience.

Does the director in you butt heads with the performer in you?

The director is always butting in! I always have to tell him, “don’t bother me now, I’m on stage. Give me those notes after the show.” The director doesn’t get to come to the show, only the rehearsal. I don’t know anyone else who is a director/choreographer who does this on a regular basis. 

Do these shows satisfy your creative impulses as much as directing and choreographing a Broadway show?

It’s two different things. I’ve spent my life with a row of footlights in between. If you are on the stage those lights are shining on you. If you are on the other side, it’s a whole different thing. When I’m directing a show I’m in, with me playing my part, I’ll put my stand-in in and they do it and I go “That’s all wrong.” It felt so right but it wasn’t from my director’s head. As an actor I felt wrong, but the director was right. It’s like a split personality.

You just turned 79. Can you imagine yourself not dancing or singing or entertaining?

I don’t want to. I’m so grateful that I’m still doing it. Chita Rivera feels the same way. [Tune and Rivera regularly tour together.] Look what we’re doing and the people are enjoying it so much. It’s just a blessing. Chita said, when asked a similar question, “Nobody told me to stop.” It’s in our DNA. We have to do it. It’s an addiction of the very best kind.

You’ve said one reason for your not continuing to work on Broadway is that many members of your regular team of collaborators have passed away and that you feel “obsolete.” Do you still feel that way?

You work with people like Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Wally Harper and you develop a shorthand with these people. I live on and they are not alive. It’s generational. I can’t go looking for somebody my age. It’s not happening. I’m 79 for God’s sake. I can’t find people who have experienced what I have. It takes a toll on you.

The key to life is to stay interested. To have a curiosity about it and what’s next. That’s what’s great about touring. You don’t have a chance to get stale.  The good thing about performing is it’s not a contest. The people who see you want you to be good and the helps you be good.

I know you aren’t on social media and don’t rely on modern technology. But recently playwright Paul Rudnick tweeted in response to a football trade announcement, “A gay man’s brain: when I saw the Seahawks’ Michael Bennett was being traded, I assumed it was for Tommy Tune.” Apart from the obvious humor there, what does it mean to you to know that you continue to inspire people?

That’s why we do it. To inspire life. To inspire a good time. To inspire creatively if people work in your field. It’s our purpose, isn’t it? It’s my life’s work. I think I’m using the gifts I’ve been given and I don’t take that lightly. All that is not given is lost. If you don’t give it, you are losing it. I’m happiest when I’m in a permanent state of creativity.

Photo Credit: Franco Lacosta

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