Arts & Entertainment

Liz Callaway Sings a Valentine to Sondheim and Her Father, ‘Chicago Tonight’ Creator John Callaway

Singer Liz Callaway has led a rather charmed life in musical theater.

At age 20 in 1981, Callaway made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along.” She was in the original Broadway production of “Miss Saigon,” performed in “Cats” for five years, and earned a Tony nomination for the musical “Baby.”

She provided the singing voice for animated characters in films such as “Anastasia,” in which she sang the Oscar-nominated song “Journey to the Past.” She sang the role of Jasmine in a pair of “Aladdin” sequels and was the voice of “The Swan Princess.”

But all roads lead back to Stephen Sondheim.

Ten years before Liz Callaway appeared on Broadway, her parents took her to see the new Sondheim musical “Company” in New York City. It was at the Alvin Theatre – the same theater where she would later make her debut.

In 1985 she appeared in the legendary “Follies in Concert” performance at Lincoln Center along with Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Burnett and Elaine Stritch, and she performed in “Sondheim on Sondheim” in London.

Her recording “To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim” was nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award in the category Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album alongside fellow nominees Bruce Springsteen and Rickie Lee Jones.

And she often performs with sister, Ann Hampton Callaway – Liz sang backing vocals for the theme song for “The Nanny” (which Ann wrote and sang) and they released an LP, “Sibling Revelry.”

Their father, John Callaway, started “Chicago Tonight” at WTTW in 1984.

Liz Callaway returns to Chicago this weekend to perform “To Steve with Love” at the Studebaker Theater and celebrate the composer through his words and music – and she’ll offer some personal recollections of the man himself.

WTTW News spoke with Liz Callaway from her home in New York.

WTTW News: How did your Sondheim tribute album come about?

Liz Callaway: I was scheduled to do a show of movie music and then Steve passed away and I thought ‘Oh, I just want to sing Sondheim right now.’ There were so many people grieving his loss, and I thought it’d be wonderful to just sing and tell some stories for people who were missing him. Afterwards, so many people came up to me and said you really should make a live recording. So I did two more shows and self-produced the album and then, totally to my surprise, it was nominated for a Grammy Award.

My dad would have been so proud. He’s been on my mind so much. The last time I sang Sondheim in Chicago was 2006 at Millennium Park, and it was a big symphony concert. Dad was in the audience, Sondheim was in the audience.

After dad passed away I was going through his things and he had been preparing to do an interview with Sondheim. I found his research and kept it, and then when I was putting together my show and trying to figure out what I was going to talk about it, I looked through it – so that made me feel like he was part of my process.

And your parents took you to see “Company” on Broadway at a young age – tell us about that.

Callaway: We grew up in Chicago, but dad was transferred so we lived in New York from about 1969 to ‘73. Mom and dad saw “Company” and brought home the cast album, and I memorized every song. I still know every word, and then we went to see the show and I just loved it. I was 9 or 10, I think, and there was something about the music. I fell in love with it.

Ten years after seeing “Company” I did “Merrily We Roll Along.” It was my first Broadway show, and it was directed by Hal Prince with music by Sondheim and book by George Furth – just like “Company.” It was a very happy day when I called home and told my parents that I was going to be in the new Sondheim show.

And even though “Merrily” only ran for two weeks, it totally changed my life. I was originally hired as a swing, which meant I wasn’t in the show but was going to understudy the 12 women in the show. During rehearsals my agent got me an audition for a new musical at the Public Theater. I went on my lunch break because I thought it would be good experience, and I actually got cast in a leading role. I thought ‘Oh my God – what am I going to do?’ And Hal Prince said if I stayed in the show he would put me in the chorus and let me understudy the female lead. Everyone told me to take the leading role, but my gut told me to stick with “Merrily,” and it was good that I did that because the other show never opened – but that director later cast me in “Baby.” So if I hadn’t done “Merrily” and if I hadn’t gone to that audition… there are just so many if-then moments in my career, but it all started with “Company” and “Merrily” and Sondheim.

If I understand correctly, Sondheim heard you sub for the lead actress and liked your voice – is that accurate?

Callaway: It’s close. I understudied Annie Morrison and we previewed for two months and rehearsed every day, and she started to get sick. She never missed a show, but during that time when she was sick she would rehearse new scenes – because they made a million changes during previews – so she would rehearse the scenes, and they had me sit in the front row and sing her songs so she could conserve her voice for the shows at night, and it didn’t cross my mind until years later that of course Sondheim was in the theater and that must have been when he heard me. Because in the show I only had two solo lines [laughs] which I’ll be singing on Saturday night. Then I did other concerts, including “Follies in Concert,” and I was like, how did he even know that I could sing? So I think it was because of that, which kind of gives my goosebumps.

Sondheim songs have a reputation for being difficult to sing – I’m thinking of “Another Hundred People” from “Company.” Was that your experience?

Callaway: I do a parody called “Another Hundred Lyrics” which talks about how hard Sondheim is to sing, but I actually don’t think his music is that hard to sing. I think it’s hard to learn – there’s so many lyrics. But he was very specific about how he wrote. When I worked with him he would explain “there is a half or a quarter note rest here because of this.” He wrote extremely specifically and beautifully for the human voice and for the actor. He put himself into character when he wrote these songs, and he did so much of the work for you – it was all on the page.

I remember when I sang at that 2006 concert in Millennium Park with a full orchestra and dad was in the audience, and I was singing “Getting Married Today,” which is probably his hardest song –

Yes! That’s the song I was thinking of.

Callaway: The first time I did it was at this concert. Gary Griffin, the wonderful Chicago director, said ‘I’d like you to do ‘Getting Married Today’ – and by the way Sondheim’s going to be at the concert.’ It was the hardest thing ever, but everything he wrote he thought deeply about – like this is going to be really fast so I’m going to make sure the consonants and everything are sing-able. I mean, it’s certainly challenging but it’s so satisfying to sing his music. The concert on Saturday is hard not because it’s so vocally demanding, but because of the concentration that’s needed. That’s the biggest thing for me in the show.

Did you get to know Stephen Sondheim personally?

Callaway: I did not know him that well. I never had “Hey, let’s have lunch” like I have with other composers in my life like Stephen Schwartz [“Wicked”], Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty [“Ragtime”] and Richard Maltby and David Shire [“Baby”]. I did not have that kind of relationship with him. It was more when I was doing a concert or an event or a benefit with him, or I’d see him at something else.

I always felt shy around him, but I had a wonderful correspondence with him over the years. If I sent him a CD or did a benefit or a concert celebrating him, he’d write me a thank you note and type it and sign it, and then later on we had email exchanges. He had amazing email etiquette. You know how sometimes you send an email and then you never hear back? He was very kind about that, and he also wrote back to anyone who would write to him. He really cared when people reached out to him and that was special.

Liz Callaway, center, performs with her sister Ann Hampton Callaway and father John Callaway. (Courtesy of Liz Callaway)

And how do you feel about your father’s legacy in Chicago? The program he created, “Chicago Tonight,” is still going after 40-plus years.

Callaway: I’m so happy to know that. I was just doing concerts in Seattle, and I always mention my family, and a guy in the audience goes ‘I love Chicago Tonight!’ During the pandemic I was watching the “The Last Dance” on ESPN and suddenly my husband says, “Isn’t that your dad?” And we went back and listened and you could hear his voice talking about Michael Jordan. I put it on Twitter and the radio announcer for the Mets saw my tweet and said “Your dad’s John Callaway? I used to watch ‘Chicago Tonight’ with my grandmother!”

It’s amazing – there are so many people whose lives he touched. He’s so remembered and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to do this show in Chicago. I know dad will be watching from above, because he’s definitely part of the show.

What was he like as a father? Taking a 10-year-old to see “Company” on Broadway is a pretty good indicator.

Callaway: He was a wonderful father. When we were growing up, he’d come home late from work and sit at the kitchen table. My sister Ann and I would be sitting around with him and he’d have cheese and crackers and maybe some bourbon and 7-Up, and he’d just talk about current events. We had very adult conversations about what was happening in the world. My parents divorced when I was in high school, and I later moved to New York. He flew in for every important show or concert that I would do or Ann would do. One thing I really miss, because I was such a tomboy, he and I would go to Bulls games and we’d talk after the Masters or Wimbledon or football. We talked sports a lot. It was a passion of both of us.

And my son Nicholas was so close to my dad, who passed away unexpectedly the day before Nicholas graduated high school. Nicholas reminds me of dad because he explains world events to me, and we text about all these sporting events, and he sometimes goes to YouTube and watches interviews dad did. He definitely lives on in his grandson.

Your mother was a voice teacher. Was she your first teacher?

Callaway: No, I actually never studied voice formally, but I heard her give a million voice lessons. She would teach at our house, so I learned about singing through osmosis. She was all about the lyrics and telling the story, and diction was important to her. So even though I didn’t study formally with her, I learned how to sing from her.

I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve had such a great career and that I was able to do all that I’ve done, and I think one of the things with “Merrily” too is, a lot of the cast was very young and very raw and that’s what Hal Prince and Stephen Sondheim were looking for. I feel very fortunate that in such a difficult business I’ve had a long and interesting career.

“To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim” is at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building on Saturday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m.

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Marc Vitali is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.

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