It Takes Two
An Evening with Lauren Kennedy & Alan Campbell
The Performance
Individually, they are respected, much admired and sought-after Broadway, theatre, recording, film and TV dependable-as-they-come working artists. The day they met, Lauren Kennedy was the fresh-faced North Carolina ingenue plucked out of Cincinnati Conservatory by Andrew Loyd Webber to land in one of most-anticipated shows to come along in years. Alan Campbell was the suave, golden-voiced tenor from Florida, now making waves in New York and turning heads as the young male lead opposite Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard.
Whether it was love at first sight or first sound — the storybook happened and they've been making music, together and apart, as husband and wife almost ever since. It Takes Two is a delectable snippet of the relished, glorious time when they get to work together. And it's a range of musical content and styles as broad as their very impressive careers.
Lauren Kennedy roles have included Lady of the Lake in Broadway's Spamalot, Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard, Daisy Hilton in Side Show, and the final Fantine in the history-making run of Les Miserables.... as Nellie Forbush in Trevor Nunn's masterful London production of South Pacific, as Cinderella at New York City Opera, and star of premieres including White Christmas, The Last Five Years, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Vanities, Good Ol Girls, and The Ten Commandments with Val Kilmer at L.A.'s Kodak Theatre.
Alan Campbell originated the role of Joe Gillis in his Tony-nominated performance in Sunset Boulevard and starred in Susan Stroman's Tony Award-winning Contact at Lincoln Center. Principal credits also include productions or tours of Lanford Wilson's Book of Days, 12 Angry Men, Beauty and the Beast, Bells Are Ringing; film roles in Simple Wish and Tom, Dick and Harry; five seasons on TV's Jake & the Fatman with Bill Conrad, with John Ritter on Three's a Crowd, as Evan Grant on Another World and as Dr. Ellis Marshall on All My Children, with guest roles on network mainstays including Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Homicide, Facts of Life and Matlock.
In a Word…
"This couple's combined Broadway experience translates into bang-up, class-A entertainment." - News And Observer
"Kennedy delivers a star performance ... a convincing Southern vixen who charms her gallant prince." - Broadway World
"Alan Campbell is a charismatic golden boy with a voice to match." - The Wall Street Journal
"Kennedy gives a star making performance. Her singing rings out as clear as a fingernail flick on a crystal champagne glass. Intoxicating..." - New Jersey Star Ledger
"From the bravura opening number to their charming encore, Campbell and Kennedy have personality plus and know how to project it." - ClassicalVoiceofNC.com
A Presenter's Point of View
Married now for more than ten years, Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell might be called the "Steve-and-Eydie" of a new generation. When they're on stage with each other, it's nothing less than the ideal musical merger — from giddy and light-hearted to powerful and poignant, from well-known hits from their Broadway musicals and pop-rock milestones to remarkably fresh, undiscovered gems from a whole new bounty of remarkable young composers & lyricists. It is songs you haven't heard in years — and songs you haven't heard at all. Songs you'd never expect them to sing — and songs you were desperately hoping to hear.
"It Takes Two" is an evening of perfectly-tuned, consummately entertaining, smooth-as-satin show biz panache — plopped smack-dab in the middle of a platter of real life. It's diapers, left-over pizza, who's taking care of the little one, does-this-dress-make-me-look-fat, can-you-just-shut-up-and-sing wonderful. When they're doing "Give Me the Simple Life" and you see those family pics interspersed with their Broadway glamour shots, you can well imagine just how "simple" it must be to juggle all that's going on with this couple... Simple? Maybe not. Living life to the fullest, loving each other and happy to be on stage together? You bet! And it's as much fun as chocolate and champagne, iced tea and pimento cheese.