That ethic has madeBaldwin a hot property on New Yorkstages, culminating with her Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for Finian’s Rainbow. She’ll find out Sundaynight if she gets to walk up onstage at Radio City Music Hall. But either way, her careercontinues to reach greater heights. She’s already been in London for more than a month with her newshow, Paradise Found.
Baldwin moved with herparents and younger brother from Evanston, Ill., to Shorewood when she was 7years old. Her experiences with Shorewood High’s theater remain as vivid asever and were the starting point for what has become a very successful career.
“I wanted to be in Our Town [as a freshman], but I was tooyoung and inexperienced,” she recalls. “I did get to sing in Grease as a girl in the chorus. I had tostart at the beginning and prove myself.”
It wasn’t long before Baldwin was earning lead roles. By her sophomore year,she was playing Eliza Doolittle in MyFair Lady. As a junior, she portrayed Cinderella in Into the Woods, based on the successful Broadway musical. By hersenior year, Gensler chose a show because of the abilities of Baldwinand a fellow student, as Shorewood become one of the first secondary schools tostage Evita.
“It’s still funny tothink about playing one of the dictators of Argentina at 17 years old,” shesays. “We did it because we didn’t know we couldn’t do it. It was a thrill anda great source of pride.”
Baldwin already hadexperience with Finian’s Rainbowbefore she even arrived in Manhattan.After graduating from Northwestern University’s theater program in 1997, she ended updoing a number of shows at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Ill.,including that story about a pot o’ gold.
“I have plenty ofpractice,” she says about Finian’sRainbow.
A producer happened tosee her and was already thinking about a revival. “Finian’s Rainbow is the reason why I moved to New York,” Baldwin says. “It’s thegift that keeps on giving.”
Baldwin and her husbandof almost five years, fellow actor Graham Rowat, currently make their home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.They met during a production of 1776in Washington, D.C., and have toured together in White Christmas (as the Bob/Bettycouple). While she’s in London, he’ll preparefor work in Provincetown, Mass. And later this summer she’s off to do I Do! I Do! in Connecticut.
Such is the life of theactor. But, as Baldwin is finding out, anomination by one’s peers comes with its perks, some unexpected. “The greatpart of all this is hearing from people who I haven’t heard from in years,” shesays. “I’d really like to come back to Milwaukeeand do a show.”
And perhaps she will.For Kate Baldwin, anything can happenand usually does.
The 64th annual Tony Awardswillbe broadcast live at 7 p.m. June 13 on CBS.
