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Jenn Colella revealed that there was quite the unconventional fight call happening at Broadway’s Urban Cowboy.
During the Thursday, June 25, episode of the Had to Ask podcast, the actress looked back on her time working on the short-lived 2003 musical in which she made her Broadway debut as Sissy.
“We were wild in that show,” Colella told podcast host Melanie Sutrathada. “We had something called ‘Naked Fight Call.’”
Directed by Lonny Price, the Urban Cowboy cast included a handful of Broadway newcomers, including Colella and costar Matt Cavenaugh.
Based on the 1980 Western film starring John Travolta, the stage adaptation features a book by Aaron Latham and Phillip Oesterman with a score by Jeff Blumenkrantz, Jason Robert Brown and others.
Admitting that she is the reason “Naked Fight Call” came to be, Colella explained that she “mismanaged” her time before one performance and was showering when she should have been at fight call (a pre-show rehearsal during which the performers safely walk through all stage combat or fight choreography before curtain).
“I heard the announcement, and so I came to stage in a towel,” Colella explained. “I started the whole bar fight with a right hook, and everybody jokingly…was like, ‘Lose the towel, lose the towel!’ And I was like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable with that.’”
However, Colella seemed to have changed her mind.
“I flung the towel off and threw my first punch and did the rest of the fight naked,” she said. “And then the stage manager would let me periodically call for a clothing-optional or naked fight call.”
Colella claimed that during their “very last show” — which took place when the musical closed on May 18, 2003, after 60 performances — “everyone came to stage absolutely naked.”
During the fight call, Colella said the crew even “came out to watch.”
“[It’s] not the sort of thing that would happen today,” she noted. “It’s a Broadway lore, for sure.”
Despite its short run, Urban Cowboy was nominated for two 2003 Tony Awards, including Best Choreography (Melinda Roy) and Best Original Score for its various songwriters.
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Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas
