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Katharine McPhee is putting her renowned voice to good use in The Artist, the new Gilded Age-era murder mystery on The Network streaming service.
The performer, known to Broadway audiences as Karen Cartwright in Smash and Jenna in Waitress, appears as a guest star in the second half of the series, playing real-life vaudeville singer Nora Bayes.
“[Nora] was such an interesting person… She felt so modern, even today,” McPhee said of her character during an exclusive interview with BroadwayWorld. McPhee tapped into a vaudeville style for her performance, altering her natural vibrato to match the sound of the time.
The series itself follows fictional tycoon and art appreciator Norman Henry, played by Mandy Patinkin. In the show, he and his wife, Marian (Janet McTeer), host a gathering of eclectic celebrities at their country home. Nora Bayes is among the esteemed guests, showing off her vocals at a dinner party. Created by Aram Rappaport, The Artist brings together an all-star cast, including Patti LuPone, Hank Azaria, Danny Huston, Zachary Quinto, and Clark Gregg.
During the interview, McPhee also shared some of the best advice she herself has received as a performer, crediting Broadway’s Shoshana Bean as particularly helpful in helping her care for her instrument.
“[Shoshana Bean] singlehandedly has changed the way that I sing so much,” she said, explaining that the Hairspray alum introduced her to a new method of vocalizing and maintaining her singing voice through voice teacher Thomas Blaylock. “I will be forever to her sort of demanding that I take this really seriously.”
Watch the full interview now, where McPhee shares more about her appreciation for Rappaport’s writing in the limited series, along with her co-stars. “[Aram] did such a good job at taking all of these late 1800s characters and making them feel really conversational and modern in the way that we speak today.” Part 2 of The Artist will arrive on December 25.
