The Arizona Republic

A-list artists drop in

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in it, because he’s a wonderful impersonat­or anyway, so he’s suddenly doing one character and then another and another, and explaining how you can be anything when you act.” The Brave singer — making her Broadway debut March 31 in Waitress, which she scored — comes to the greenroom in an episode to teach the students about lyrics and songwritin­g. “She’s a lovely lady,” Andrews says. Adds Hamilton: “The song that she teaches them and sings on the show ended up being the theme song for the whole series; it’s so great. The idea is that they write this song with her help.” The Frasier alum appears in the season’s penultimat­e episode, “The Mess Rehearsal,” in which he leads the Greenies’ last dress rehearsal before the curtain goes up. “That’s one of my favorite episodes because of his dry humor,” Hamilton says. “It’s a classic trope in the theater that the final rehearsal before opening night is a disaster. It’s good luck.” Adds Andrews: “If you have a good dress rehearsal, it doesn’t bode well for the opening.” Pierce “was a lovely man to work with. He is so funny.” The Emmy-winning comedy icon (and Hamilton’s godmother) is the only Greenroom guest star to play a character: Mrs. Edna Brightful, a wealthy theater patron who stops by in the season finale. “She is coming to assess the production and the theater to see if it’s worthy of a grant from her esteemed foundation,” Hamilton says. Burnett is “a great friend and it was an absolute natural ask on my part,” Andrews says. “I couldn’t think of anyone better. Hopefully if the show gets picked up (for Season 2), she’ll be back.”

 ?? PHOTOS BY ALI GOLDSTEIN, NETFLIX ?? David Hyde Pierce leads the final dress rehearsal of the puppets’ original production.
PHOTOS BY ALI GOLDSTEIN, NETFLIX David Hyde Pierce leads the final dress rehearsal of the puppets’ original production.
 ??  ?? Julie, Sara Bareilles and Julie’s assistant Gus (Giullian Yao Gioiello) give the children songwritin­g lessons.
Julie, Sara Bareilles and Julie’s assistant Gus (Giullian Yao Gioiello) give the children songwritin­g lessons.
 ??  ?? Edna Brightful (Carol Burnett) visits the theater.
Edna Brightful (Carol Burnett) visits the theater.

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