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Heather Headley, the Grammy and Tony Award winner who attended Northrop High School in Fort Wayne, said she’s looking forward to singing this weekend at Hilbert Circle Theatre.
Aside from the chance to return to Indiana, the suburban Chicago resident said it’s a relief to perform after pandemic restrictions have been lifted—and audience members can show their uncovered faces.
Headley, who won her Tony for portraying Aida on Broadway in 2000 and her Grammy for 2009 R&B gospel album “Audience of One,” said attendees mean a lot to performers. And unmasked attendees mean even more.
“I don’t believe in the fourth wall,” she said. “I think the audience is part of the community. So I like to see them. It was difficult for a while to not know what the fourth wall was thinking. I would only see eyes and I would think, ‘I don’t know what’s going on.’”
During performances Saturday and Sunday with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Headley will sing selections from her career on stage. In addition to her signature performance in “Aida,” Headley originated the role of Nala in Broadway’s “The Lion King” and she portrayed Whitney Houston’s character in a London production of “The Bodyguard.”
In 2022, Headley portrayed the Witch in a limited-run production of “Into the Woods” in New York City, where her cast mates included Neil Patrick Harris and Sara Bareilles.
Although Broadway is a major part of Headley’s career, she’s also an actress who’s seen in Netflix series “Sweet Magnolias” (something she’s not able to talk about during the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike). As a recording artist, Headley has made five albums—including two for major-label RCA Records that were certified gold for sales of more than 500,000 copies.
Her most recent album, 2018’s “Broadway My Way,” features renditions of songs such as “For Good” from “Wicked” and “Home” from “The Wiz.”
Headley said it’s a challenge to deliver distinctive interpretations of popular material.
“I try my best not to listen to somebody else singing,” she said. “I don’t want to get swayed into the way they sing or their voice. You may not know you’re doing it, but all of a sudden it’s, ‘Why am I singing like Ethel Merman?’ because you listen to something so much.”
In the case of Houston, the “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” singer has influenced Headley for decades.
A native of Trinidad, Headley was a teenager when she moved to Fort Wayne with her family. At the time, she dreamed about being the next Whitney Houston.
Fast forward to 2012, and the 1993 Northrop alum was cast to portray Rachel Marron, depicted by Houston at the movies, in the first West End production of “The Bodyguard.”
It’s understandable to hear Headley say the role was all about nailing “I Will Always Love You” at the end of each night.
“To me the show was, ‘You’re going to run 45 miles and then during the last mile you’re going to do a sprint, but you have to thread the needle while you’re doing it,’ ” she said of the Dolly Parton composition. “I’d feel as though the entire audience was thinking, ‘OK, you better do this.’ But it’s really one of the most iconic songs we have.”
Heather Headley with the ISO
- When: 8 p.m. Sept. 15-16.
- Where: Hilbert Circle Theatre, 45 Monument Circle.
- Tickets: $10 to $118.
- Info: Visit indianapolissymphony.org.
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