“Top Gun: Maverick” actress Jean Louisa Kelly chatted about her upcoming “Anything Can Happen” concerts in New York.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’
A stage and screen star, Kelly is featured in the Oscar-nominated movie “Top Gun: Maverick.” She played the role of Sarah Kazansky, who is married to Val Kilmer’s character. “It was an amazing, surreal experience that I still have a hard time believing was real. That was just a gift to be able to participated in that movie,” she said.
“Tom Cruise was so generous, so kind, and I just love the film,” she added. “I watched the original ‘Top Gun’ film as well before I auditioned for it. Val Kilmer was amazing.”
“Top Gun: Maverick” has been nominated for six Academy Awards, which include “Best Picture” and “Best Adapted Screenplay.” “If you haven’t seen ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ see it because it’s the best. “I really believe that it should win the ‘Best Picture’ Oscar,” she said.
‘Anything Can Happen’ shows in New York
She will be bringing her “Anything Can Happen” solo concert to the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City on March 31 and April 1. It will feature Grammy Award-winning musical director Paul Bogaev. “I am very excited,” she said. “We did it in January so this is a repeat. I was so thrilled that people liked the show and I was very encouraged by the response. I decided to do it again to try to enjoy it even more,” she said with a sweet laugh.
“Anything Can Happen” is an uplifting journey through her serendipitous life in and out of show business, from small-town New England to Hollywood and Broadway. It will include songs from “Gypsy,” “The Fantasticks,” “Next to Normal,” and “Company.”
“It’s my personal journey in and out of show business and throughout my life, that starts when I am 11 and it comes up to present day. It’s a very individual journey and it’s a hopeful one,” she said.
“The fans will hear songs from all kinds of different Broadway musicals and films. It has a little bit of everything, and it’s uplifting,” she added.
‘Into the Woods’
Kelly is best known for featured roles in the movies “Uncle Buck,” “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” and “The Fantasticks,” as well as the long running sitcom CBS-TV “Yes, Dear” and being in the original Broadway cast of “Into the Woods.”
“‘Into the Woods’ was a formative experience for me, I was 15 when I moved to New York to do it. It was a year of all-new experiences and living in the big city and being in a Broadway show. It was a dream at a very early age. That cast was like a family, and they became my family because I was living on my own. The understudies were my buddies,” she said.
The digital age
On being an actress in the digital age, Kelly said, “There are a lot of opportunities. It’s amazing how much content there is out there, and I am excited about it. I do love how much good material there is for women, and especially women over 50, and it’s all opening up, and it’s very exciting.”
For young and aspiring actors, Kelly encouraged them to be authentic. “First of all, be you and don’t try to be somebody else, and trust that this is valuable. Know who you are working with and who you are auditioning for, I am giving that advice even though I wasn’t good at it myself.”
“When I was younger, I would show up and just focus on the material. Now that I am more experienced, I understand how important it is to know who you are in front of,” she explained.
Regarding the title of the current chapter of her life, Kelly said with a sweet laugh, “Blossom.”
If she were to have any superpower, she revealed that it would be flight. “I would love to fly. I’ve always wanted to fly,” she said.
Success
On her definition of the word success, Kelly said, “Success means being comfortable with who I am, where I am right now, and that’s something that I keep working on.”
To learn more about actress Jean Louisa Kelly, follow her on Instagram.
