AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Files - Flawless Print - Lucy Articles

From Xena to Rizzo

In Theater Magazine

October 1997

Scanned/Transcribed by MaryD

From Xena to Rizzo

Lucy Lawless, aka Xena: Warrior Princess, is currently bringing crowds into the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where she is starring in the long-running hit musical Grease! Lawless follows in the footsteps of many celebrity Rizzos, including Rosie O'Donnell, Brooke Shields, Joely Fisher, and Mackenzie Phillips. In fact, her appearance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show,
where she sang "I'm an Ole' Cow Hand," caught the attention of casting directors from producer Barry and Fran Weissler's office.

"They made me an offer, and I jumped at it," says Lawless. Why did she opt for much less lucrative work on Broadway rather than a movie during her hiatus from Xena? "This is not for the money," Lawless says with a smile. "A good reason is to broaden my career base. But the actual truth is that I wanted to sing again. I haven't sung since I was a teenager, and that was just for the love of it. Anyway, I feel a change coming into my life. I just wanted to take this risk and do it. It's a great role ' for me. Rizzo is a tough, hard' woman with a heart."

Lucy continues as Rizzo through October 19, when she travels back to New Zealand to begin work on the new season of Xena. On October 20, she will be replaced by Linda Blair' best known for her performance in The Exorcist.

---