Oscar and Emmy Award-winning Julie Andrews made a quick visit to Boston recently to talk about directing the new production of Sandy Wilson’s "The Boy Friend," coming to The Shubert Theatre in October.

Looking slim and radiant in a cream pants suit, Julie joined Wang Center President and CEO Joe Spaulding (right) on stage at the Shubert to chat about her new project along with a host of other topics. This was the very same stage, Spaulding mentioned, that she trod some thirty years ago in the out-of-town try-out of "Camelot."

She immediately offered her memories of that run, saying that they had previously played the O'Keefe Center in Toronto. "Camelot" was the first show to play the O’Keefe, and she remembered that the vast theater was barely finished. “Nothing worked,” she said ruefully. Coming to the more intimate Shubert helped them adjust their performances for Broadway.

When someone mentioned her status as an icon of the American musical, she modestly said that's not the way she'd describe herself -- the “Mum” of five with seven grandchildren. Despite her protests, from "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot" to "The Sound of Music," “Mary Poppins,” "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "Victor Victoria," she has clearly shaped her share of legendary musicals while earning millions of fans along the way.

Audiences sometimes overlook the fact that she also appeared in a number of memorable non-musical roles from "The Americanization of Emily" and "10" to "That's Life" and Alfred Hitchcock's "Torn Curtain."

It's no secret that she no longer sings. Following her stint on Broadway in the stage version of "Victor Victoria," she had surgery in 1997 to correct a few things and the results were not good. “My singing voice is nonexistent,” she said matter of factly, adding that she doesn’t even sing in the shower. While this might have been devastating early on, she is grateful it happened near the end of her stage career, “otherwise it would have been a hundred times worse.”

However, the resilient Ms. Andrews moved on to new things including "The Princess Diaries, I and II," "Shrek," hosting PBS’ mammoth "Broadway" chronicle series, as well as writing children's books and penning her upcoming autobiography.

“I’ve been allowed to play in some very wonderful sandboxes,” she said with a smile. She confessed that many of the projects she's since become involved in might never have occurred if her singing voice had not been compromised.

She first directed "The Boyfriend" at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY, two years ago (her daughter Emma Walton is co-founder and co-artistic director there). She says moving into the role of director was intimidating at first. After all, her husband Blake Edwards is one of the best. However, once she got going, she says it was “as if everything I’ve ever done suddenly came into focus.”

And now the production is being developed at Goodspeed Opera House for a run at the venerable Connecticut theatre from July 8 - Sept 18, followed by a substantial national tour which stops at The Shubert in October.

The twist, of course, is that Andrews made her American stage debut starring in "The Boyfriend" on Broadway in 1954. The role of Polly Browne, created by Julie, will be played by Jessica Grove, who earned praise from Andrews at the press conference. (Grove played Miss Dorothy in the recent Broadway production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”)

The musical of “perfect young ladies” who look for love on the French Riviera might seen a bit dated. But Julie disagrees. It was meant as a spoof of the musicals of the 20's, so she's preserving that air. “It’s very fresh, very sweet. It doesn’t need much tweaking” she said, adding that the secret in presenting “The Boyfriend” “is to play it for real.”

Designer Tony Walton (Julie’s first husband as well as Emma’s Dad) is designing sets and costumes for the show. Walton, who has designed 55 Broadway productions, was honored on June 6 with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for his career achievements in the theater.

Has she seen any of the current Broadway offerings? She called "Spamalot," “wonderfully silly . . .my kind of humor,” adding that there's plenty room for all types of shows, from the zany "Spamalot" to the more thoughtful "A Light In The Piazza." “How lovely to have all these choices,” she said.

Named a Dame Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 for her extraordinary career, Julie received a rousing hand when she entered the press conference. The same enthusiastic response closed the event as she thanked everyone and left the stage.

And that was our morning with Julie Andrews, who, no matter her current role, remains a fair lady of enormous class.

Photos: Jeffrey Dunn

-- OnStage Boston

06/09/05