People: She’s back to taking those Bebe steps
Bebe Neuwirth returned to her old stomping grounds of “Chicago” on New Year’s Eve with a brand new part – in more ways than one.
For one, she high-stepped into the revival as Roxie Hart rather than Velma Kelly, the role that earned her a 1997 Tony Award.
Plus, she joined the high-intensity musical with a brand, spankin’ new titanium hip.
Neuwirth, who turned 48 on Dec. 31, underwent hip replacement surgery in May. For many people, walking or running again so soon would be a feat. Tackling Bob Fosse choreography sounds insane.
“I wanted to get out and wiggle again,” she explains.
For Neuwirth, who TV fans know as the brilliant yet chilly Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane on “Cheers” and “Frasier,” re-entering “Chicago” is a return to her first love.
“I can have a good time doing TV shows and I can have a good time doing films, but at a certain point I start climbing the walls,” she says. “I’m coming back because I wanted to dance.”
That possibility was fast becoming a long-shot for Neuwirth, who had been shimmying in pain since suffering cartilage damage while performing in “A Chorus Line” when she was 21.
With “Chicago’s” 10th anniversary celebration looming last November, Neuwirth feared she’d be limping alongside Chita Rivera and Ann Reinking.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got to get this done as soon as possible.’ Also, the pain is excruciating. Talk to anybody who’s had a hip replacement,” she says.
Eight weeks after surgery, Neuwirth was attending ballet classes – a recovery she attributes to good genes and her athletic background.
Returning to “Chicago” for an extended run by her birthday was her next goal.
“For completely selfish reasons, I didn’t want to let another year go by without performing,” she says. “I also wanted to celebrate this gratitude that I feel for being able to dance again.”
Dancing isn’t Neuwirth’s whole life. Her film credits include “Say Anything,” “Green Card,” “Jumanji,” “Celebrity,” “Summer of Sam,” “Le Divorce” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”
On the small screen, her sexy intelligence opposite Kelsey Grammer and won her two Emmys – not bad for a part originally intended to be just one scene in an episode of “Cheers.”
For her audition, she showed up wearing what she thought Lilith would wear – hair in a ballerina bun, a pencil skirt and a white shirt buttoned up to the collar.
Told to return after lunch, she took down her long dark hair and slipped into her regular clothes: a black leather miniskirt and purple satin shirt. The change was so startling that Ted Danson reintroduced himself.
“Hi, I’m Ted,” he said.
“Yes,” she replied, “we met at the reading about an hour ago.”
The birthday bunch
Author William Peter Blatty (“The Exorcist”) is 79. Singer Kenny Loggins is 59. Actor David Caruso is 51. TV news anchor Katie Couric is 50. Actor Nicolas Cage is 43. Country singer John Rich (Big and Rich) is 33. Actor Dustin Diamond (“Saved By The Bell”) is 30. Actor Liam Aiken (“Lemony Snicket”) is 17.