Now playing a monthly cabaret residency, Andrea McArdle’s Broadway On Demand at The Laurie Beechman Theatre in NYC’s West Bank Café on 42nd Street, the triple-threat Philadelphia native first secured her never-ending “fifteen minutes of fame” in 1977, when, at the age of thirteen, she originated the title role in the beloved Broadway musical Annie, based on the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, and became the youngest performer ever to be nominated for a Tony for Best Lead Actress in a Musical (for which she received Outer Critics’ Circle and Theater World Awards) and subsequently took her acclaimed portrayal to London’s West End. She then made her return to the screen as Judy Garland in the 1978 NBC television movie Rainbow, after having previously been seen for two-and-a-half years in the role of Wendy Wilkins on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, winning the 1976 Afternoon TV Award for Best Juvenile Actress, and making guest appearances through the years on the Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, and Dinah Shore shows.
Since then, McArdle has starred in a range of Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and touring productions, including the Jerry Herman musical Jerry’s Girls alongside Carol Channing and Leslie Uggams (1984), and portrayed such iconic characters as Ashley in the original Broadway cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express (1987), Fantine in Les Misérables (1993), Margy Frake in the OBC of State Fair (1996), and Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1999), in addition to Esther (the Judy Garland role) in Meet Me In St. Louis, Sonia in They’re Playing Our Song, Luisa in The Fantasticks, Eva Peron in Evita, Nancy in Oliver, the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun, Mama Rose in Gypsy, Sandy in Grease, and many more.
She has been equally active as a vocalist, from her performances at Carnegie Hall and The Metropolitan Opera House, DC’s Kennedy Center and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, to her cabaret concerts at venues in NYC, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and across the US, and now at The Beechman. Prior to this month’s dates there, Andrea answered our quick questions about her career, her personal favorites, and the feelings they’ve engendered in her.
1. What are you most thankful for this year?
Andrea: Easy – my two beautiful grandkids. How could I not be thankful for them? They call me Gaga, because there was no way Annie was going to be called “Granny!” And, of course I’m loving this new residency at The Beechman.
2. What three emotions do you feel when you look back on your Broadway debut in Annie?
Three?!? There’s no way I could boil it down three. It gave me my career, some of my greatest friends, some of my most favorite memories. But, if I have to choose, I’ll say giddy, excited, and, ultimately, satisfied.
3. What three emotions do you feel when you’re performing live on stage now?
Can I say giddy, excited, and satisfied again? To give you some new ones, when I’m performing now, at the Beechman specifically, I feel connected, free, and safe. l feel connected to my roots; I mean, the room is literally named after the woman I grew up learning to sing and perform from. I feel free, doing this particular show, because there’s no script! I just have to show up, see what’s thrown my way, and have fun. And, I feel safe, because Tom and Michael (D’Angora – the owners) have created such a warm environment and they, and the entire staff, are so supportive and on your side. So, even though I’m flying free, with this current show, I know I have a great safety net with the Beechman team on my side.
4. Is there one song you always look forward to singing?
As much as I love the show tunes, I’m a ‘70s gal – Billy Joel, The Carpenters, and I often open my show with Odyssey’s “New York City Girl.” Those are my favorites to sing.
5. What’s the most memorable reaction you’ve ever gotten from an audience member?
Barbra Streisand asking me, as a kid, if she could record “my song” certainly left an impression!
6. What are you enjoying most about your residency at the Laurie Beechman Theatre?
I’m loving this format. We throw a million different topics in a hat, and we throw all the songs I know in another, and then the audience starts blindly picking stories and songs and somehow it all comes together in a really fun and unexpected way. It basically feels like a bunch of old friends hanging out and sharing theater stories. There’ve been some unexpected guests in the audience, like Christian Slater on my opening night, or Nicholas King (who played Chip as a kid in Beauty and The Beast with me), and just having them there opens up a whole conversation with the audience; sharing stories I had forgotten about or not even thought of sharing until seeing them there. Each show has had some really wonderful, unexpected moments.
7. Do you have a favorite menu item or beverage there?
The Risotto Balls are iconic for a reason! And, as basic as it sounds, it’s the best roast chicken and mashed potatoes.
8. What do you always have in your dressing room?
Haha, funny you should bring that up, because I would say my Dyson Airwrap, but I accidentally forgot it before my last show and had to run to Target to find a quick alternative. But otherwise, I’m easy.
9. Which came first for you, singing, dancing, or acting?
Most people would think it was singing or acting because of how my career played out, but it all started with dance classes in Philly. Oddly enough, myself and one of the other orphans came out of the same dance classes growing up. And we’re still good friends today!
10. What’s your first creative memory?
Dance classes, I guess. You would think I would have been a real artsy kid growing up, but I was way more of a tomboy, getting into trouble, pulling pranks, and generally being a handful.
11. Who or what has been the biggest inspiration in your career?
Outside of the stars I grew up listening to on the radio, I’d have to say Laurie Beechman. She recorded all the demos for Annie, so she was the first person I ever heard sing “Tomorrow.” But, watching her poise, her charisma, her impeccable singing technique, the way she applied her make-up, the way she wore her clothes . . . I think it’s safe to say she was a role model for all of us girls in that cast. Not just as a performer and a singer, but how to be a woman and a wonderful person.
12. Which Broadway role have you found the most relatable in real life – Little Orphan Annie in Annie, Ashley in Starlight Express, Fantine in Les Misérables, Margy in State Fair, or Belle in Beauty and the Beast?
When you play a role, you have to bring so much of yourself to it. So, in theory, I relate to all of them, because they’re all a part of me. But, if I really think about it, at the end of the day, I do love roller skating and cigarettes, so maybe Ashley! Haha.
13. What three words would you use to describe yourself?
I don’t know – troublemaker, rebel, tough. I’m still basically just a gal from Philly!
14. If you were interviewing yourself, what question would you ask?
What’s next? And, if I had to answer that . . . well, I don’t know!
15. What’s the best thing about being famous?
I don’t know if it’s “The Best” thing – but I certainly have some crazy stories that only come from fame. I mean, what other sixteen-year-old crashes a car and then gets a call from Liberace saying that you can borrow his?!? I got to do a photoshoot with Sarah Jessica Parker for New York Magazine this year. I’ve been doing this for 50 years and, although it’s a roller coaster, I have had so many amazing “pinch me” moments that remind me how lucky I am to get paid to sing, and tell stories, and make people happy. I guess that’s the best part really – making other people happy!
Thanks, Andrea, for sharing a fabulous fifteen minutes of your fame with our readers and letting your fans get to know you a little better. I look forward to seeing you at the Beechman on the 29th!
Andrea McArdle’s Broadway On Demand plays November 28-29, 2025, at 7 pm (doors open at 5:30), and monthly, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, West Bank Café, 407 W 42nd Street, downstairs, NYC. For the upcoming performance schedule and tickets (priced at $35-50, plus fees, and a $25 food/beverage minimum per person), go online.
