Legendary actress Julie Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton are currently serving as national ambassadors for Kids' Night on Broadway 2007. Our correspondent James Lochner recently spoke to Julie and Emma to discuss the importance of theatre in children's lives.

Generation Broadway: We’re so excited that you’ve agreed to be the national ambassadors for Kids’ Night on Broadway. How did you become involved with Kids’ Night?

Julie Andrews : We just happened to write our book The Great American Mousical because we are both so passionate about theatre and about giving kids every opportunity to discover its enchantment. Suzanne [Raab] came to us and thought it would be a great fit. 

GB: And so it is. Theatre has been a big part of your lives. How did it play a part in the direction of your careers?

Julie: My parents were performers. They were involved in vaudeville and music hall, and I was lucky enough to start attending, as well as performing in, theatre at a very young age. Once they realized that I had this freak four-octave voice, then I joined their act and it has been a part of my life ever since. I know it shaped me. It shaped my value system, my passions, and perhaps my sense of humor more than anything else.

Emma Walton Hamilton:  Mom and Dad then passed that tradition on to me.  And I too was fortunate to attend theatre, Broadway in particular, often from a very young age.  And after every new Broadway show, my step-sister and I would rush out to by the original cast album and perform every number we could lip-synching in full makeup and makeshift costumes for every poor friend or family member who happened to be passing by.  And I am sure it was some of those early, enthusiastic discoveries that made it possible for me to be part of the Bay Street Theatre and lead its program for young audiences. 

Julie:  It's going on 15 years now!

GB: Julie, though theatre was a huge part of your childhood, were you able to actually go to theatre and enjoy it, or were you too busy performing?

Julie: That’s a good question.  The rigor of performing was so overwhelming that it wasn’t until I was in my early twenties, when I went back to London with My Fair Lady, that I was able to see that it was all about the giving.  That I was able to help people forget the tax man around the corner or that little Stevie has the measles.  I was able to make them forget their troubles for one evening.  That’s when the sheer joy of performing really hit me.

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