Down the Rabbit Hole: Some Like It Hot's NaTasha Yvette Williams
Look, we have all done it. Gone on YouTube for one video and all of a sudden it's five hours later — where did the time go?! All this week here at Theatrely we are buckling in and diving down the rabbit hole to celebrate this year’s Best Featured Actresses in a Musical nominees at the Tony Awards.
Up today is NaTasha Yvette Williams, nominated for her haunting performance as Sweet Sue in Some Like It Hot. We did our journalistic duty and spent [redacted] hours scouring the internet to find our favorite clips of the iconic singer. Here’s our list:
When I tell you this performance is the DEFINITION of the perfect balance of leading with acting and singing, I’m not lying. NaTasha’s performance of this Jason Robert Brown song could bring me to tears, both happy and sad, all in three and a half minutes.
Icon. Legend. Star. And truly one of the best (if not the best) Mama Mortons to grace the Ambassador Theatre’s stage in Chicago.
Did you ever think you’d hear riffs in “If Ever I Would Leave You” from Camelot? Me neither. Plus, her faux-tap break is truly hilarious.
NaTasha Yvette Williams really gets how to interpret a song in a completely surprising way (no pun intended). She not only sounds fab, but had me in stitches (especially at 2:30) with her physical comedy and unique interpretation of this Irving Berlin song.
Somehow NaTasha has the magical power to make any and every song she performs her own, and her rendition of “Slumming on Park Avenue” with the Fred Barton Orchestra in 2015 is no different. She’s truly magnificent with a big band, just a piano, and anything in between accompanying her.
NaTasha Yvette Williams has been in eight Broadway shows–one of which is Porgy & Bess, where she played Mariah. So when I stumbled across this video of her singing “Summertime” Live at The Singers Lounge from 2011, I had to take a listen. Needless to say, it’s a must-listen for sure!
Perhaps her most iconic role other than Sweet Sue is Becky is Waitress, which she obviously slayed. Just bask in the glory of NaTasha Yvette Williams singing “I Didn’t Plan It.” Nuff said.
