Natasha Richardson: a shining light of Broadway

AS BEAUTIFUL and talented as she is, Natasha Richardson should have a much bigger film career.

But it's in her genes to shine brightest on the stage.

She is, after all, a member of the Redgrave clan, a theatrical dynasty that has held sway over theaters in London and New York for more than 75 years.

Her grandfather Michael Redgrave was one of the finest British actors of the 20th century, rivaled only by Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. Her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, is arguably the greatest living actress in the English-speaking world today.

And her father, Tony Richardson, who died of AIDS in 1991, directed several of the most influential plays and movies in England in the 1950s, including "Look Back in Anger," "The Entertainer," "A Taste of Honey" and "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner."

Natasha, who was critically injured Monday in a skiing accident in Canada, made her London stage debut as Nina in "The Seagull" in 1985.

But it was on Broadway where she made her real mark.

In 1993, at age 30, she played the title role in Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie" at the Roundabout Theater Co.

It is one of most demanding roles in the American theater, and she played it brilliantly.

Her understudy, Angelica Torn, the daughter of actor Rip Torn, recalls watching her from the wings every night: "Her command of the audience was just awe-inspiring. Every time she made her entrance, there was goose-flesh everywhere."

Richardson returned to Broadway six years later to play Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' gritty revival of "Cabaret."

She was not a trained singer, but she was determined to be a musical-theater star.

"She had been over to [composer] John Kander's house to learn the show, and we kept hearing rumors that she was terrible," says Joe Masteroff, who wrote the book for the musical.

"But the first time I heard her sing, I thought she was wonderful. And she was a terribly good actress. She just broke your heart."

Broadway fell in love, too, awarding her the 1999 Tony for Best Actress in a Musical.

She followed up "Cabaret" with another memorable performance, as a tough, sophisticated photographer in Patrick Marber's sexually-charged drama "Closer."

Those who know Richardson say she's a "whip-smart" actress with an impressive ability to analyze a scene intellectually and then play it to the hilt emotionally.

She can be prickly, especially around the press. I once met her at the bar at Chez Josephine, where she was hosting a party for the cast of "Cabaret."

She was the first to arrive, and we had a nice chat about her performance. But when I introduced myself as a columnist for The Post, steel shutters came down over her eyes. In very short order, I found myself banished to a table near the kitchen, far, far away from the "Cabaret" crowd.

No matter. It's when she's onstage that I want a front-row seat.

Just before her accident, Richardson was campaigning to co-star with her mother in a Broadway revival of "A Little Night Music." She wants to play Desiree Armfeldt, a grand stage actress who sings the show's best-known song, "Send in the Clowns."

That's a performance I hope to see. source