Inside Broadway with Julie Carver

Donna McKechnie

INSIDE BROADWAY is a new cabaret series at the MACC, hosted by Dr. Andrew Kurtz and pianist Julie Bearden Carver, that gets up close and personal with Broadway performers. If you enjoy programs like Inside the Actor’s Studio and Fresh Air – or if you just LOVE Broadway and musical theatre – ​​​​​​​join us for an intimate evening of storytelling, secrets, and song

Donna McKechnie is one of Broadway’s most celebrated triple-threat performers, with a career spanning more than six decades as a dancer, singer, actress and choreographer. She made her Broadway debut in 1961 as a dancer in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and later appeared in productions including Promises, Promises; Company; and the 1971 revival of On the Town. She also choreographed and performed in Sondheim: A Musical Tribute in 1973, establishing herself as both a performer and creative force within the Broadway community.

Donna McKechnie’s defining achievement came in 1975 when she originated the role of Cassie in Michael Bennett’s groundbreaking A Chorus Line. Her celebrated performance of “The Music and the Mirror” became one of the musical’s signature moments, and she received the 1976 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, as well as a Drama Desk Award. 

She subsequently returned to A Chorus Line and continued an extensive career on Broadway, in London’s West End and in major regional productions, earning a Fred Astaire Award for her performance as Emily Arden in the 1996 Broadway production of State Fair. Her other notable stage work includes Sweet Charity, Annie Get Your Gun, Follies, Mack & Mabel, Gypsy, The Visit, and Wicked, in which she played Madame Morrible from 2024–2025. She was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2021.

Beyond the stage, Donna McKechnie has maintained a diverse screen career. Her film credits include The Little Prince (1974), Billie, Breakin’ Through, and the documentary Every Little Step, while her television work has included the music series Hullabaloo, as well as appearances on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, Dark Shadows, Cheers, Family Ties, Fame, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Faerie Tale Theatre and Loving. She has also appeared in numerous television specials and Broadway documentaries, including Broadway: The American Musical.