Bonnie Langford: Broadway aged 9, Corpsing with Bernard Cribbins & Her Wildest Quick Change

How Very Hannah

Host Hannah interviews legendary stage actress Bonnie Langford about her prolific career spanning from childhood stardom to the present day.

Key takeaways

• Bonnie Langford performed on Broadway in 'Gypsy' at just nine years old opposite Angela Lanspecty.
• Her mother famously closed her dancing school to ensure no student could ever surpass Bonnie's talent.

Main topics

• Child stardom and training
• Broadway vs West End experiences

Notable quotes

Show business is two words and business is the longer word.

Conclusion

A nostalgic and insightful look into the life of a seasoned performer,

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) Hello and welcome back to another episode of How Very Hannah. Roll the titles. Once upon a time there was a stagey girl with a big dream. She hoped, dreamed and prayed to work at Tesco. Wait, someone's written this script wrong. Can we get a redo? Speaker 2 (0:33) Take two! Speaker 1 (0:35) I dreamed a dream that one day I would hit the stage and so it seems that dream has come true. Whoa, whoa. Oh my god you guys, it's really happening. My life has been changed for the better and I'm seizing the day and spinning into the spotlight. How very slay, it's giving queen. How very cringe, get out my scene. It's beginner's call, the stage is set for me. How very Hannah, how very Hannah. Speaker 1 (1:10) From a podcast show and your front row So how very Hannah Hit the lights How very Hannah That's too right It's my podcast show Let's go Speaker 1 (1:33) Bum, bum. Okay, I'm slightly freaking out about today's episode because I'm coming to you from the future because it has just happened. I sat down with the one and the only Bonnie Langford. That was one of my favorite episodes yet. Well, this that you're about to hear. We chat about Bonnie's incredible career. Like when I tell you, I basically, before every episode, I do a bit of research and I'm like, okay, what questions are we going to ask? Like what parts of their career do I want to focus on and talk about? And when I tell you, Bonnie's career has been so amazing and so varied, I genuinely just thought, I can't even like bullet point this. So I thought we do a little hot seat kind of quick fire question round, which actually worked really well. And I got to learn a lot about Bonnie and her incredible industry experiences and also some amazing people that she's worked with. Like literally after the episode, she was like, oh, Bernadette's in town. I was like, first name basis, burn the tat. Okay, okay. Hey, maybe I'm on first name basis with Bonnie Langford now. She's just Bon, Bon Bon. Anyway, sorry, I'm really digging a hole here. Can you tell I'm slightly like fangirling? Oh, there was actually one question that I really wanted to ask her. I'm fangirling over her, who... has she fangirled about? So maybe let us know in the comments after this episode, if you want to hear a part two with Bonnie, because I can listen to her talk for hours. Anyway, now I'm talking for hours. Enjoy the episode. Before you go, what really helps us out is if you like this video and leave a comment and subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. I will love you forever. Speaker 2 (3:07) Thanks. Speaker 1 (3:08) Please welcome to the pod, Bonnie Langford! Live studio audience, round of applause. Welcome to How Very Hannah. Hello, Tana. You alright? I'm good. How are you? I'm alright, yeah. It's such an honour to have you here. Oh, stop. Icon. Look at that. Very nice sign. I Speaker 2 (3:25) know. Speaker 1 (3:25) My name in lights. I brought Poppy with me Speaker 2 (3:27) as well. Speaker 1 (3:27) We've also got Poppy here, who might be up and down. Poppy is the dog, by the way, if you can't see that in the frame. Poppy is the dog. And Poppy and Ruben are actually friends. They are. Because they both go to West End Tales together. Shout out West End Tales. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you. We've met a couple times. Yeah, we Speaker 2 (3:43) have. Speaker 1 (3:43) But we've never had like a proper chat. No, we haven't. It's always sort of been passing. Yeah. Hiya, how are you? Yeah. We've Speaker 2 (3:49) never had a proper get to know you. No, it's nice. It's Speaker 1 (3:52) really nice. I'm nervous. I said that before you sat down. I went, I'm Speaker 2 (3:54) nervous. Speaker 1 (3:54) It's only me. I don't bite. I just feel like... Okay, I'm going to start off the episode. Well, everyone knows you're currently playing Mrs. Bird in Paddington. I've not seen it yet. Don't hate me. I am coming. Yes, and I've got two months off now, so I'm going to come. Fabulous. But Sophia literally saw it Friday. And she, yeah, I mean, even just the video from the battle was the... I'm like, I need to see this. But to start off, because your career is just so incredible, I'm like, where do I even start? I'm going to do some hot seat, quickfire questions. Okay, fine. Take as much time. I probably Speaker 2 (4:29) don't Speaker 1 (4:29) remember Speaker 2 (4:29) anything then, Hannah. I probably don't remember what I'm down. You do. No, I do. Speaker 1 (4:32) Surely you do. No, I do. And feel free to take as much time as you like. Bonnie Langford, do whatever you want. Okay. Where did you train? Speaker 2 (4:40) I trained at Arts Educational when it was a school school. I went there at the age of seven. And then I left there at the age of 11, 12, and I went to Italia Conti. Yeah? Yeah, and I was there. I left when I was 15. But at the time as well, I went to the Royal Ballet School briefly as well. Speaker 1 (4:58) Wow, okay. As a Speaker 2 (4:59) junior associate. So there was one time when my two sisters were at the Royal Ballet School as well, and the three of us were all there at the same time. My poor father, I don't know how he paid for Speaker 1 (5:08) the Speaker 2 (5:08) fee. Oh, my gosh, yeah. Speaker 1 (5:09) But yeah. Speaker 2 (5:10) But it paid off. Briefly, yes. Speaker 1 (5:12) That ballet training paid off. Okay, what age did you start singing and dancing? Speaker 2 (5:16) Well, it's a bit complicated because so my great aunt was a ballet dancer with Pavlova's company. And so there was very much dance and training was in my DNA. And my mother had taken over that great aunt's dancing school, just a little local school. My sister was at the Royal Ballet School at White Lodge from the age of 10. And that's when I was born. And my middle sister went to arts educational. So there was very much dance theatre training in my household as such. My poor father was just surrounded by all of it. But it was all about the training. It was all about just learning your craft Speaker 1 (5:56) and Speaker 2 (5:57) how to train to go on and have hopefully a long career. So I don't ever remember singing and dancing. And also it wasn't ever something that we did at home. You know, a lot of people... would say, oh, you must be singing and dancing. I was the quietest child ever. Would not do anything unless it was in the correct environment. Apparently, so my mother had this dancing school and every year at Richmond Theatre, she would put on a show, just the one, I can't believe this actually, thinking about it, what if your kid was ill and couldn't do that dance? Anyway. Too bad. She just did the one show at Richmond Theatre as her... her aunt, my great aunt, had always done Speaker 1 (6:36) for Speaker 2 (6:37) charity and to sort of show off what their kids were learning. And at this particular year when my mother was pregnant with me, instead of it being in June, July, she had to put it off and she put it off till October. by which time I was born, and she carried me on stage at the end of that performance when I was three months old. Oh, my gosh. So that was my first sort of introduction to being on stage as such. Three months old? I know. I don't remember it. I hasten to add. But so there was always learning. There was always singing and dancing, but not from a show-off angle. It was something you did. And also it was of the era when, you know, little girls used to go to dancing school to learn good posture. And so I just joined in. I just used to join in. So that's it, really. I would just, I'd sit in a little chair. I had this funny little chair that was basically on the floor with a table across it. And I would just sit there doing colouring or whatever. And then every so often get up and join in. Speaker 1 (7:33) Wow. It's funny, isn't it? So literally from Burr. From Speaker 2 (7:37) Dot. From Day Speaker 1 (7:38) Dot. Okay, what was your first professional job? Speaker 2 (7:41) I was on a TV show at the age of six called Opportunity Knox, which was a talent show, which was on on a Monday evening. And I went on it because someone who was involved with my mother's dancing school worked at Thames Television in the wardrobe department and put me in for it. And so I went and did that. I remember it vividly. And Speaker 1 (7:58) you won the talent competition. Yeah. Speaker 2 (8:00) Which then led on Speaker 1 (8:01) to... I Speaker 2 (8:01) did go back the following week. Speaker 1 (8:02) Oh. Speaker 2 (8:03) Because I was doing my mother's show. The one show, you couldn't miss it. It was unavailable. It was unavailable for the day. Yes. So, yeah. Speaker 1 (8:11) That's fantastic. Yeah. Okay, favourite role you've ever played? Oh, I Speaker 2 (8:15) don't have one. I mean, Speaker 1 (8:16) do Speaker 2 (8:16) you? Speaker 1 (8:18) Yeah. Oh, Speaker 2 (8:18) okay. Okay. Well, you get to the point where you just go, actually, because how I remember things is sort of in, I suppose, chapters of your life. And Speaker 1 (8:27) often Speaker 2 (8:27) that is around a part. Speaker 1 (8:29) Yeah. Speaker 2 (8:29) And so it might not even be that the show was the best. It might be that the people were the nicest. Yeah. Or that the situation or it took you somewhere extraordinary. As a child, one of my first shows. It wasn't my very first, but one of my first shows was Gypsy opposite Angela Lansbury. Sorry, on Broadway? I went to Broadway with it, yes. I started at the Piccadilly Theatre. Wow. And then they took me to Broadway with it. So was Speaker 1 (8:54) that your West End debut at the Piccadilly? No, my Speaker 2 (8:56) West End debut was Speaker 1 (8:57) in Speaker 2 (8:57) Gone With the Wind at Theatre Old Drury Lane. Speaker 1 (9:00) Wow, at what age? Speaker 2 (9:01) Seven. Speaker 1 (9:02) That's so casual. Yeah. So casual. And then Broadway debut Speaker 2 (9:07) age? Eight. Nine by then. By the time I went, I did Gypsy when I was eight here and then they took me to Broadway when I was nine. Speaker 1 (9:15) That's unreal. I didn't Speaker 2 (9:15) grow, wasn't it? Yeah. I had Speaker 1 (9:17) to Speaker 2 (9:17) be little and I spent three for three bundle of dynamite or something they say. And they're like, oh my goodness, what if she's grown? I remember actually the first rehearsal. We were rehearsing at New York City Ballet and we did the first half of the first half run through. And Arthur Lawrence was directing. Arthur Lawrence wrote it as well. And he wrote things like West Side Story and stuff. And he was very tough. He was a very tough cookie. But he was always absolutely lovely to me. And I never forget doing my... bit of the show, which was in the first half an hour of the show, of this run through. And he came up to me and he gave me this massive hug and he said, oh, thank Speaker 1 (9:53) God, I thought you might have changed. You know, so I Speaker 2 (9:56) was like, they took a bit of a punt, didn't they? Yeah. Taking me all the way there. Speaker 1 (10:00) Yeah. So when you got taken over there, did they give you a chaperone? Did one of your family members come with Speaker 2 (10:05) you? Speaker 1 (10:05) No, my mother came with Speaker 2 (10:06) me. Speaker 1 (10:07) Wow. And how long did you live out? The Speaker 2 (10:08) whole Speaker 1 (10:08) time. Speaker 2 (10:08) A year. Speaker 1 (10:10) Oh my gosh. It was up to your life. What Speaker 2 (10:12) did she do about the show? Oh, the show was off. She got rid of the dancing school. Oh, okay. Speaker 1 (10:17) She didn't want to give it to anybody else. She Speaker 2 (10:19) was so frightened of somebody being better that she just closed the school. Speaker 1 (10:23) That's icon behaviour. I'm sorry. It was a bit Speaker 2 (10:25) much, yes. But yes, and she was my dresser too, so she never actually saw me do the show. Speaker 1 (10:29) No way. So you moved out to New York for a whole year, and obviously since then... Well, we toured, Speaker 2 (10:34) actually. We did 14 different cities, and then we went to New York. Speaker 1 (10:37) Wow. At such a young age as well. And you've obviously worked in... New York in America since then. In fact, I went to New York on holiday a couple of years ago, I want to say, maybe even last year. I think it was last year. And you were doing... Sometimes. Sometimes, yeah. And we were trying to arrange like meeting up at some point for a video, but it was just like such a busy time. And America, I've got another trip planned in a couple of weeks and like America's just always been on the bucket list for me to like perform out there. Yeah. What do you think is like your biggest takeaway from working on Broadway? Speaker 2 (11:11) So in the 70s, America was a very different place to the UK. It's a bit more similar now. The world is a much sort of smaller place because of the communications and everything. But... It was, of course, I was completely green about the whole thing. My mother was terrified. She'd never been past Bognor. I mean, it was, and you didn't have credit cards. You had traveler's checks and things like that. You didn't have mobile phones. You didn't have any of that stuff. So honestly, it was, it was. Quite extreme. Speaker 1 (11:37) And Speaker 2 (11:37) as I say, she was absolutely terrified the whole time, but also loved the fact that we got to, well, we rehearsed in New York, we went on a tour,