Kelli O’Hara makes it clear she loves where she came from and where she is now

“Singular Sensation” was the perfect song when Kelli O’Hara was recently introduced by Music Theatre’s artistic director, Brian J. Marcum, and some members of this summer’s ensemble at Night Among the Stars.

Kelli O’Hara is indeed a singular sensation.

The applause and cheers were loud at The Wichita Art Museum when she explained she has a special place in her heart for Wichita.

During a phone interview before her arrival she told me, “I always love to come back to Wichita. Wayne Bryan is the reason I got my start on Broadway. When Wayne (Bryan) called me and said I made the ensemble, I couldn’t believe it. That was the summer of 1997.

“It was the most fun I had ever had. The three roommates I had that summer are my best friends,” she said, adding that they stood up with her when she got married. Her dancing partner in the ensemble was Eric Sciotta, who also is a very dear friend. He sang with her at the Night Among the Stars event, which made it easy to see why they have both been so successful in their work.

Kelli won a Tony Award for playing Anna in “The King and I” on Broadway and has been nominated for a Tony seven times. She’s done many appearances on television in series and in films. Now you can see her as Aurora Fane on season four of “The Gilded Age.”

The popular series is my favorite partly because the costumes are unbelievably beautiful. But I just had to ask her if it was uncomfortable wearing a corset under those amazing gowns.

“Actually, I kind of enjoy it. I’ve worn a lot of corsets in many roles and performances. Putting on a corset and the costume, you start feeling the part. But after a 16-hour day, I’m ready to take it off, boy am I,” she said.

Kelli says she’s very impressed with the costumer, Kasia Walicka- Maimone, because not only are the costumes beautiful, they’re historically correct. “After the first season, writer Julian Fellows of Downtown Abby fame, thought Aurora’s costumes were too naked. So the second season I had to wear turtlenecks. The third season I said, ‘Please, no more turtlenecks!”

On the show Aurora’s husband tells her in a very cruel way that he wants a divorce then continues to be as mean as possible. “Actually, Ward Horton is one of the nicest people in the world. He read the script and said, ‘How will I do this to you?’ “

Watching the show you get the feeling it’s all on a city block in New York City. It’s not. “We have so many sets and sound stages,” she said. “The Breakers and the Elms (in Newport R.I.) and the interior of my house is the Lyndhurst Mansion (in Tarrytown, N.Y.).”

While she says she likes her role as Aurora, her first love has always been and always will be the theater. “That’s where my heart has always been. I studied opera and I knew New York was where I wanted to go. I moved there and never regretted it,” Kelli said.

She’s happy to be heading back to the stage as she is getting ready to do an off-Broadway play with Tom Hanks, “This World of Tomorrow.” It opens in late October.

“Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I have been so blessed,” she said. And she’s not talking just her career here. Her husband is Greg Naughton, an actor, writer, director, singer, songwriter and founding member of the band Sweet Remains. They have two children, Owen, 16, and Charlotte, 12.

After her brief stay in Wichita she was off to Oklahoma, where she grew up in Elk City. Brian Marcum drove her there because he was going to hold auditions in Oklahoma City.

“It was a great trip because we talked all the way,” Brian said. He says during her performance he was amazed at how she could navigate her voice, her vocal prowess and how she gave so much to the audience.

He said they also talked about the importance of being a mentor and giving back. “She could be a diva and ask for whatever she wants, but she’s not that way at all. She is such a good human being,” he said.

“Of course the ensemble kids were so excited to be around her. She stayed after the event and talked to them for an hour,” Brian said.

Kelli O’Hara makes it clear she loves where she came from and loves where she is now. “I’m just so grateful. I’ve pinched myself over the years. Music Theatre Wichita made me dream. Sometimes I wonder what a 10-year old Kelli would say.”