Laura Bell Bundy

Laura: Elle Woods would never wear hospital shoes.

Laura: All I ever wanted was to originate a role on Broadway. An Academy Award? Whatever! I would rather have a Tony.

Laura: People think I'm a total stuck-up blonde bitch. I always make comments like, "Oh, I'm playing the bitch again — typecasting!" I think if you've done a kind of a role enough, you become really good at it, and it's believable because the character is not only a little over the top, but it's also got a sense of realness to it because you've done it so many times. I think it would be really nice for me to be able to do something different now.

Laura: I'm in negotiations right now for The It Girl, but I can't really talk about that. And, Tarzan, I did the reading for that. It was awesome. I'm so excited about that, but I can't talk about that either. There are other projects in which I'm not playing the snooty blonde girl, and I'm very excited.

Laura: You know, a lot of people do one-woman, one-man shows. You get up and sing a lot of songs, and you take the journey down memory lane or you talk about men, a whole show about men, or you do a show where you're just doing one composer's songs. But this particular show is different in that I'm playing other people. I'm playing well-known celebrities. I'm [also] playing my mother. I'm playing Britney Spears. I'm playing Judy Garland. All of these different characters kind of tell the story of my life and how I came from Kentucky as a five-year-old girl and came to New York and got a five-year modeling contract with Ford Modeling Agency and how that put me into other things — how I got to where I am now. It's a comic look at my dysfunctional life seen through other people's eyes.

Laura: Of course I was disappointed — it was one of those things that when you foresee yourself taking over a role, you kind of see how the next six months of your life are going to be, and you get that in your head and then you plan accordingly. But when something goes wrong and you've got to change your plan, it kind of jars up everything. It would have been a great time for me — I would have loved to have done the role, but I also feel like the role will always be Kristin Chenoweth's role, and I would rather have the opportunity — instead of having to stay at something for nine months and not being able to leave at any point — to create something else or at least have the opportunity to do that if it comes along.

Laura: Hairspray was a show I was involved in from the very first reading, and I was 19. And, Hairspray, was one of my favorite movies growing up. I used to watch the video while I was eating my lunch. You have those favorite movies that you watch over and over again and you have that really big Blockbuster bill because of it. Well, Hairspray was that [movie] for me, and my mom would let me rent it and watch it, which was very nice and strange of her.

Laura: Ever since I was young, I've felt that I've had a special calling of some kind.

Laura: I've been on this search my whole life to find what's true to me. It's led me to this conclusion that all faiths, no matter what they are, are based on the concept of love. It is the most sacred thing and the easiest thing.

Laura: I try to love all things and all people.

Laura: Everything happens in it's own time, so I'm not too anxious.

Laura: Growing up, it was very important to figure out the place God had in my life.

Laura: I would love to do The Real World, but I'm not controversial enough.

Laura: I'm always searching, I can't say, 'I pray this many times, so I'm okay.' I have to constantly strive to be the best person I can be.

Laura: It's difficult working from New York when you really need to be in Nashville.

Laura: Back home, I'm best friends with almost everyone now.

Laura: It was a really good experience to be around people who weren't actors, no offense to actors.

Laura: You would have thought I won the lottery!

Laura: I have faith that God will put me wherever I need to be.

Laura: Doing music and being able to sing, dance and do comedy, that is what I was really trained to do.

Laura: It's fun to play the bitch.

Laura: If I'm meant to do a series, great. If I get a movie, great - get a recording contract, great - stay with Hairspray, great.

Laura: When you do theatre, the audience is right there, so you're getting that immediate response.

Laura: I was planning on moving to L.A. I had been there about 2 weeks, having meetings, when my agent called on my last day. She told me that Hairspray called about final readings. And, they sent the rehearsal schedule!

Laura: The show [Hairspray] has a great message, incredible music and leaves people really happy.

Laura: Guiding Light was like my other family. Now, I've come into the Hairspray family.

Laura: It was crazy. I couldn't even get into my dressing room, there were so many flowers and gifts everywhere. I had to get dressed somewhere else. It was insane.

Laura: That [Gypsy and Paper Mill] was great. I had a blast. I would've loved to have done something with it [after Paper Mill]. Betty Buckley was great, Deborah Gibson was a sweetheart and Joe Machota was so freakin' talented. It was one of the first things he did before he got Mamma Mia!. That was so much fun. I was a senior in high school in Kentucky, and I was missing time to do Gypsy. It reconfirmed how much I loved doing musical theatre and how much I really, truly wanted to be in the business. Gypsy helped me with that — how much fun it was to be with a cast and how much I loved gay men!