Eagan's Laura Osnes: From 'Grease' to 'South Pacific'

NEW YORK - Laura Osnes is tired of being a kid. Yes, it was fun playing Sandy in the "Grease" revival on Broadway. Yes, she's flattered by casting directors who offer her other teenage roles. But it's time to grow up.

"I want to be a woman," Osnes said in an interview at a cafe across from Lincoln Center, where she has assumed the leading role of Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific." "I don't want to play the kids."

Boldly stated for a 23-year-old who acknowledged surprise that she was selected to replace Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara (on maternity leave through October). O'Hara is 10 years her senior, and the character of Nellie is a war-hardened field nurse enmeshed in a sometimes-contentious affair ("I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair") with an older, exotic plantation owner.

It's unlikely that Osnes ever will outlive being known as the actor " ... who won the role of Sandy through the NBC reality series, 'You're the One That I Want.' " After growing up in Eagan and working at Children's Theatre Company and Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Osnes made it through the 2007 show and with co-star Max Crumm did a year in "Grease." Since leaving "Grease" last summer, Osnes and her husband, Nate Johnson, have moved from their glitzy high-rise near Times Square to slightly leafier (and less spendy) uptown digs near Central Park West.

She has done a few things since leaving "Grease" -- including a concert reading in Rochester, N.Y., of a musical version of "Pride and Prejudice" that is aimed at Broadway. She said she was offered a year on the road with the national tour of "Grease" and she countered with six months ("People here will forget you if you're gone that long"). The producers said no, which miffed Osnes, considering her contribution to the box-office success of the Broadway production.

Besides, the tour would only have reinforced her stereotype of "teenage Laura" -- which she wanted to change.

So her agent's call, when she and Johnson were on vacation in January, proved serendipitous. O'Hara was stepping out of "South Pacific" for several months and the producers wanted to look at Osnes.

Feeling 10 years too young for the role, she was nonetheless flattered, so she went for the audition. She became more invested when her agent said to expect a callback; then director Bartlett Sher worked with her for 45 minutes in the second audition, which is a positive signal. After passing muster with Alice Hammerstein and Mary Rodgers (representing the estate), Osnes tested her chemistry in a scene with Paulo Szot, who plays Emile De Becque. Within hours, her agent called and asked, "How'd you like to wash your hair eight times a week?"

Osnes took over the role Tuesday opposite David Pittsinger, who is subbing until Szot returns from an opera gig on April 12.

"My job isn't to copy, but I'm using Kelli as a frame," Osnes said. "I don't want to change too much, because I'm stepping into a character she created. Plus, I have to respect what the cast is used to."

A cool professional

"Grease" was thoroughly panned by critics, but Osnes escaped much of the heat, and her selection for "South Pacfic" offers another chance to prove her chops. While she is "thrilled, excited, intimidated," she is also coolly analytical, a characteristic that defines her approach to the work. She disproved "Grease" producer David Ian's admonition on the first night of "You're the One That I Want" that Osnes was too sweet to survive the competition on Broadway.

The stress was evident at times, but Osnes never broke down, even when she had to do 6 a.m. press interviews about "Grease" after a night in the theater and with friends and family members in town who all wanted a piece of her time. In conversation, her methodical and hard-headed approach to business becomes evident. For example, it appears the "South Pacific" tour is a possibility and she'd be happy to take it for six months. It would establish her as a different character.

"Part of that is what I stand for," Osnes said of her business acumen. "I talk over decisions with Nate and my agent and then decide what's best. Sometimes my agent will say, 'You're too good for this.' "

That's not arrogance, is it?

"No, not at all," she said. "They know the business, they know what's good for you. I'm at this certain phase."

If she didn't choose the tour, it would be for strategic reasons, she said. "Pride and Prejudice" hangs out there, should its Broadway ambitions come to fruition. There's also a reading planned for a musical based on "Bonnie and Clyde."

But inescapably, Nellie Forbush is on her mind right now.

"This is a different pressure," she said of the contrast with her work in "Grease." Nellie is a complex leading lady with deeper dimension. "It's unlike anything I've ever taken on. This changes everything."

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299