I was loaded with trick questions for Danielle Wade when we met at the Habitat for Humanity house she was helping build in Crystal. Wade, who played Dorothy in the recent Ordway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Wizard of Oz," was a great sport, as you'll see on startribune.com/video.
Burnsville's Laura Osnes, who is ending her run on Broadway as "Cinderella," is someone with whom Wade is going to be compared and she doesn't mind. "She's from here," Wade said, more readily than she was able to remember the home state of a certain "Wizard of Oz" star.
"Love her," said Wade. "I met her once when I saw 'Cinderella.' She was very nice. … I didn't tell her, like, 'You're my hero.' I was very cool, I think. I think I acted cool. I hope I did."
Q: Andrew Lloyd Webber picked you himself?
A: Well, not directly. He picked the top 10 and then each week we sang a song.
Q: He seems scary?
A: He's not scary. He is intimidating because he's Andrew Lloyd Webber but he is genius. You just listen to him and you do what he says.
Q: Sir Lloyd Webber said you are somebody we're going to be hearing about over the next decades. Does this mean we can expect you in a production of "Phantom of the Opera"?