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Rooted in Ohio profiles interesting people who have grown up in or lived in Ohio and have gone to make a name for themselves around the country or the globe. If you know of someone worthy of being highlighted, then send an email to Life@coxinc.com and include "Rooted in Ohio idea" in the message subject line.
Tonight on the red carpet of the Tony Awards, Sirius XM Radio host/program director Julie James will interview some of the best and brightest stars of stage and screen. But getting to know an assortment of legends and up-and-comers has become routine for the wonderfully knowledgeable, immensely personable 1990 Dayton Christian High School graduate.
Her “Broadway Names With Julie James” radio broadcast has been an engaging target for musical theater devotees since 2009.
In addition to serving as program director for the Metropolitan Opera Radio station (Sirius XM 74), James’ duties for the On Broadway station (Sirius XM 72) has given her the plum opportunity to conduct revealing chats with such award winners as Julie Andrews, Kristin Chenoweth, Joel Grey, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Patti LuPone, Rita Moreno, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera and many others. She started out covering mostly on-the-scene functions such as opening and closing night parties as well as the annual Broadway on Broadway celebration in Times Square, but when she was given more studio time upon being promoted during her organization’s 2008 merge her career catapulted to another level.
“Sirius XM really likes to be a destination for performers from all walks of life,” said James at the spacious Sirius XM studios at Rockefeller Center. “I’ve shared an elevator with Deepak Chopra, and I’ve seen Jerry Seinfeld in the hallway. It’s just a fun cross-section of people. We’re also very accessible to talent who come in to do their various shows. I’m proud to say I’ve interviewed hundreds of guests, and it’s been more of an education than I could have ever paid for in any school. When Luciano Pavarotti died, we did a nine-day stretch of his greatest Met performances and those are the times I actually get to comprehend what I’m a part of. This business is fun, entertaining and fast-moving, but then there are impactful moments that make me realize I am putting together an archive of an artist.”
James is humbled by the outpouring of support she’s received within the Broadway community since joining Sirius in 2004, but she is equally grateful to those in Dayton who nurtured her artistic development. As a radiant soprano and Boston Conservatory alumna who won scholarship competitions from the Opera Guild of Dayton, she has high praise for her voice teacher Alice Hotopp of the University of Dayton, former Dayton Philharmonic music director Charles Wendelken-Wilson and professional-caliber Dayton Christian fine-arts teachers Robert and Ruth Clements, John Mohler, Terry Chamberlain and Daniel Price.
“I totally appreciate the foundation I had in Dayton,” she said. “My mom took me to the Sunday matinees as a season subscriber to the Dayton Opera. To be from a city that has its own philharmonic, opera, ballet and several reputable theater companies is so great. The arts are continually in danger of being ousted, but those programs should be on par with math and science. Even if you don’t pursue a career in the arts, it still teaches you so many things about discipline, protocol and conducting yourself professionally.”
James, who has regional theater credits and travelled internationally as part of the successful American Songbook-centric singing duo The Maxes, schedules all content for Metropolitan Opera Radio and On Broadway
“It’s all about diving in and working hard,” she said. “I lean on the artistic side. I lean on being from Ohio and feeling like I am in touch with what resonates both here in New York and to the nation. I love it when people tell me they feel like they’re connected with what is going on in New York. And when it comes to my show, the highest compliment is someone telling me they felt as if they were right there with me. I don’t actually call my show an ‘interview show’ anymore. I call it a conversation. I love bringing a sense of fun and intimacy to the show. I cover a wide range, as well. Ben Vereen and Betty Buckley had tears come to their eyes when I interviewed them, but there are others who love to laugh and tell hilarious stories. And since I’m also an actress, it helps because I’m ready to go with the moment.”
In the near future, James would like to transform her radio program into a one-woman show she would tour across the country as “Broadway Names Live!,” a reflective, musical look at the artistic inspirations in her life such as Patti LuPone and Sandy Patti.
But for now, the Tonys take precedence.
“Tony Sunday is a wonderful time for the nation to see what’s going on with Broadway in a very visual way,” she said. “I love that this season embraced the classic and the edgy. Getting to be a part of it all is very special.”
On the air
The 67th annual Tony Awards, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, will be telecast live from New York's Radio City Music Hall from 8 to 11 tonight on CBS. Julie James' Sirius XM Tonys coverage will also air from 8 to 11 on Sirius XM 72, which airs "Broadway Names With Julie James" on Saturdays at 8 p.m. with rebroadcasts on Sundays at noon and on Thursdays at 9 p.m. For more information, go online to www.facebook.com/FansofJulieJames.
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