Broadway @ The Broad: Megan Mullally

Mainly known for her iconic turn as Karen Walker on the hit television show "Will & Grace," many don't know that Megan Mullally is also a Broadway veteran. This is why she makes a perfect subject for the Broad Stage's new series "Broadway @ The Broad: Megan Mullally."

Joined onstage by Seth Redetsky of Sirius XM Satellite radio's "Seth's Big Fat Broadway," the purpose of the evening was to let Mullally regale the audience with stories from her relatively young career and then floor them with her powerhouse vocals.

That's right, Mullally can belt! On Broadway she has had roles in "Grease," "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" (with Matthew Broderick), and played Elizabeth in the original cast of "Young Frankenstein."

But her career goes way back to the mid-'80s where, shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, she landed her first television gig opposite Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn and the legendary Elaine Stritch in the short-lived "The Ellen Burstyn Show." While no one might remember that piece of television history, it afforded Mullally the chance to bond with one of the greats. And that friendship remained.

Among the many tales she told during the 90-minute event was how she invited Ms. Stritch to the opening night of "Young Frankenstein" on Broadway. In classic Stritch style, as soon as the show ended she climbed the stairs to the back of the stage and greeted Mullally with: "You were wonderful! The show sucks!"

Mullally was genial and graceful throughout the evening wearing a flattering patterned dress and adopting a conversational style that kept her at the same level of the audience. You felt as though you were with a friend and the effervescent Rudetsky zipped things along at a fun pace.

While the stories she told were amusing, her "wow" voice was the showstopper of the evening. She mostly sang Broadway standards such as the showstopper "Broadway Baby" from" Follies." But the most thrilling part of the evening was when she briefly discussed the fact that, surprisingly, there were plans to do a musical all about the character of Karen from "Will & Grace." A score and script had been written, and it was ready to go when funds fell apart at the last minute. Unfortunately, the "Karen" musical will never be, but we did get to hear one of the numbers that had the snippy socialite desperately wanting to be heard, and singing about it in one of the Broadway playhouses she and her fictional husband owned. It was a treat to hear that old Karen voice and, judging by the quality of the number, the show would have been a huge success.

Mullally also welcomed two guests to her show. Stephanie Hunt is a fellow actress ("Friday Night Lights") who formed a comedic musical duo with Mullally called "Nancy and Beth." The two performed one of their signature songs with their trademark curious harmonies and quirky choreography.

The other guest? None other than Will Truman himself, Eric McCormack. He took the stage to talk about their "Will & Grace" days together and gossip a bit about the guest stars. Apparently, Mullally heard a lot of fun dirt from Madonna when she was a guest on the show, but for McCormack, he had a different recollection; the fact that Madonna could never remember his name. Cher? Essentially, Mullally said, "they lowered her in and then floated her out."

Because McCormack also has a musical background he took over the stage with a rendition of "(Ya Got) Trouble" from "The Music Man." The crowd was thrilled, and McCormack was clearly happy to be in the spotlight, while Mullally looked on with a cheery warmth.

That's pretty much how you could sum up the evening and the style of the Broad Stage's Broadway series. It's comfortable, casual, and you get fun and fascinating stories from iconic performers who have done a lot, but who started out like every other hopeful in town. In that, Mullally gave much inspiration for those working through the challenges of a career in TV and theatre. For the rest of us, she -- plain and simple -- gave us joy.

"Broadway @ The Broad: Megan Mullally" ran Feb. 22 at the Broad Theatre at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. Santa Monica. For tickets or information on upcoming events (including an evening with Broadway sensation Adam Pascal on March 29), call 310-434-3200 or visit www.TheBroadStage.com