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With Neil Patrick Harris as the host, the June 7 Tony Awards telecast on CBS will be packed with live entertainment. Dolly Parton will perform with the cast of 9 to 5: The Musical; Elton John with the cast of Billy Elliot, The Musical; Liza Minnelli and Stockard Channing will each perform; and the band Poison will take the stage along with the cast of Rock of Ages.

The show will include musical numbers from each of the Best Musical and Best Musical Revival nominees, as well as special performances from three current touring Broadway productions -- Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde The Musical, and Mamma Mia!

Laura Osnes will be one of the celebrity judges (see below).

More info at TonyAwards.com.

Wilson began her career Off Broadway, and subsequently appeared on Broadway in the musicals On the Town (1998 revival), Avenue Q, and Caroline, or Change before being cast on “Grey's Anatomy.” Our correspondent Ben Pesner spoke with her by phone in late May.

Ben Pesner: Tell me about Chicago, and how you decided to do the show.

Chandra Wilson: I had worked for the producers years ago on The Miracle Worker, and basically we were looking for when I would have a chunk of time to come into Chicago. It just so happened that June was open, and I let them know that. The thing that I'm looking forward to the most is fitting into this absolutely phenomenal cast. Every single person is on their “A” game, and you don't want to be the weak link in the show!

It's amazing that Chicago has been running so long. Why do you think it has been so successful?

It's 13 years now! You know what: It's a timeless piece. I've seen the show several times. Anybody who's a fan of Broadway loves anything about Bob Fosse. And if you don't know anything about him and you get introduced to him through this show, then you become a fan of Fosse.

We worked together Off Broadway years ago on what I think was your New York stage debut. How did you get from there to being a big star?

Fortunately, I met amazing working actors right from the beginning, at the Young Playwrights Festival in 1990, and then in The Good Times Are Killing Me at Second Stage Theatre. All those folks are still in my life: Kim Staunton, Wendell Pierce, Harold Perrineau, Tonya Pinkins. From that time on, people told me, “You'll do Off Broadway, then you'll do Broadway, you'll do TV, you'll do a movie, you'll go do regional theatre, you'll come back and do some Broadway. You go back and forth and back and forth, and that's what a career is. Don't sit there trying to get somewhere all the time because wherever you are, it's all a part of that big career.” So I'm never sitting there going, “Why haven't I done a pilot yet?” or “Why haven't I done a series yet?” Everything comes in time. With “Grey's Anatomy” we're going into our sixth season, so we're halfway through whatever it is that we're going to do, and then that's going to be it. So then I'll be doing regional theatre or I'll do a film, or come back and do some Broadway. That what a career is, and learning that at age 19 kept me very, very grounded. I never got desperate. Everything's going to happen when it needs to happen.

What makes doing Broadway special for you?

If you want to see excellence, you're going to see it on a Broadway stage. You're going to see it from the ensemble, the chorus, the folks who are doing the grind eight shows a week. That's why I love to get back to it. That's why I came to New York in the first place, to do theatre with the hope of making it to Broadway. That keeps everything in perspective.

Although you have performed on Broadway before, this is your first time back since you became a star. Are you looking forward to signing autographs at the stage door?

It's a whole new experience for me. I'm still the ensemble actor that has no expectations whatsoever, and I will be pleasantly surprised if somebody's standing out there after the show. I used to watch Tonya Pinkins receive people up in the dressing room after Caroline, Or Change. Or people would be outside waiting for her, and I'd think, “Oh, that's so cute,” as I passed by on my way home. Now I'm coming back for the first time in a headlining role. I appreciate anybody that would come to see the show just because I was in it. It's an honor and it's very flattering. The least I could do is shake a hand or sign a picture, I mean come on! (laughs)

You're presenting on the Tony Awards telecast on June 7. That sounds like fun.

Isn't that crazy? How many times would I have liked to have been in the room at the Tonys, and now here I get to be up on the stage in a pretty dress! Of course there's no pressure because there's no nomination or anything like that. I don't know yet which category I'm presenting, but I was flattered to see my name on the list with everybody else who's going to be there.

View a list of Chandra Wilson's Broadway credits.

Get tickets to Chicago.

Visit the official website for Chicago.

Q: Who is “Tony” and why are they called the “Tony Awards?”
--Meredith L., Somerville, MA

A: To answer your question, we went to TonyAwards.com, the official website of the Tony Awards. Here is the answer: “The Tony Awards are named for Antoinette Perry (1888-1946), an actress, stage director and philanthropist who was a founder of the American Theatre Wing. She staged the original production of Mary Chase's comedy Harvey.”

For more on the history of the Tonys, visit TonyAwards.com.

If you have a question for the Broadway Concierge, please e-mail us at fanclub@broadway.org and we will answer it in an upcoming issue of the Broadway Fan Club Newsletter.  Don’t forget to include your name and city!

As a past winner of a reality-TV competition, what is your advice to the contestants at the Macy's Tony contest?

My advice to all the Tony ticket hopefuls is to BE YOURSELF! Although your vocal talent is very important, I feel like your personality and character are what make you sparkle and stand out among other contestants. Be confident in who you are and the gifts you have to share. As a judge, I want to see contestants who are passionate about performing and reveal a piece of themselves in even that short time I get to hear them sing. I didn't get to pick the songs I sang on national television, yet I tried to find a way to really connect to the music and make it my own. Yes, I'll have to "judge" you, but I'll also be cheering you on! Take a deep breath and show me all you've got!!!

What is your favorite part of playing the role of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific?

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Billboard Full of Glee

The cast of new musical television show Glee sent their rendition of Journey's “Don't Stop Believin'” all the way to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song, which also currently appears on Broadway in the 80s hair metal musical Rock of Ages, sold 177,000 digital downloads, besting even the chart position reached by Journey's original song. Glee features a cast packed with Broadway favorites, including Spring Awakening 's Lea Michele and South Pacific's Matthew Morrison.

Casting News

• Laurie Metcalfe and Dennis Boutsikaris will star in the upcoming revivals of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound. The shows will open in the fall and play in repertory.
  
  
• Jake Epstein, a.k.a Craig on TV's “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” will take over the role of Melchior Gabor in the national touring production of Spring Awakening next month.