by Jen “Lil’ Bit” Schleusner
Liz Callaway at Dragon Con discovered something she wasn’t expecting: a whole lot of theater kids.
The Tony-nominated Broadway performer and beloved singing voice behind Anastasia joined The Dragon Con Report for a conversation about animation, theater, and meeting the fans who grew up with her work.
For Callaway, her first Dragon Con also offered a chance to see just how deeply those performances have stayed with people.
When Anastasia Becomes Personal
Callaway shared a particularly touching encounter with a fan who asked her to sign an Anastasia print. When Callaway asked who she should make it out to, the woman answered, “Anastasia.”
The fan had been adopted from Russia, giving the story of Anastasia a deeply personal meaning for her.
Callaway said encounters like that have changed the way she thinks about songs she has performed for years. The next time she sings “Journey to the Past,” she said, she will think about that fan.
She has heard similar stories about her work on Hazbin Hotel. Fans have told her that her music helped them through difficult moments.
When recording a song, Callaway explained, there is no way to know what impact it may eventually have on someone.
Finding the Theater Kids at Dragon Con
Another surprise was discovering just how much Broadway fits into the Dragon Con world.
During her first panel, Callaway was amazed by the number of theater fans in the audience. She even found herself talking about Stephen Sondheim — something she hadn’t expected to be doing at Dragon Con.
That connection made sense once she thought about her own experience growing up.
Callaway recalled feeling like an outsider when she was young. Theater gave her a community, friends, and a place where she belonged. In fact, she said finding that community was one of the main reasons she began performing in shows.
That made the sense of community she found at Dragon Con particularly familiar.
Becoming Anastasia’s Singing Voice
For 1997’s Anastasia, Meg Ryan provided Anya’s speaking voice while Callaway performed her songs.
Surprisingly, the two did not work together. Callaway didn’t meet Ryan until the film’s premiere.
However, Callaway wanted the singing and speaking voices to feel connected. Before recording “Once Upon a December,” she went to Blockbuster and rented Sleepless in Seattle.
She then recorded part of the movie onto her Walkman so she could listen closely to Ryan’s speaking voice.
Nobody working on Anastasia had asked her to do it. It was simply something Callaway felt would help her understand the character.
Singing Apart From Her Animated Co-Stars
That separation isn’t unusual in animation.
Callaway recalled recording “Love Will Find a Way” from The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride with Gene Miller providing Simba’s singing voice. Years later, the two crossed paths again when Callaway attended an Amy Grant Christmas concert, where Miller was performing.
More recently, Callaway recorded a duet for Hazbin Hotel with Patina Miller. Once again, they recorded separately.
At the time of our conversation, Callaway still hadn’t met Miller. As a longtime fan of hers, however, she said she couldn’t wait for that meeting to finally happen.
What Should Liz Callaway Voice Next?
Callaway’s animation career has already included princesses, lions, and even inanimate objects.
Her first animated film was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, where she sang as part of the ensemble. As she joked, that meant she got to be a “singing and dancing napkin.”
So what hasn’t she played yet?
A dog.
After considering the possibilities, Callaway decided she would love the chance to voice an animated dog someday.
We’re officially putting that one out into the universe.
The Recording Session She Would Relive
We ended with one question: If Callaway could return to any recording session from her career — not to change anything, but simply to experience it again — which would she choose?
There was one clear answer.
“Journey to the Past” from Anastasia.
Adding to the memory was where she recorded it. The Los Angeles studio was the same place where Judy Garland recorded “Over the Rainbow.”
Decades later, “Journey to the Past” continues to connect Callaway with people who first heard her voice as children.
At Dragon Con, she had the chance to meet some of them face-to-face — and discover just how much those songs still mean.
Liz Callaway.com
Liz Callaway on Instagram
Listen to the Interview Here
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