I received the most fantastic welcome to the Broadway Theatre community. I walked on stage to tremendous applause and a long standing ovation, wondering when I was ever going to be able to say my first line!

But you know, I'm not 25 anymore, and I have always said musical theater in particular is a young person's game. It requires energy, mentally and physically, to do it.

Oh, it was awful, and I vowed to myself I would never, ever push myself to the edge that much again. It was really frightening. Because absolutely everything seemed to be impossible to deal with, just little things became major - noise, if someone had a radio on, or even the sound of traffic, or being in someone's company for longer than 10 minutes - I started to find it all too much.

My dad always told me that perseverance furthers. He was right.

I don't listen to so much music now. I did when I was younger. Music is so much part of my work. I like peace and quiet now when I go home.

If you're a serious actor, you wouldn't put yourself up for one of those shows in case you got bumped off the first week and all your colleagues saw it.

If you are in a play, and you catch a cold, you are able to muddle through. If you are carrying a musical, it's a different thing altogether. It's the great fear of any singer's life.