MIchael Becker/FOX As Trisha Yearwood heads into her final rehearsals to play Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Fox’s Palm Sunday production of The Passion, she admits there are some nerves involved with singing live during a multi-million-dollar production on the streets of New Orleans. But the two-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year feels like she’s figured out how to approach her role in the modern-day re-telling of the last days of Jesus.
“My job is to portray that story, and to not be Trisha Yearwood,” she says, “but to just be the vessel that this story gets told through. And I think it’s the only way that I can approach it without an enormous amount of anxiety. I’m an instrument to get the story told and to portray the emotion and to bring it to life, to make the story real. That’s my job.”
Having had an insider’s preview of the performances of Tyler Perry, Yolanda Adams, Chris Daughtry and Seal, just to name a few who are also appearing in the production, Trisha warns we may not be prepared for how good it’s going to be.
“I’m just imagining being in the moment,” she reflects. “I think it’s really going to be an emotional, powerful experience for everyone involved and everybody watching.”
You can be sure Trisha’s biggest supporter, husband Garth Brooks, will be cheering her on from the sidelines. Having seen her rise to the occasion before, the superstar says he has no doubt his wife can deal with the pressure.
“This is going to be amazing. My money’s on her… I’ve watched her,” he offers, recalling the time Trisha held her own singing a duet with Frozen icon and Broadway superstar Idina Menzel, as they performed a song from Wicked. “I watched her in the streets of New York sitting next to Miss Idina. And I’m sitting there, and she’s kind of like Seabiscuit in a way,” he says, recalling her performance on the Broadway Goes Country event. “I’m sitting there, standing right next to her, and I’m going, ‘Oh, honey. Good luck on this one.’ And here it came! The horse showed up! Trust me– she’ll show up! And it’s going to be a beautiful thing.”
You can watch Trisha’s performance live Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. The soundtrack, including her single “Broken” plus four more songs, is new in stores and online today.
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