Hey, it's Alec Baldwin here. Before we launch our next season of Here's the Thing at IHeart Radio in January, I thought I'd play some of my favorite shows from the archives.

Audra McDonald occupies a unique place in the American theater. With six Tony Awards, she has the most of any actress in history.

She is renowned for her work in opera, as well as in films and on television.

Here is my conversation with Audra MacDonald.

Summer time and the living is easy

Much like the staggering beauty of her singing voice,

Audra McDonald is impossible to ignore.

The only person to sweep all four acting categories at the Tonys,

she's one of the most decorated Broadway stars of all time.

Reviews of her award-winning performances overflow with accolades.

She's spellbinding, radiant, and wrenchingly human.

This year, the Juilliard graduate took on her first voiceover role, playing Madame

Gardrobe in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The performance was so great, one critic wrote,

that her name in the credits prompted theater goers to erupt in cheers. I sat down with Audra

before her debut this summer in London's West End, where she takes on

Billie Holiday, whose life as a black female performer hits close to home.

Specifically for me, I would say that there was an expectation on my part that things would get

easier as a result of being successful, you know.

Well, what do you mean?

They're going to make more money than I am, and yet we're doing the same thing.

We're basically equal as far as the roles are concerned.

Or...

...