Megan Mullally is prepared to be edgy and funny, and she’ll even belt a few songs when she and Stephanie Hunt bring their band, Nancy and Beth, to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House on Sept. 7 for a one-night concert of music and chatter.
Heck, the two-time Emmy winner is even calling on the services of husband Nick Offerman. The burly, terrifically deadpan actor best known as Ron Swanson on the TV sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” is billed as a special guest for “Megan Mullally Live in Concert!”
Just don’t expect the zesty brunette known for her audacious turn on the former water-cooler comedy “Will & Grace” to invite the iconic Karen Walker along for this fresh creative endeavor. To quote Joni Mitchell on the straightjacketing of creative types, don’t come wanting Mullally to “paint a Starry Night again, man.”
“The show is the band Nancy and Beth,” Mullally said on the phone recently. “With Nick Offerman wedged into it.”
This might upend the expectations of those hankering to see Mullally throw back martinis and deliver saucy selections from the American standards songbook. But it should come as music to the ears of fans intrigued by the trajectory the multifaceted Mullally continues to travel as well as those rooting for a showbiz couple who appear to enjoy each other’s company like crazy.
Last September, Conan O’Brien had Nancy and Beth perform on his show. Coco is clearly a fan of Mullally, who’s been a guest a number of times. The duo and their ace back-up band mixed a bracing cocktail of They began with the sharp twang of a honky-tonk number before slipping into the jiving rhythms of the .
“We pick songs we think are great,” says Mullally, who admits Nancy and Beth can be mildly winking. “We do George Jones’ ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today.’ Do you know it? It’s the most maudlin song. The reason he stopped loving her is because he died. We do that in a way that’s sort of tongue in cheek.”
Mullally and Hunt met on the set of The indie film — written and directed by Austin filmmaker Bob Byington, a Denver Film Society favorite — also starred Offerman.
Nancy and Beth’s back-up band consists of a piano, upright bass, guitar and drums. Hunt strums “And we both play tambourine,” says Mullally, hitting an endearing sing-song note on the word “tambourine.”
As for Offerman?
“Nick’s going to perform some comedy songs he’s written,” says Mullally. And then a few weeks down the road, Nancy and Beth will return the favor when they open for Offerman’s touring humor show “American Ham.”
Mullally wants next month’s Ellie show to include an onstage Q&A with her and Offerman, who , and married in 2003.
“The audience will get some stories. They’ll also get to see Nick and I together, ” says Mullally. “We’ve never done that in a live show. ”
Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567, lkennedy@denverpost.com or twitter.com/bylisakennedy
MEGAN MULLALLY LIVE IN CONCERT! Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt take the stage as the band Nancy and Beth, performing ditties, covers and offering a little banter. With special guest Nick Offerman. Sept. 7. At the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 14th and Curtis streets. 8 p.m. Tickets $35-$95 via or 866-464-2626.
