Julie Andrews is returning to her theatrical roots with her newest book, Waiting in the Wings.
The children's story follows a troupe of theatrical ducks. In celebration of the story's release to the public, Andrews and Hamilton visited CBS Sunday Morning to share its inspiration, as well as to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Andrews' Broadway debut in The Boy Friend.
The story is based on a pair of ducks that were found living in a planter outside of the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, which Hamilton co-founded. Waiting in the Wings is the 35th book Andrews has written in collaboration with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, which provided Andrews with a new creative outlet after her singing voice was damaged by a surgery in 1997.
"One day, I was bemoaning my fate, and missing very much that I couldn't sing because the surgery went awry and took away my ability to do what I loved to do," Andrews shared. "And Emma said, 'Oh Mom, you've just found another way sharing your voice.' And I tell you, it hit me so hard, what she said, and I've never really bemoaned it since."
A prodigious young talent, Andrews matured into one of the musical theatre's most treasured stars, appearing in the original production of My Fair Lady before winning an Oscar for her performance in Mary Poppins. In many ways, her current career is a continuation of teaching children life lessons nestled in a spoonful of sugar.
"We don't talk down to kids," Andrews shared, referring to the secret behind her and her daughter's immense success in the children's book market. "We try to bring them up. You don't condescend in any way."
To learn more about Andrews' own childhood—including the pressures of paying the family's mortgage as a teenager, and how making her Broadway debut at 19 allowed her to learn a new lifestyle for herself—watch the video above.
