By Sarika Jagtiani, Staff Writer Dover Post

Fans of “The Office” will recognize Melora Hardin as corporate go-getter Jan Levinson, Steve Carell’s boss and love interest. That’s just scratching the surface of this triple threat dancer, singer and actress who will take the stage Sunday to perform the national anthem before the “AAA 400” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Hardin took a few minutes out of her hectic schedule to talk to us about her diverse career and visit to Dover.

Q How did you get the NASCAR gig?

A I’ve sung the national anthem for a few hockey games, and the guy who set that up called and pitched me to the NASCAR people, and they all said, “She sings the national anthem? Great!” So they very kindly invited me. I have never seen NASCAR live, so I’m really excited to see it, actually.

Q A lot of people know you as an actress, from “The Office,” “Monk” and “17 Again.” But you also trained with the Joffrey Ballet, have been singing your entire life, and made your screen debut as a child. When you got into performing, what did you hope to focus on?
A When I was a kid I would have told you I was going to be ballerina and acting was a hobby, and I’ve been singing and songwriting since I was a kid. But once I got to Joffrey I realized that you really have to eat, drink and breathe it, and there were a lot of things I wanted to do.

Q You had your first Broadway experience a few years ago as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.” What was that experience like?

A Talk about a dream come true for someone who is a singer/dancer/actor, my mom said I walked around on a high or three a half months doing that. I was completely blissed out. There’s nothing better than getting up on stage eight days a week and doing what you’ve been training your whole life to do. Then you get a chance to do it with a great character like Roxie, who’s funny and sexy and naive all at the same time. I didn’t want to miss one performance.

Q Would you like to do more Broadway?

A Oh my gosh, yes, I can’t wait to get back to Broadway. I’m really ready at any time for the call to come in, especially to potentially originate a role.

Q Fans of “The Office” learned you could sing when you performed “Son of a Preacher Man” at your character’s baby shower. I heard that idea came from co-star and writer Mindy Kaling. Is that true?

A Yes, Mindy had seen me at the Hollywood Bowl when I did “Les Miserables,” when I did Fantine, and she said, “Oh my God, we have to do something with that voice.” It had to be the right thing for Jan to sing on the show, otherwise it would have seemed hokey or silly so I thought it was genius to do something so inappropriate with the kid.

Q Last year you released third CD and first studio CD, “All The Way To Mars.” How has the response been?

A It’s been great, we’ve gotten some amazing reviews. This record was really a way to show people the range of my voice. The other CDs were more specific to the genre of music that I was doing and slightly limiting to showing my vocal range, which was important especially for Broadway and movies, which I really want to do.

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