Another Starr Report exclusive. . . “
Shameless” star and native New Yorker Emmy Rossum will sing the National Anthem this Monday at Citi Field before the Mets open their season against the San Diego Padres.
Rossum, a talented singer who’s released two albums (“Inside Out” and “Sentimental Journey”), will be accompanied by a children’s choir as the Mets honor over 500 first responders from Super Storm Sandy before the game.
Rossum was nice enough to answer a few questions about her Citi Field debut on Monday — and about what’s in store for her “Shameless” character, Fiona, when the series wraps its third season Sunday, April 7 on Showtime.
“This is my first Mets game so I am very excited!” she said, adding that she’s never been to Citi Field (or to its predecessor, Shea Stadium). “Basketball is my favorite sport to watch and I grew up a diehard New York Knicks fan.”
I asked Rossum if this is her first time singing the national anthem at a baseball game. “Yes. I sang it at [a] NASCAR [event] but never at a baseball game,” she said. “And it’s all-the-more special because it’s my hometown of New York!”
She said she hasn’t had the chance, yet, to rehearse with the children’s choir. “But I am hoping we will be able to rehearse on that day,” she said. “I was part of a children’s chorus at the Metropolitan Opera when I was a kid so I think I will feel right at home.
“It’s always a little nerve-wracking to do the national anthem because it’s our country’s song, so I always want to do it justice!”
I also asked Rossum what “Shameless” fans can expect from the show’s third-season finale on April 7.
(The series co-stars William H. Macy as Frank and Justin Chatwin as Jimmy.)
“We will see the effects of Frank’s drug and alcohol abuse start to catch up with him,” she said. “And some of those loose ends that have been building will be tied up with Jimmy and Fiona.”
“Shameless” was renewed for a fourth season back in January.
More renewals: CBS announced yesterday that it’s bringing back a whopping 18 shows next season, including “Elementary” (a personal favorite), “HIMYM,” “2 Broke Girls,” “CSI” and “Mike & Molly.”
Not on the list was “Two and a Half Men.” CBS says it’s “in discussions” with the show’s producer, Warner Bros. Television, for another season.
Fun fact: “Elementary” co-star Jonny Lee Miller’s grandfather was the great British actor Bernard Lee, best known for playing “M” in the first 11 James Bond movies.
* * *
Last, but not least:
* Roland Martin has been named “2013 Journalist of the Year” by the National Association of Black Journalists . . . Comic/journalist Maureen Langan, who hosts “Hangin’ with Langan,” a three-hour talk show on San Francisco’s KGO, will be at Caroline’s this Monday, April 1 (7 p.m.).