– A continuation of our spotlight on the 2008 Helen Hayes nominees, which begins here.
Featured in this segment are: Karla Hamilton, Marva Hicks, Bill Irwin, Tim Jerome, Dan Kazemi, Irakli Kavsadze, Susan Kellerman, Motti Lerner, Erik Liberman, Eric Lucas & Kerry Lucas, Robert McClure, William Foster McDaniel, Monique L. Midgette, Donna Migliaccio, Lawrence B. Munsey, Matthew M. Nielson, Kate Eastwood Norris, Guy Paul
- Karlah Hamilton, Outstanding Supporting Actress
- Felicia inThe Witches of Eastwick, Signature Theatre
The character
Felicia was a strong self righteous put-upon domineering victim
Connecting
Hopefully the only word in the above list that would pertain to me would be strong.
Surprise
I grew to like the taste of the rubber spiders in my mouth.
Favorite moment
The moment when I threw-up the cherry pit and realized that Daryl was the Devil, and the rubber spiders of-course.
Favorite performances
Am I allowed to say my daughter Rachel as the Secretary in her school play. That is the only show I saw.
Next
I’m designing the wigs for 1776 at Olney Theatre in the spring. Yes I’m a wig designer too.
- Marva Hicks, Outstanding Lead Actress
- Etta Mae in The Women of Brewster Place, Arena Stage
The character
Etta Mae is a woman who does not know her self worth. She uses her feminine assets as a means of getting what she wants from men. What she’s after is social status. So she goes after powerful men or men with money, and they are often married. They only get what they want and leave her. One of her great assets is that of a loyal and loving friend.
Connecting
Part of her problem is a fear of being alone. We all have a way of covering up what hurts us. And Etta Mae does it with fabulous clothes, being loud and laughing at life. When really she’s hurting. I was drawn to exploring that part of her.
Surprise
When Tina Fabrique dropped the imaginary baby during a scene. It was a scream for those of us on stage and the audience. Sorry Tina!
Favorite moment
Cora Lee, who does not have the skills to raise her kids and only loves them while they are babies, has a revelation. She discovers how she has been treating them when she took them to the theatre. Her kids ask her if they are really like the donkey and she realizes that she had been calling them that.
Favorite performances
I loved John Earl Jelks in RADIO GOLF. His performance was amazing.
Next
I’m working on my own one woman show.
- Bill Irwin, Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production
- George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Kennedy Center
Connecting
My role was George in Edward Albee’s great play WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? I think my first connection — I think, it’s hard to know — with this character was physical, and postural even though he is a legendarily verbal and cerebral character.
Surprise
Our greatest surprise may have been how we continued to love the play and discover things in it, even after long work with it — and then the audience’s connection with the play. We lost very few people over the course of the three hour playing time — in every city and venue (DC needless to say was my favorite).
Favorite scene
My favorite part of the play was the long second act dialogue between George and the younger man, Nick. I think it’s Albee’s finest writing.
Favorite performances:
Two favorite performances: One was Kathleen Turner’s whom I played opposite. I can say I saw her Martha, and I can say that it was brilliant. One other: In DC I didn’t get to see other theatre, but did meet a street drummer — whose name I believe was Fred Brown — playing in front of the Verizon Center — a fantastic musician, and I wish I could re-connect with him.
- Tim Jerome, Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production
- Alfie Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Kennedy Center
The character
Alfie Doolittle is a dustman — a workman of the lowest class. A finagler, a con artist and an amoral charmer who loves beer, women and avoiding anything resembling work, he’s practical, proud and philosophical; irritating, irascible, potentially violent and filthy. His pronounced sexism is typical of the period.
Connecting
Primarily through the text and through interactions with other characters in the drama; rehearsal reading of Pygmalion and through a fabulous rehearsal-period examination of the turn-of-the-century London caste system. Experimentation during the rehearsal period was encouraged.
Surprise
Though it may sound immodest, I actually had to get used to my two numbers routinely stopping the show… a career first.
Favorite moments
I honestly love playing every moment. Towards the end of the play, there is delicious moment of farewell with Eliza, unspoken and poignant for us both.
Favorite performances
Christine Ebersoll’s work in Grey Gardens and Howard McGillin’s Phantom.
Next
Hopefully, more My Fair Lady.
- Dan Kazemi, Outstanding Musical Direction
- The Musical of Musicals (The Musical), MetroStage
Why this show?
I was immediately interested in working on a project in the DC metro area and it was a bonus to work with past collaborators Larry Kaye and Nancy Harry at MetroStage. What attracted me to this project specifically was the challenge it posed to me. I was forced to push my boundaries and “give” to the audience as an actor, singer, dancer, narrator and pianist sometimes simultaneously.
Greatest challenge
At first I found it challenging even to deliver the score, considering the many hats I wore during the production. I would say the most challenging aspect of this score was the commitment we made to delivering the music from the piano, and vocally in such a way that equaled or surpassed the quality of the music it was parodying. It was also difficult to switch gears so swiftly from one composer’s extreme to another.
Your best contribution
Offstage, I think the best thing I did for this production was rearrange some of the vocal arrangements, including the spectacular finale “done!” which I rearranged and produced for full Broadway orchestra.
When it comes to my time onstage, I think I’m proud of the amount of personality and activity I managed to find and deliver from behind the piano while driving the pace of the show along.
If you could work with anyone in the theatre, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I’d say this is an incredibly tough question and I have a difficult time choosing favorites. I wish I could’ve crossed paths with Leonard Bernstein because of his overall brilliance and orchestral approach to music theater. Today I’m itching to work with Adam Guettel, Schwartz, Sondheim. As an actor, Anne Bogart and the SITI company have always caught my attention.
Next
Currently I’m working on a composition based on the spectrum of color for LooseScrews, a Philadelphia based contemporary tap company. This piece debuts on April 4th. By July I will have completed The Tapioca Miracle, a musical comedy I’m writing the score for along with lyrics by Larry Kaye, and book by Eric Coble. Between now and July, I will be musically directing and performing in “The Irish and How They Got That Way” at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia.
- Irakli Kavsadze, Outstanding Lead Actor
- Macbeth in Macbeth, Synetic Theater
The character
Macbeth- an evil spirit for power
Connecting
I thought of many examples in the world like Macbeth
Surprise
I wasn’t expecting it, but my right knee popped out during the very last performance
Favorite moment
The whole show
Favorite performances
The fall of the House of Usher, and Faust
Next
Whatever the future brings
- Outstanding Sound Design
- Macbeth, Synetic Theater
Why this play?
I love Synetic’s signature, I love our signature as every show of Synetic attracted me
Greatest challenge
Bringing Shakespeare’s unforgettable words in the music
Your best contribution
I did many things.
If you could work with anyone in the theatre, living or dead, who would it be and why?
With Paata Tsikurishvili, because he is crazy like me
Next
Whatever the future is going to bring for me
- Susan Kellerman, Outstanding Supporting Actress
- Dr. Gertie Ladenborger in 33 Variations, Arena Stage
Connecting
I loved her arc: that she went from a fairly rigid, ‘up tight’ librarian, to a loving friend who ends up dancing in the library.
Favorite moment
When the actors broke into the Kyrie portion of Beethoven’s Missa (Mass) in 4 part harmony – It moved me to tears every night.
Other performances
The cast of August Sage (in New York) especially Amy Morton – and the cast of The Adding Machine, and the cast of Seafarers – all New York, I’m afraid, as that is where I live.
Next
I am in rehearsal for 33 Variations now in La Jolla, California – And hopefully, we will be taking it into New York at some point.
Surprise
My biggest surprise was that a political play which had been written in Israel for Israelis and deals with a very specific kind of Jewish-Israeli Fundamentalism was produced in DC, and was received with enough curiosity and interest in spite of the cultural gap between Israel and the U.S.
Greatest challenge
The biggest challenge was to write about people who are very political, very religious and very ideological, and still to be able to make them human beings, with psychological depth, with complex private life, with private relationships and with private agendas.
Favorite moment
My favorite moment was the final blackout which was followed by a deep freezing silence, and seeing the audience trying to figure out what was the meaning of the catastrophe they had just witnessed.
Next
Hopefully two other plays will be done in Israel: “Momentary Kingdom” and “At the End of The Night”. Also – “Pangs of the Messiah” will have another US production – this time in Silk Road Theatre Project in Chicago.
Erik Liberman, Outstanding Supporting Actor
- Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along, Signature Theatre
The character
Charley Kringas: best friend, family man, playwright, lyricist to Franklin Shepard.
Connecting
Deeply – because like most of us, I know what it is to have loved and lost.
Surprise
Our wonderful understudies shined new light on their roles, without replicating prior performances!
Favorite moment
The end – which was really the beginning for these friends.
Favorite performances
In D.C, Taming of the Shrew. In New York, Au Revoir Parapluie. On film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Next
Dinner and a movie!
- Eric Lucas & Kerry Lucas, Outstanding Ensemble
- Alone It Stands, Keegan Theatre
Why this play?
I saw this play in Galway in 1999 and I loved it. It stuck with me for the last decade. Then when I was finally able to get a hold of it from the playwright, John Breen, my wife read it and thought it was great. So it hadn’t diminished over the years. Also, to have a chance to have six actors play over sixty characters and create a cohesive whole was a challenge we looked forward to.
Why was this play a perfect fit for your company?
There is a humor, a truthfulness, a great story, as well as a very movement oriented kinetic edge to the piece. A focus on story and actors to make something out of nothing.
Of all the elements you juggled while mounting the production, which was most challenging?
Creating the reality of a rugby match- which, for most people unfamiliar with the game, looks like chaos, and body upon body…. and recreating formations of ” rucks” and “scrums”, and still having a speaking actor with his or her face to the audience in mid-play.
What about this production makes you most proud?
The tightness of the ensemble, the fearlessness with which everyone just jumped in and said “Okay, we can recreate this day in Ireland in 1978, have everyone playing rugby players, towns-people, children and a dog; and believe every minute of it. Also learning the”haka” and having it be the energetic undercurrent of the match withing the play.
- Robert McClure, Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production
- Princeton and Rod in Avenue Q, The Broadway Musical, National Theatre
The characters
I have the honor of playing 2 characters in Avenue Q. Princeton is the new kid on the block. He shows up with big dreams of success, armed with a B.A. in English, and struggles to find his “Purpose’. I also play “Rod”, a closeted republican investment banker. Enough said.
Connecting
I find that I connect to the heart of both characters. They are both looking for love, success, and security. That’s the fun part of doing Avenue Q. The audience comes expecting a dirty puppet show, but the show packs a sucker punch of realism and heart.
Surprise
Oh gosh. Well, in the show, there is a moment when we go out into the audience. When we were in LA, i run off the stage into the audience and who is staring up at me, but Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy. TWO OF MY HEROES. I almost had a heart attack.
Favorite moment
When Rod comes out of the closet. It’s hysterically invigorating.
Favorite performances
I wish I had seen some!!!! Being on the road makes it hard to see a lot of theater. But I was lucky enough to catch The Drawer Boy starring John Mahoney. That was one of the most riveting nights at the theater I have ever had.
Next
Avenue Q is next for a while. I am signed on for a bit, but I am eager to go home and spend a ton of time with my family and friends.
- William Foster McDaniel, Outstanding Musical Direction
- The Women of Brewster Place, Arena Stage
Why this show?
I had read “The Women of Brewster Place” and was excited to learn that
a musical was being created from the book.
The greatest challenge
As co-orchestrator, trying to capture the sound and spirit of the “70’s” while remaining true to the composer’s music and the requirements of the story and characters.
Your best contribution
Gee, I’m modest (blush, blush).
If you could work with anyone in the theatre, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Leonard Bernstein–I’m a fan.
Next
I’m going to write the great American symphony.
The character
Kiswana Browne is a very strong willed, passionate young woman. She wants to do great things and make a difference in this world. Sometimes she acts before she thinks and doesn’t have the greatest follow-through, but she has a great heart.
Connecting
In my youth, I was a lot like her. I let my passions get ahead of my capacity sometimes and didn’t often take the smartest or safest routes. I guess that is how I found myself in this business.
Surprise
The audiences really responded to the characters and the story. Most people could identify with one or more of the women in the story and our stories became their stories.
Favorite moment
I think one of my favorite moments in the play was when Kiswana meets Cora Lee, another young woman who lives in Brewster Place but is at a very different place in her life. Cora Lee has seven children and is in way over her head. Through seeing life in another’s eyes, Kiswana is changed and tries to start applying practical help to her visionary dreams.
Favorite performances
Tina Fabrique was amazing in Ella
Next
Hopefully the next regional version or the Broadway debut of The Women of Brewster Place.
- Donna Migliaccio, Outstanding Lead Actress
- Abby in Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), MetroStage
The character
The basis for TMOMTM is the retelling of an old vaudeville story in the style of five Broadway composer/lyricists: Rogers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Weber and Kander & Ebb. In each of the five sections, I played Abby, the older woman who gives advice to the ingenue.
Connecting
Each “Abby” character is based on a “type” from the composer/librettist’s genre. For example, in the Rogers & Hammerstein sequence, “Mother” Abby is a spoof of the typical maternal R&H figure; for example, Aunt Eller from “Oklahoma” and the Mother Abbess from “The Sound of Music.” Since I’m well acquainted with the catalogs of all five composer/librettists, I knew immediately what character and style I was spoofing.
Surprise
I think we were all working so hard on the show that we forgot how funny the material is. During our first performance, the roars of laughter and applause caught us off guard. It was a revelation: “Oh, yeah – this is a funny show!”
Favorite moment
My last solo in the show was the song “Sell Your Body,” during which I got to tell a great joke. There was always a second of silence before the audience got it, and then they’d scream with laughter. I always enjoyed that.
Favorite performances
Russell Sunday, Janine Gulisano-Sunday and Bobby Smith were brilliant in TMOMTM – all of them had moments in the show that were so good that I’d hang in the wings to watch them. I also had the good fortune to see Nancy Robinette and J. Fred Shiffman in “Souvenir” – I thought they brought incredible insight and humanity to a piece that’s essentially light entertainment. They took it to a higher level.
Next
I’m starting rehearsals for the world premiere of “David in Shadow and Light” at Theater J, which opens in mid-May. It’s a fascinating retelling of the story of King David. I play the Angel Metatron, which will be a nice change from the screaming harridans, worried moms and blowsy broads I usually play.
- Lawrence B. Munsey, Outstanding Director
- Titanic, Toby’s Dinner Theatre
Why this play?
Toby Orenstein and I have always been fascinated by the story, and the rich history that comes with it. I had seen it on Broadway, and felt immediately that it would be an excellent vehicle for the round, and I saw such potential for telling the story in a very intimate way.
Most challenging scene
The show as a whole was very difficult to direct, and to configure. We had a cast of 25, who played well over 60 characters, but really, they had to convey the feeling of all three classes and the entire ship’s worth of guests and crew. “To the lifeboats”…itself was a daunting task. That particular stretch of music was quite difficult. The cast had to represent the emotional journey that the classes and crew were going through, (not to mention the sinking of the ship and the dramatic loss of life.) It was like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
Surprise
That although it is a mammoth project and story, and has always been portrayed as such, the key was the intimacy of the piece.
Favorite moment
Two have equal weight. The “opening” of the show runs 17 minutes and is magical in the compexity of those 25 people being everyone: staff, crew, musicians, 1st, 2nd and 3rd class, boarding the great new “Ship of Dreams”.
The second is the sequence “to the lifeboats”. The music is one of the most glorious pieces of choral music in the history of musical theatre.
If you could work with anyone in the theatre, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Toby would love to work with Edward Norton, again. She worked with him years ago when he was very young, and loves the actor he has become.
I would love to work with Jessica Tandy. I would have loved to have watched her process. I know I could have learned so much.
Next
Toby and I are co-directing ALL SHOOK UP, which goes into rehearsals tonight, and runs from Thursday, June 12th to Sunday evening, August 24th.
- Matthew M. Nielson, Outstanding Sound Design
- Nest, Signature Theatre
Why this play?
Several things. I hadn’t worked with Joe Calarco yet at that point, but I had heard a lot of great things about him. Also, the chance to work on a new script and in one of Signature’s new spaces.
Greatest challenge
Working with a new (to me) director in a new space with a new script. But I love a good challenge, we all worked very well together, and the end result was just stunning all around.
Your best contribution
There was almost a constant bed of sound and music in this show, and I think (I hope) I managed to create that without leading or detracting from the mesmerizing action on stage.
If you could work with anyone in the theatre, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Christopher Walken again. Just because.
Next
Lord of the Flies at Round House Theatre Bethesda. It’s going to be really good.
- Outstanding Sound Design
- The Unmentionables, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Why this play?
I love working with Woolly Mammoth, and the script was really intriguing.
Greatest challenge
As much as it was a loud and raucous show, there were a million little subtleties that took me forever to get just right.
Your best contribution
I didn’t overdo it. Which is always a challenge for me.
- Kate Eastwood Norris, Outstanding Supporting Actress
- Kay Fein and Jayne Summerhouse in She Stoops to Comedy, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
The characters
I actually played two characters: Kay Fein- a practical, no- nonsense archeologist or lighting designer, (depending on the scene) and Jayne Summerhouse- an impractical and narcissistic soap star. These two women were lovers at one point and have a reunion scene during the play.
Connecting
Because these women are almost polar opposites, I found a few things I had in common with each. But I tried to tie their motivations together by giving them both the aspect of a huge loneliness . Physically speaking, I made Kay all angles with short precise movements, while Jayne was very fluid and all over the place. This helped me connect to and keep track of who I was playing, when I was both characters at the same time.
Surprise
That I did not explode into a screaming ball of insanity during the reunion scene and run off the stage never to return.
Favorite moment
That scene, where I played both parts together. It was fascinating to be your own scene partner and to jump off the cliff into that every night, scary as hell to have no one to catch you, but the concentration required and the physical demands and the setting up my own jokes and the dramatic aspects of these emotional women having a fight, it was like a triathlon for an actor, every single muscle and skill being used at the same time and incredibly satisfying.
I remember the first time we cracked the scene in rehearsal. Howard was so excited to discover the boundaries of character , like when does the body of one take over, does Kay make a barb and watch Jayne react and if so, how do we switch to Jayne smoothly or do we see Jayne’s reactions right away and then snap back to Kay? It was a blast and he would throw ideas out and let me go and it was nothing but fun to figure it all out with him.
Favorite performances
I enjoyed the heck out of The Maids, especially Jenifer Deal’s work in it. She is a friend of mine, but that does not bias my admiration of her physical work, careful attention to detail and subtlety, the latter not being a frequent trait of my own work!
I also loved the performances in She Stoops, to be honest. We were all very proud of each other in that play. And J. Fred in Vigils was heartbreaking and hilarious- truly inspired. He blows me away and I would even dye my hair something other than blond to have one little old exchange with him on a stage. I also thought Naomi in that play was fearless and terrific, but then again, she always is!
Next
“School for Scandal” at the Folger and then I am getting married in July and moving to NYC. I have not had anything but a storage unit for 5 years now and I think it’s time to grow up a little. But just a little! And I WILL BE BACK !
- Guy Paul, Outstanding Supporting Actor
- Dick Connell in Meet John Doe, Ford’s Theatre
The character
I played Dick Connell, editor of the paper where Anne works; a hard-boiled professional with a conscience. Some would say he represents the conscience of the play.
Connecting
I was able to draw on my Dad for the emotional underpinning of the guy but, in these dark days for our country and our constitution, it’s not difficult to summon up the feeling required to deliver the message of Meet John Doe.
Surprise
When we were doing MJD for the first time, I used to come offstage after performing ‘Lighthouses’, and find one of our cast members who used to watch the scene from the wings each night. She eventually told me about her great uncle Guy (!) who had served in World War I and actually fought in one of the battles mentioned in Lighthouses. I still have a copy of the photograph of him she gave me.
The most rewarding thing about playing Connell is hearing from former servicemen who connected with the character and were moved by what he had to say.
Favorite moment
My favorite moment and one of my all-time favorites, is the song Lighthouses, easily one of best I’ve ever been privileged to perform.
Next
Coming up in my career? Someone once said, in the theater, ‘career’ means whatever job comes next. Next!
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