|
|
 |
THE LEADING MEN: All I Ask of Hugh
By Wayman Wong
03 Mar 2004
 |
|
Hugh Panaro
|
| photo by Ben Strothmann | March 21 isn’t here yet, but it might as well as be spring with these "Leading Men" to brighten our days: Hugh Panaro (The Phantom of the Opera), David Osmond (Cast Party) and Marcus Simeone (Cat on a Leash).
PANARO: A ‘PHANTOM’ FACE-OFF
It takes an hour of makeup to transform the handsome Hugh Panaro into the hideous-looking Phantom of the Opera, but nothing can mask this Broadway hunk’s thrilling tenor or incredible charisma. Norm Lewis, his co-star from Side Show, raves, "Even with all that makeup, he’s a sexy Phantom. He can’t hide it." Stephen Buntrock, who played opposite Panaro in Martin Guerre, gushes, "Hughie redefines the role. He brings this sexy creature to the front, but he also has this childlike persona that could break down like a five-year-old at any moment. He’s breathtaking." Erin Dilly, another Martin Guerre co-star and Buntrock’s fiancée, adds, "We were sobbing from the word ‘go.’ He’s such a soulful actor and he’s like my big brother."
Panaro, who made his Broadway debut in Les Misérables, started acting at 13, doing dinner theatre in Philadelphia. At 15, this one-time "chunky" actor lost 50 pounds in three months by dieting on oyster crackers, cheese, horseradish and water. Years later, he got his Equity card doing Mary Sunshine in Chicago in Connecticut, and because he was so trim and the same size as Lucie Arnaz, Panaro wound up wearing one of her costumes, "without an alteration," recycled from I Do! I Do!
As impressive as his resume is, he says, "I’ve always had to fight for my roles." In David Wienir and Jodie Langel’s new book, "Making It on Broadway" (Allworth Press), Panaro says, "It wears you out. I [still] have to audition and keep proving myself and hone my craft. . . . I’ve had to talk myself off the ledge a lot of times. But, somewhere, I find it: the love and the heart [of theatre] that I still remember when I was 13."
Away from the stage, the charming 6-foot actor dotes on Soot, his adorable black Labra-poodle puppy, and loves to cook: "Julia Child is a god. Growing up, I watched her show all the time. When I was 8, I could make puff pastry."
Question: Phantom just celebrated its 16th birthday, but you have quite a history with it. You played Raoul in 1991, then the Phantom in 1999 and now you’re back. Why do you think so many folks identify with the Phantom?
Hugh Panaro: He’s deformed on the outside, but people identify with his pain on the inside. The Phantom was abused from birth. His mother slapped a mask on him and shunned him as did the rest of the world. Plus, he’s a genius, and the line between genius and crazy person is pretty thin. I did Show Boat with Cloris Leachman, and she’s one of the most phenomenal actresses, and I love her, but she’s eccentric.
Q: When you first played Raoul, you were 26, and now you’re playing the Phantom and just turned 40. How have you changed as an actor?
Panaro: I’ve lived so much more life, and it hasn’t all been happy. I’ve been through an engagement, a marriage and a divorce [with Tracy Shayne, who played Christine in Phantom from 1994-97]. Every night Christine hands me the [wedding] ring back at the end of the show, that whole portion of my life comes flooding back. You think things will last forever, and it’s not that way. As you get older, your responsibilities are greater. When I was 26, I didn’t think about mortgage payments as much as, "Oh, I have to go to the gym because Raoul has his shirt ripped open."
Q: Are you looking forward to the "Phantom of the Opera" movie?
Panaro: Are you kidding? I can’t wait. Emmy Rossum, who’s 16 and plays Christine, has been by the theatre and hung out in my dressing room. She’s a doll. I asked her if the Phantom’s makeup was gonna be similar to the stage version. And she said, "No, I don’t think it’s going to be as extreme; they want him to look hot!"
Q: Have you met Gerard Butler, who plays the Phantom?
Panaro: He’s come to see the show, but he didn’t stop backstage, which says to me that he’s going to steal some stuff and was too chicken [to see me]. [Laughs.]
Q: And do you know Patrick Wilson, who’s playing Raoul?
Panaro: I do. I finally saw him in "Angels in America" [on HBO]. He’s brilliant. He’s a theatre person and can really sing. He’ll be great.
Q: Speaking of movies, you were in a cute romantic comedy: Victor Mignatti’s "Broadway Damage" (1998), now out on DVD. Was it fun playing a pop musician and hustler who falls for an actor (Michael Lucas) and calls musicals "cheesy"?
Panaro: I loved it. I had a ball and filmed it while I was in Show Boat. I never get to play the bad boy. I’m always the boring romantic nice guy. To be cast as the gay prostitute, the one that wears leather vests, cracked me up.
Q: Phantom is the second longest-running Broadway musical, but you also were in one of the shortest-running ones: The Red Shoes (1993).
Panaro: You mean The Dead Shoes. When I did the workshop with Susan Schulman, it was a beautiful experience. It had songs by Jule Styne and choreography by Lar Lubovitch. Then some egos got out of joint and Susan was fired. It was so sad. She was replaced by someone [Stanley Donen] who made "Singin’ in the Rain" and all those Audrey Hepburn movies, but had no business directing a stage musical. He’d never directed a stage musical. It was a nightmare. One day he cut a whole section of dialogue and I spoke up, and he said, "Hugh, don’t be a moron." I said, "Mr. Donen, please don’t call me a moron." And he said, "Then don’t act like one."
Q: How did that experience compare to Side Show (1998)?
Panaro: That was an absolute love fest. It was the most amazing cast: Emily Skinner, Alice Ripley, Norm Lewis, Jeff McCarthy. Plus, there was Henry Krieger, Bill Russell and Bobby Longbottom. But the show’s publicity department never picked up the ball. A TV commercial was never made. There weren’t even photos in front of the house. We had a cult following, but not enough people knew we existed.
Q: You’re best known for playing the leading man in musicals, but you once did a revival of Joe Orton’s farce Loot in Dallas. How was that?
Panaro: It sounds odd since I’ve done so many musicals, but that was the best summer of my life. They didn’t want to see me because I was a musical theatre actor, but I got cast. It was a great play with great actors. I got to do comedy, which I seldom get to do. I’ve always felt like a character actor in a leading man’s body. People have asked me, "Wouldn’t you like to do Curly in Oklahoma!?" No, I’d rather play Will Parker or Judd. In Phantom, you’re behind a mask and makeup, and all you have is your voice and your physicality to convey this man’s life. That’s why I love the Phantom."
For more information, visit www.thephantomoftheopera.com.
THE BOY FROM OS-MONDS
When it comes to talent and the Osmond Brothers, and their sons, there’s apparently not "One Bad Apple" among them. David Osmond, the 24-year-old son of Alan Osmond and nephew of Donny, proved that recently when he wowed the crowd at Jim Caruso’s Cast Party by belting "Puppy Love." He quipped, "This is so cheesy. Donny would kill me!" Actually, David understudied Donny in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and starred in the national tour for two years.
With his good looks and great pipes, though, David can stand tall on his own, and not just because he’s 6-foot-4. He says, "The biggest misconception people have about the Osmonds is we’re all rich, spoiled kids, and that ain’t the truth. We’re not clones of our dads; we’re our own individuals. That’s why I’m breaking away from my brothers and writing my own material." In fact, he’s working on an alternative R&B album with pop superstar Brian McKnight; Donny will produce, and it might be out late this summer. David adds, "I’m writing as many songs as I can. Brian taught me that even a sucky song can be a good song because of the experience you had writing it."
And would he like to be on Broadway? "Absolutely! I love musical theatre, and I studied it at NYU. I auditioned for the role of Fiyero in Wicked, but they wound up with someone completely different." David jokes, "I must’ve scared them away!"
For more information, visit www.osmond.com/2ndG. Continued...
Contact Us | Advertise | Privacy Policy
Send questions and comments to the Webmaster
Copyright © 2008 Playbill, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
|