By Tom Nondorf
30 Jun 2007
Q: Have you followed her career closely?
McDermott: I am a huge fan. When I was younger and an aspiring singer, she was one of the voices I aspired to be like. My sister is a singer, and we used to play [Barbra's] stuff and sing along with her. My sister and I are belters and were taught by an opera singer from a very young age, so we have very big voices. So we loved listening to [Streisand]. Johnny Mathis is a huge hero of mine. And I know that Streisand was very inspired by Johnny Mathis. Streisand and Judy Garland, these big belt voices. When I was younger, I used to say I would love to have an hour with Barbra Streisand. There are certain people in your life you really respect and admire, and I thought that would be a great thing, to have an hour with her, so — I haven't thought about that till just now! — perhaps maybe I will get some time, certainly onstage.
Q: It will add up to an hour, at least!
McDermott: [Laughs.] Over six weeks, yeah. Positive thinking.
What's Up, Doc?
Hugh Panaro despises flying. He is easily the least traveled of the four fellows. "It cracks me up because everyone thinks that I live in France in a tuxedo or something," he says. But this trip with Streisand marks his first time in continental Europe. Most recently on Broadway in Lestat, Panaro created leading roles in Side Show and The Red Shoes. He also gave memorable performances as the Phantom and the aforementioned Marius in Les Miserables, which was his Broadway debut.
Question: Why do you think Streisand is such an icon?
Hugh Panaro: There's no one, when you look at the old stuff, the video that exists from when she was like 19 years old on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Judy Garland Show"…there was no one like her then. She was her own creation. It was pretty wild — the abandon in which she performed was pretty amazing. The one thing I didn't know until recently was that she performed like that because she really wanted to act and wasn't necessarily getting cast in the roles that she wanted to do, so she would pick songs that she could act in and tell stories, almost like monologues, but songs. Maybe that's why she was so dynamic because she was approaching them from an acting standpoint rather than just singing a song. Especially growing up and being a keyboard person, I would play in bands, [and] I had a piece of sheet music that had a cover of her with her dog on it, and I'm a crazy dog person, so I thought, "She's got a dog, I like her."
Panaro: It's not really because one thing that the four of us do pretty naturally, which comes from performing as a soloist or a leading man, is duets. I sang so many duets. You watch someone's mouth and your consonants and vowels, your phrasing…At the risk of sounding crass, it's like good sex. You really pay attention to your partner, what you're giving and what you're getting. The four of us really watch each other and tune into each other. I think being part of a group is rewarding, especially when you get four voices in harmony. It's beautiful! Especially if you're four voices moving as one. I sang in concert choir in college [and] at Carnegie Hall. When you're part of a group, there's a certain camaraderie and a power with four guys, a lot more power than just one. If there was one a-hole in the group, you might feel differently, but everybody's great and everybody pulls their weight. I love making music, and that's kind of what we're doing.
Q: What's something that would surprise people about you?
Panaro: I love country music. K.D. Lang is probably one of my favorite voices on the planet. I pretty much like every kind of music except — sorry to offend anybody — acid rock, because that's my brother's thing [when we were growing up]. He would have the acid rock blaring and his girlfriend's picture on the dartboard. I should say, not his current girlfriend!
Q: Are there characters you've played onstage that you would love to revisit?
Panaro: I really was just starting to get into playing Lestat. That was a great role to play because, first of all, I loved Anne Rice. I loved her books, and I loved her characters. Even though the show was not necessarily 100% accurate as far as the literal character, I loved playing him. He had a kind of "f— you" attitude and was just like the total bad boy. I had fun with the Phantom, but it was so much work I don't know if I could say, "Oh my gosh, I think about putting on an hour worth of make-up." I mean, I love playing the Phantom. Love it, love it, love it, but it was very taxing in a lot of ways.
Q: Are you looking forward to your whirlwind tour through Europe?
Panaro: Are you kidding? I've only been to London, so everything else is just gravy. I can't wait. I'm joking and I'm not joking when I say I'll be at every pastry shop, wine tasting, and I think I'll eat my way through Europe. I'm half Irish, so I have to say I'm excited to go to Dublin. I don't know too much about a lot of places like Berlin. I really think it's going to be an adventure and obviously, I've never been to Paris, and I think that's going to be a blast. One of the things that Richard-Jay Alexander said, that until you're on that stage with 15,000 people screaming deafening screams and flashbulbs going off, there is no way to prepare for that. I can only imagine that that's going to be insane. What a crazy ride.
The Barbra Streisand European Tour will be in Stockholm on July 4, Manchester on July 10, Dublin on July 14, followed by three shows in London on July 18, 22 and 25.
SNOW BUSINESS
On July 23 I'll be cooling off at Christmas in July: Misfit Kids' Letters to Old St. Nick, which is a benefit for ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty) and will feature the world premiere of a collection of holiday-themed theatre songs with lyrics by Kenneth Jones, music by Gerald Stockstill, and music direction by ASTEP-founder and Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell. "The songs are the body parts of a new musical revue Jerry and I are writing, meant for four actors and a piano," said Jones, who is also managing editor at Playbill.com, "but we've expanded the roster of performers for this concert benefit — we're hoping to lure a wide spectrum of Broadway fans to help raise money and awareness for ASTEP. We were thrilled Mary-Mitchell invited us." Announced performers include Tony nominee Gavin Lee, Chris Hoch, Daniel C. Levine, Cindy Marchionda, Jen Simard and Sally Wilfert. The show will be performed at the Players Theatre at 115 Macdougal Street at Minetta Lane. A $20 pledge secures your seat. You can make your reservation now by e-mailing tickets@createsomethinggood.org. Put your name on the reservation list, and just show up with cash or check in hand at the door July 23.
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| B.D. Wong with Herringbone composer Skip Kennon. |
Fans of non-traditional movie musicals or anyone who is passionate about songwriting and the collaborative process, I would urge to run out and see "Once," featuring Irish singer Glen Hansard as a Dublin street musician who forms an unlikely creative alliance with a young Czech woman (Marketa Irglova). The story is pure simplicity; the songs will not leave you alone . . . . Updating from last month, I was able to head up to Williamstown, MA, to catch B.D. Wong in Herringbone, which was exactly as weird, wonderful, and "cool" as its star told us it would be. The show went through some minor catastrophes as you no doubt read about on Playbill.com, as Mr. Wong gashed his leg on a piano bench during a performance. Later, a power outage cancelled a show, but none of this would you know from the absurd amount of energy Wong poured forth as nigh a dozen characters, each commandeering the stage in very daring ways. I do hope more people get a chance to see him perform this show. . . . Also in Williamstown, met a cousin of Ms. Streisand, the great Richard Kind, who'll be in The Front Page on the mainstage from July 4–15.
Tom Nondorf is an associate publications editor for Playbill. He can be reached by e-mail at tnondorf@playbill.com.
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| (l.-r.) Peter Lockyer, Sean McDermott, Michael Arden and Hugh Panaro
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