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Friday, August 10, 2012
Glory C'est Magnifique!
Posted by: Pia Haas on Friday, August 10, 2012 at 12:00:00 am Comments (0)
Glory Crampton stars as Pistache in CAN CAN
I grew up in Laurel Hollow, Long Island. I went to Cold Spring Harbor High School. when I was 8 yrs old, my father took me to a YMCA pool, and signed me up for a swim team. I spent the next 8 years swimming and diving every day after school for 3 hours. We travelled around to meets all over the state, and I broke the record for New York State girls' diving for 13 year olds. I planned to go to college and train to be an Olympic diver, but when I was a junior in high school, after doing the high school musical, I changed my mind, and decided to pursue a career in acting instead. I went to NYU to study in their theater program.
I always loved singing and dancing. My great grandfather was a composer and one of the founders of ASCAP. As actors, I loved Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn.
I've never done this show and really did not know anything about it. After reading the script of Can Can a few months ago, I knew I wanted to play the role of Pistache. Some of my favorite shows are West Side Story, My Fair Lady, and now, I am a huge fan of Once. Someday, I'd like to play Desiree in A little Night Music.
I have soft spot in my heart for WBT, I got my Actor's Equity card here while i was still in college. I was in the chorus of Joseph And The Technicolor Dreamcoat. I remember we would get free cookies from the kitchen fresh out of the oven! I've since done Gigi, My Fair Lady , and recently, NINE at WBT. It is always a pleasure to return here!
I live on Long Island, When not on stage, My family and I enjoy boating and dinners with friends. I love to travel as well. I am heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina in November.
On my Ipod? Anthony Robbins motivational tapes, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flats....The only time i listen to my ipod is when i work out. I recently joined a new gym "Crossfit training", and I don't listen to my own music anymore. I am in serious boot camp!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Introducing Tony Lawson
Posted by: pia on Monday, August 6, 2012 at 12:00:00 am Comments (0)
Tony Lawson Plays Aristide in Can Can
I grew up in Delaware Ohio, 20 miles north of Columbus. A small main-street USA type town that I loved. Ohio Weslyan University is there in town so I had the advantage of watching college-scale plays and musical shows from an early age. I was able to be cast in several shows there as a 10-year-old and THAT started my steady work in live theatre.
Not only did the plays I watched as a kid influence me, but also the great TV shows and comedy movies of the 60s and 70s. I had great english teachers who would put-on scenes and plays to spark our love for that type of thing. The touring shows that came thru Columbus also had a big impact.
I've seen the movie version of Can-Can before, but never the stage version. I can't think of ANYONE who's tried to produce this show within the last 10 to 15 years. I'm about to discover why, sweet or sour.
My favorite shows are the ones that changed my life. Like spending 5 years doing BEAUTY AND THE BEAST out on the road. Or singing the huge score of LES MISERABLES. I'll always have a special spot in my heart for BARNUM since we had such a great cast/production at the WBT. My dream role would be Don Quixote in MAN of LA MANCHA. I played it once in college - one day I'll do it 'just right'.
I love dinner theatres. The relaxed settings, comfortable audiences and the closeness can't be beat. The WBT is the best at what it does! I hope it goes on and on.
I have teenage sons who keep me guessing at each turn. We have fun whenever we share an adventure. I have a beautiful wife, actress Krista Severeid, with whom I share most of my off-stage time. We tackle many projects for family, church and new friends.
My Ipod songs are for walking/jogging workouts. Mostly radio hits from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Friday, August 3, 2012
A chat with The Barbershop Quartet in The Music Man at WBT!
Posted by: pia on Friday, August 3, 2012 at 12:00:00 am Comments (0)
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L to R: Martin Bonventre, Brian Conklin, FaTaye, Jimmy Tate in The Music Man
Where are you guys from?
Martin Bonventre- Bronxville, NY
Brian Conklin- Tappan, NY
FaTaye-Dobbs Ferry, NY
Jimmy Tate- White Plains, NY
What was the First Play you were in?
Brian- When I was ten years old I did Amahl And The Night Visitors in Pearl River
FaTaye - Sky Masterson in Guys And Dolls.
Martin- A Midsummer Night's Dream .. in the chorus.
Jimmy- Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Rye Country Day School in 1979.
Do you sing in the shower?
FaTaye- Everyone sings in the shower - some sound good, some sound bad... but we all do it.
Martin- Before auditions, I use it to warm up.
Brian- I do vocal exercises in the shower!
Jimmy- I sometimes sing in the shower, but prefer the car.
Are you guys as close off the stage as your characters are on it?
Martin- “The four of us had a lot of extra rehearsals and we have a very strong brotherhood. “
The rest of the guys: Agreed!!!!
What's on your Ipod?
Fatye- Dubstep
Martin- Led Zeppelin, classic rock, metal.
Brian- Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald when they’re on the same album!
Jimmy- Ed Sheeran.
What is your favorite scene in the show?
Fatye- The number "Shipoopi!"
Brian- " Ice Cream Sincere" sice it's when The barbershop quartet first sing together.
Martin- "Lida Rose" … because of the blocking.... and how much we practiced the blocking!
Jimmy- The Quartets’ “Sincere”
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Scott / Harold: Deja Vu?
Posted by: Pia Haas on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 12:00:00 am Comments (2)
Recently unearthed photos of Scott Bierko playing the Professor in a 1974 production of The Music Man at Ridge Street School in Rye Brook, NY. The girl in one of the photos is Karen Adler, a fellow fifth grade student who played Marian Paroo.
"The set was comprised of discarded refrigerator boxes painted to look like River City. The coat I'm wearing in these photos was lent to me by Mrs. Carol Corwin, the mother of one of the cast members. The straw hat, a prized trophy for me, sat in my bedroom until the time I went to college." Scott Bierko
