DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS WITH
AND SAN DIEGO MUSICAL THEATRE by lisa lipsey
TODD DUBAIL
THE NOSTALGIC and charming showWhite Christmas is coming to the Birch North Park Theatre. The story is this: World War II has ended. Army Veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, stars of a successful song-and-dance act, have come home and they have romance on their mind. The friends follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge. A joyful and charming cat- and-mouse game ensues. But what really shines about this show is Irving Berlin’s contributions, timeless treasures from the Great American Songbook, including “Blue Skies”, “I Love A Piano”, “How Deep Is The Ocean?” and of course “White Christmas”.
Todd Nielsen (City of Angels, The Robber Bride-
groom, The Secret Garden, A Little Night Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Phantom, Roar of the Greasepaint and Merrily We Roll Along) directs this production and Lisa Hopkins serves as choreog- rapher. Hopkins teaches at “Steps on Broadway” in New York City and toured as a master teacher with the New York City Dance Alliance. Local Don LeMaster serves as musical director and conductor; you have heard his work at Moonlight, Cygnet, Starlight, South Bay Cities, North Coast Rep, McCoy Rigby and the Old Globe Theatre. On the cast side,The Rage Monthly caught up with
Todd Dubail, the actor, singer, dancer who will star as Bob Wallace. Dubail was in the National Tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease andLeader of the Pack. Based on the interview, this show should be
high energy, plenty of eye-candy and good old fashioned fun.
So tell me about White Christmas, what drew you to audi- tion for the show? I have friends who have done the show for years
in New York and I’ve seen lots of different produc- tions around the country. It is a great holiday show and a great classic holiday movie. So, are you a crooner and a heartbreaker? Yeah, I guess. You know a lot of my career has been
spent doing rock and roll shows from the ‘50s, like El- vis in All Shook-Up. This show is set in 1954 so it is still that era, but a different style of singing. I am pretty excited to use this side of my voice—The Frank Sina-
tra and Bing Crosby-type of Irving Berlin songs. How do you get into character for this type of role? For something like this, watching old movies.
Getting the style down from Bob Hope, Danny Kay, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, all the song and dance things. There is a point in the show where Bob and Phil appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, so I have been watching episodes and listening to music from that era. I am immersing myself in that world. Oh, and good hair. That’s really important. Finding the right grooming product so it looks perfect. So crucial. [Laughs] No doubt, gotta have the right hair. So, how did you get your start in the business? Oh gosh, as a wee child I was taken to my first audition. I lived in Central Illinois. A neighbor’s daughter was going to audition for a youth produc- tion, Hansel and Gretel. I got in and their daughter did not. Ouch for her! Ever since then I have been involved in live
theatre; I did community theatre in Peoria, then I dropped out in high school to do sports, but during the summer I did shows. Then I moved to California, I had a cousin who lived up in Vista and her house was right next to the Moonlight Amphitheatre. In the summer you could hear all the productions from her yard. She suggested that I move out here and audition for them. My first show here was Bye Bye Birdie. Later I was doing a production of Grease with a girl who was going to SDSU, she told me about the MFA program there and suggested I audition. I did and after getting my formal training I moved to New York in 1995.
So you have been on many a stage, from community to professional Broadway theatre. What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you on stage? Mostly I remember crazy ripped crotch mo-
ments. When I was Danny inGrease, I totally split my pants up the back while jumping off the bleachers. Then during the song ‘Hand Jive’ they split while I was doing a dance trick with a girl. I just remember my bare ass being out there for the audience. Oh, I did a regional production of Starlight Express. It was a premiere production in Utah. I thought “this is great, combining my love of sports (skating) and musical theatre at the same time.” We had a few wipeouts. The theatre was outside and apparently no one thought of the evening dew being hazard- ous to us on the stage. It was really slippery. A whole line of roller-skaters crashed in front of the audi- ence. All we could do was roll around on the ground laughing, then get up and keep going. That’s what I love about live theatre. What are you doing next, after this show? Well, I’m coming back home to Las Vegas and I’ll
see what’s next. Some actors might have a few gigs scheduled in a row, but most don’t know where the next gig is coming from .The world’s my oyster! What would you say to people considering seeing White Christmas? Well, if you haven’t found the holiday spirit yet,
this is the perfect show. It is full of heart and full of Christmas cheer. San Diego doesn’t get cold. We don’t have that kind of weather so there’s no chance of snow here. So your only chance for a White Christ- mas is to see the show! Thanks for your time today. Glad to have you back perform- ing in the San Diego area. It’s nice to be back where my professional career began—to see family and friends—reconnect. I love San Diego.
San Diego Musical Theatre’s production of White Christmas runsThursday, December 12 through Sunday, December 22 at the Birch North Park Theatre. For tickets and more informa- tion call 858.560.5740 or go
tosdmt.org.
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RAGE monthly | DECEMBER 2013
| DECEMBER 2013
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