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THE LEADING MEN: Sarich, David and Evan
By Tom Nondorf
04 Sep 2007
Q: That's pure romance!
David: Pure romance. To me, we had the Count of Basie, the Duke of Ellington, and Nat, to me, was the King of Romance. I've often thought of many analogies, but I always wanted to be a knight at the table of romance that Nat was the King of.
Q: What other songs will be a part of the Feinstein's show?
David: I will get to "Nature Boy," and I've got a little movie section. Nat Cole sang probably more movie themes than any other artist. I will sing "The Ballad of Raintree County," "Mona Lisa" and "Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup."
Q: How have you enjoyed your summer as Oberon?
David: Going to the Park to me is like going home. It was exactly 28 years ago this summer that I got my Equity card understudying Raul Julia in the Park, so that is my favorite theatre. I love being there.
Q: Were you pleased that there are some musical elements to this production?
David:Yes, of course. That is always a great thing. It's like an extra bonus. The great thrilling element to me was I got to work with [director] Dan Sullivan, which I've been wanting to do for years. [Midsummer co-star] Jay Sanders [has] been a friend of mine for almost as many years. We went to school together. We went to my first year of college together. In fact, we were the bass section of the Purchase Gospel Choir. We used to pump some bass up there!
Q: Which of your films do you most get remembered for by folks on the street?
David: It all depends . . . each to his own. I remember Karl Malden's speech at the Academy Awards, and it made me proud to be a character actor because that's what we do, man. I love being a comedian and being able to change. One of the best compliments I've ever received was, "Were you in that play?" And I played the lead! I guess I'm sort of a sentimentalist at heart. Once I almost wept because somebody walked up to me on the street, and he said, "Excuse me, I didn't mean to disturb you, but I was in the 25th Infantry in '68, and I know you," and he walked away. And that was his experience having seen "Platoon," and it was just amazing to me.
Q: Tell me about one of the great fight scenes ever filmed, with you vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper in John Carpenter's "They Live."
David: It was some of the best fun I've had in my life. We rehearsed it for two weeks. It's everything you get to study acting about. I was also certified . . . in stage fighting, so I got to put all those techniques I learned in school to the test and do it. The fight was fashioned after the John Wayne Film "The Quiet Man," and it just went on for days. It was great because it was like a silent movie except for the few times we spoke because the fight has a story to it, it has an arc, and Roddy Piper. . . How great is that? I got to do a fight with Roddy Piper! We had a wonderful time.
Q: Voiceovers have been an incredible key to your career. I feel like I should be paying you to listen to you talk on the phone. Did you feel like you were blessed with a great voice?
David: [Laughs.] I appreciate that. I feel blessed and highly favored. God has been good to me my whole life. If I left the planet tomorrow, I could face St. Peter, and I've had a wonderful time. I told my wife to put on my epitaph: "No complaints and no regret." I get to do what I've always wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be an actor when I was two years old. Now I get to live my dream. How lucky is that? Through all good times and bad times, the hard times, the plush times and the thin times, it's all part of the package. It comes with the territory. No one ever promised me that I'd be a millionaire being an actor. But I did have a teacher who said my life would be wealthy and I could have a great life, and it is a great life.
[Keith David's "Tribute to Nat King Cole" performances at Feinstein's are on Sept. 23 and 24. Go to www.feinsteinsattheregency.com or call (212) 339-4095 for ticket info. A Midsummer Night's Dream at Central Park's Delacorte Theater runs through Sept. 9. Pick up tickets on the day of the show at the theatre; call (212) 260-2400 or got to www.publictheater.org for more info.]
ROB IN THE HOOD
Last month I mentioned Bruce Kimmel and David Wechter's 1950s comic sci-fi valentine The Brain from Planet X in NYMF, and who should get in touch with me, but Rob Evan, late of Tarzan, recently cast as the lead in Brain. Evan is, of course, a former Jean Valjean himself, and a former Jekyll/Hyde, not to mention a former college football player at the University of Georgia, the alma mater of yours truly.
Question: So you're diving into The Brain from Planet X.
Rob Evan: Yeah, man. I'm psyched. I read the script, and it's hilarious. The best time I ever had in my life on Broadway was doing comedy in Little Shop of Horrors. I was lucky enough to do one of the first workshops of Bat Boy, so all of this is kind of reminiscent of that kind of zany camp that I love to do, that I rarely get to do. I do a lot of more dramatic parts. It's fun to have a good time being in a satirical piece like this.
Q: It's different than Jean Valjean?
Evan: Little bit. [Laughs.] You know, I love doing it. It's a trip. I've really been looking forward to working with Bruce Kimmel because I've known of Bruce in passing for years, but I've never gotten the chance to work with him, so when they just out of the blue offered me this, I was thrilled.
Q: Were you a fan of fifties sci-fi films?
Evan: Yeah, you know the famous Ed Wood film, "Plan 9 From Outer Space"? This is "Plan 10 From Outer Space." I was a big fan of "Mystery Science Theater 3000"; that was when I was coming up and ad-libbing to movies and stuff — it was a trip.
Q: What were you up to post-Tarzan?
Evan: I'm in a band called the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We're recording a new record. Paul O'Neill, who is the founder of the band, gave me eight songs on the new record, so I've been down here [in Florida] on and off since Tarzan closed and flying around doing concerts. I did a symphony gig in San Diego and whatnot, but I've been primarily here since literally the day after Tarzan closed.
Q: How bitter a pill was it when that happened?
Evan: It was kind of a surprise, I'm not going to lie to you. I was contracted to March of 2008, but things happen for a reason, and I probably wouldn't have been able to do all these songs on this new record, or wouldn't have had the time or voice because playing that part was a little bit different vocally for me. My voice is a little bit higher then Shuler Hensley's, so I kinda had to push it down there for that. I was surprised, but new doors have opened up, and this crazy business always feels like there's some rhyme or reason to it — you have to believe that, I guess.
Q: Other than the closing, was Tarzan a happy experience?
Evan: It was the stability, and I was proud to be working for Disney. I have three little boys, so they were thrilled their dad was a gorilla on Broadway. It was fun for them. It was fun to do a Disney show because I always wanted to do one. It was tough on my body, my knees, and my back and everything, but it felt good.
Q: You took kind of a roundabout path to the stage…
Evan: I'm originally from Georgia, I played football there and kind of fell into Broadway. I actually saw Les Miz in the first tour when it came around there. I studied business in college and was going to law school. I'd always performed but never really pursued it. I saw Les Miz, and I was like, "Oh my God, I have to do this." Within a year and a half, I moved to New York and was in the third national tour.
Q: Tell me about your playing career for the Georgia Dawgs.
Evan:I was there from 86-90. I was on [legendary coach] Vince Dooley's last team there. It was cool because [later] Coach Dooley came up and saw me as Jekyll and Hyde, and I went to the college hall of fame a couple times with him every time he came to New York. . . I got to come back and sing the National Anthem at Sanford (Stadium) and feel like I was important.
Q: So, you have the whole Broadway/football combo. . .
Evan: It is funny. I guess it's all show business, isn't it? [Laughs.] Especially at that level. You know, when you play football for the Dawgs, you play in front of many more people than you do at the Imperial Theatre or the Richard Rodgers Theatre!
Q: Is it rough being in the business and having three kids?
Evan:The great thing about having a family is it is a big ol' reality check. The real important things in life are your family and your health, of course, and that's the big grounding thing. The second thing that's good about it is it's a cool career — it's a cool life, and my boys have seen me in a lot of different situations. They love the fact that their dad is . . . did the original Batman demos. . . . They were like, "Dad might be Batman!" or "Dad's Kerchak!," so that's cool. The tough thing is it's a rollercoaster ride. When I'm in a show, I see them, but I'm not there for bedtime. When I'm not in a show, I'm usually on the road doing concerts or records. I've been very lucky to have this concert career, which really, really keeps me going when I'm not in a show. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra allows me to do some of this rock stuff and things I've always wanted to do, but I'm not at home so that's rough, too. But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm very, "Live for the day. Carpe Diem." My kids, when we're together, it's so quality, and it's so much fun, and I'm a big kid, and it's just a party at my house.
[NYMF, the New York Musical Theatre Festival, runs from Sept. 17-Oct. 7 at various venues in the city. The Brain from Planet X will be at the Acorn Theater at 410 West 42nd Street starting Sept. 20. Visit www.nymf.org for a full schedule and ticket info.]
HITHER AND YON
Other familiar fellows involved in 2007 NYMF shows include Ted Levy, who choreographed the tap and shared the stage with Gregory Hines and Keith David in Jelly's Last Jam . Levy choreographed a new show called Platforms. Brad Oscar of The Producers is in a show called Such Good Times, and Lee Wilkof is performing in Little Egypt . . . . Sept. 10 at the Zipper Factory promises to be a hoot as Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words —featuring actors interpreting actual celeb autobios — hits the stage. Xanadu's Tony Roberts and Cheyenne Jackson will be a part of the fun, as will Richard Kind and Seth Rudetsky. Check out www.zippertheater.com or call (212) 352-3101 for tix.
Tom Nondorf can be reached at tnondorf@playbill.com.
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Rob Evan (l.) and Keith David.
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