Armistead Maupin's Blog, page 28

Life after Mrs. Madrigal

Olympia Dukakis returns to SF for LGBT Pride
by Richard Dodds  Published 6/23/2011

Olympia Dukakis is an old pro at grand marshaling. A celebrity grand marshal in this Sunday's Pride parade, the Oscar-winning actress previously presided over a Columbus Day parade in Bloomfield, NJ, in the late 1980s.

"It was after Moonstruck came out, and they asked me to do the parade. I said, 'But I'm not Italian,' and they said, 'It doesn't matter, because everyone thinks you're Italian.' So I did the parade, and they took me to a great bakery afterwards, and I came home loaded down with stuff."

Dukakis won her Oscar for playing Cher's tart-tongued Italian-American mother in Moonstruck, which was good enough reason for Bloomfield to extend an invitation – Dukakis, husband Louis Zorich, and their three children then lived in a nearby Jersey suburb – despite her unmistakably Greek given and family names. But Dukakis' ties to San Francisco, and to its gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, are long, rich, and deep.

Through serendipity, and the astute assistance of Brandon Miller and Joanne Jordan of Jordan, Miller & Associates, Dukakis' Pride appearance will dovetail into events tied into ACT's musical version of Tales of the City, which means she can also host a benefit evening for the theater where she has so often worked and for the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. And she'll get to see for the first time how someone else is playing the role that first brought so many San Franciscans into her bosom.

That, of course, would be the sexually mysterious Anna Madrigal, the landlady at 28 Barbary Lane, the nexus of a straight-meets-LGBT world that Armistead Maupin created in his series of stories of San Francisco in the 1970s. What began as a newspaper serial became a collection of novels that, in turn, inspired three TV mini-series in the 1990s. In the musical adaptation at ACT, Broadway veteran Judy Kaye is playing Mrs. Madrigal, a performance that Dukakis will see on June 24 as part of the evening of fund-raising events that include tickets to the musical with Dukakis joining the cast at the curtain call, followed by a cocktail party at the Clift Hotel with the actress and the cast of the show. (Info at www.act-sf.org.)

"I scared the shit out of Armistead," Dukakis said. "When the idea of the musical was starting, I said, 'You know, I can sing.' I saw his eyes widen in panic. I can sing, but eight times a week? Give me a break. Besides, I'm too old for the role. But I'm very interested to see what Judy Kaye does with it."

And then there's the matter of riding up Market Street as a grand marshal in the Pride parade. Dukakis had a lot of questions. "What do you do as a grand marshal?" "Will people know it's me?" "What should I wear?"

If she has questions about details of her duties, despite the Columbus Day antecedent, she is approaching it with one certainty. "My whole attitude is that I'm going to have a great time," she said. "And putting it all together with the show at ACT, which is a theater I love, how much better could it be?"

There is also a serious side to her involvement. "Like many people, I have friends who have gone through the difficulty of trying to adopt children or get married or getting the other legal protections most of us have," she said. "These are not just issues to me, they all have faces."

Dukakis recently completed a film that speaks specifically to many of these very issues. In Cloudburst, she plays half of a long-term lesbian couple who loses her home when her partner's daughter has her mother declared incompetent and takes over the property. "So my character goes to the hospital and kidnaps Brenda Fricker's character, and we drive to Canada and get married."

Dukakis was back in the studio a few weeks ago for post-production dubbing for a version that can be shown on airlines. "You have to change 'ass' to 'arse.' Why if you say it like the Brits you can get away with it, don't ask me. And I'm hard-pressed to see how they're going to show it on planes anyway. There are romantic scenes, and in one scene I go after her with a dildo, and our characters laugh and carry on about it."

That a movie like Cloudburst is being readied as in-flight entertainment is a long journey from the time when the first season of Tales of the City so rankled people like Senator Jesse Helms that PBS let one of its most popular programs pass to Showtime for its two subsequent seasons.

Sen. Helms probably didn't watch long enough to learn Mrs. Madrigal's big secret, and if you don't know what it is and plan to see the musical, you should stop reading at the end of this sentence. But by now, both through the popularity of the books and the television adaptations, most people know that Anna Madrigal is a transsexual who previously had fathered a child. It was a twist that only made Dukakis want the role more.

"Anything that stymies me or scares me is always of real interest to me," she said. She had not read Maupin's books, and was advised by the director not to do so until finishing the series. "But I read everything I could about transsexuals, about the operations, and the psychiatric involvement," Dukakis said. "I needed to find out what made it possible, even necessary, for a person to go through such a painful process. I told one of the producers I needed to talk to someone who has gone through this, and he introduced me to this woman, 6-foot-2 but with a very soft voice, and I asked her what was it that made it matter so much. And the first thing she said was, 'All my life I yearned for the friendship of women,' and I tell you, I started to cry. I didn't know what the hell she was going to say, but this was such a human thing."

The meeting, which went on to cover other aspects of the decision to transition, convinced Dukakis that she needed to avoid any sensational or stereotypical spins on the role. "What I had was the option at any given time to come from a more masculine or more feminine place in myself," she said. "It was a very special time in my life."

On Dukakis' upcoming agenda, she has a three-episode run as Zach Galifianakis' much older paramour in the HBO series Bored to Death, an appearance at the Festival of the Aegean on the Greek isle of Syros in the one-woman play Rose, and a return to her sly but mostly mute role in Morris Paynch's Vigil at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Her co-star again is Marco Barricelli, with whom she first performed the play at ACT in 2010. It was her sixth ACT appearance; they date back to 1995.

She first met ACT Artistic Director Carey Perloff in New York, when Perloff was still running the Classic Stage Company. "She asked me to do Clytemnestra in Agamemnon, and at the time I thought it was politically disgusting to be in a play that said women should give up trying to be more valued in society and go back to being wives. I said I'd try to find a play for us."

It turned out to be Hecuba, by which point Perloff had moved to San Francisco to take over ACT's top artistic slot, and Dukakis performed the Greek tragedy while the theater was still in temporary quarters following the 1989 earthquake. The roles that Dukakis takes on are never the easy ones, even with her 80th birthday now in the rearview mirror.

"I do theater because you know who you are when you're on that stage," Dukakis said. "You know you're alive."

http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=theatre&article=755

Ten Percent 100 Episode - David Perry interviews Armistead Maupin

Armistead Maupin ("Tales of the City") speaks with David Perry for the 100th episode of "10 Percent" -- now the longest continuously running LGBT show in Northern California history. Original airdates: June 13-17, 11:30am & 10:30pm; June 18 & 19, 10:30pm. Comcast Channel 104.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp_afzuSZUs

Armistead Maupin at Microsoft Auditorium, Seattle Public Central Library

There's no shortage of festivities to go along with this year's Pridefest, and this appearance by Armistead Maupin, author of the famous Tales of the City series, is just the cherry on the top. Take a moment away from the dancing, singing and celebrating to pop by the library for Maupin's free talk about his latest novel, Mary Ann in Autumn. Also, show your love by embracing some of the other Seattle PrideFest events as well—www.seattlepridefest.com should fill you in on the details—and Maupin will also be the Seattle PrideFest keynote speaker at the Seattle Center on the 26th.



Saturday, 3 p.m. // Microsoft Auditorium, Seattle Public Library // Free



http://seattlest.com/2011/06/20/this_week_in_lit_7.php

WORLD PREMIERE EXTENDED!

Playing now–July 31



Libretto by Jeff Whitty  Music and lyrics by Jake Shears and John Garden

Based on Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City and More Tales of the City

Choreography by Larry Keigwin

Directed by Jason Moore

On the bustling streets of 1970s San Francisco, neon lights pierce through the fog-drenched skies, disco music explodes from crowded nightclubs, and a wide-eyed Midwestern girl finds a new home—and creates a new kind of family—with the characters at 28 Barbary Lane.



Three decades after Armistead Maupin mesmerized millions with his daily column in the city's newspapers, his iconic San Francisco saga comes home as a momentous new musical. Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City unleashes an exuberant celebration of the irrepressible spirit that continues to define our City by the Bay.



"Sparkling . . . instantly addictive"

—San Jose Mercury News



"Tantalizing . . . [a] celebration of sex, love, and all kinds of coming out" —San Francisco Chronicle



"Crisp and witty . . . [with a] richly

talented cast" —TheaterMania



"It's as if you had been to a happening party and met lots of fabulous people"

—The New York Times



"Radiates real joy" —SF Weekly



"Delicious . . . out-and-out good, rousing fun" —The Examiner



"This shining, shimmering A.C.T. musical delivers on every front."

—CBS San Francisco



"Joyous . . . a major aligning of the musical theater stars" —SFist



"A home-turf hit . . . playful yet heartfelt" —Variety



"Exuberantly captures the sweeping current

of transformation in Maupin's work . . . a happy blur

of flares, gay saunas, and bongs" —The Guardian (UK)



"Whether you are a Mona or a Mary Ann, a Mouse or a Mrs. Madrigal, this show illuminates the colorful, crazy, complicated, wild times of our fabulous city. A gift to San Francisco and all of us who love it!"

—Jan Wahl, KCBS/KRON-TV



Running time: 2 hours and 50 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.



Click here to download the performance program (PDF).



Please be advised: This production contains brief nudity, drug use, adult situations, and disco lights. Parental guidance is suggested.



Afraid of commitment? When you purchase ticket exchange insurance for an additional $5 per ticket, you can easily exchange your tickets for another performance if you can't make the show. Simply add it to your order at checkout.



http://www.act-sf.org/1011/talesofthecity/index.html

Make Tales part of your Pride weekend—for less!

Great seats available Friday and Sunday.



Save $25 off Orchestra and Mezzanine seats at select performances.

Use code TALES25 online or call 415.749.2228.*



Get your group into the groove! Groups of 15 or more save up to 20%.



Call 415.439.2473 for details.



Lock in your tickets to the must-see show of the summer, and check out these dazzling upcoming events!



Friday, June 24, at 8 p.m.

Experience the show with Olympia Dukakis—who played Anna Madrigal in Tales of the City television miniseries—and witness her onstage meeting with Tony Award winner Judy Kaye, who plays the role in the musical. This special performance benefits A.C.T.'s arts education programs and the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation.



Saturday and Sunday, June 25–26

Swing by the A.C.T. booth at Pride for fabulous giveaways, Tales merchandise, and more! Look for us in front of the Asian Art Museum. And don't miss a special performance by the Tales cast on the Pride mainstage—beginning Sunday at 12:45 p.m.



Tuesday, July 5, at 7 p.m.

Join us for OUT with A.C.T.—the best LGBT party in town! This special preshow event begins an hour before curtain, and entry is free with your ticket to the performance. Enjoy sizzling drink specials, fabulous music, and a chance to win spectacular prizes! Sponsored by SF Weekly.



Taking Muni this weekend?

Plan a stop at the Castro Street Station, where Tales has taken over! Pose by the iconic artwork and post your photo to our Facebook page for a chance to win prizes—and show off your Tale.



*Limit 6 tickets. Not applicable to previously purchased tickets or with other offers. Subject to availability.



http://www.act-sf.org/site/R?i=Bxj3TgYMI3UTB0-aj8o9zw..

A conversation with Wesley Taylor of "Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin

Thursday, June 16, 2011
Jamie Freedman

I have had the good fortune of having gone to school with some fabulously talented people. Many of these people have fabulously talented friends. And it was with pure glee that I emailed former classmate Lauren Molina whom I have written about here and here when I saw her friend and Rock of Ages co-star Wesley Taylor appear on the stage of A.C.T. a couple weeks ago.

Starring in Armistead Maupin's staged production of Tales of the City: A New Musical" at the American Conservatory Theater has changed Wesley. He is 24 and has been out of college for three years. During that time he has worked continuously on Broadway, landing central roles in a handful of enormously successful shows including Rock of Ages and The Addams Family alongside Nathan Lane. He has also become known through his satire YouTube series Billy Green.

But it wasn't until being cast as a Michael "Mouse" Tolliver, a young hopeless romantic gay man in San Francisco during the early 70s, that Wesley really began to feel a greater responsibility than to just the art of theater itself. Not only does he feel a connection to an older generation of men who have come to love and identify with Mouse, but also responsibility to the next generations that continue to struggle for gay rights.

Below is part of an interview I conducted with Wes yesterday about three weeks into the run. We talk about the magic of San Francisco (even today), the responsibility of playing Mouse, where the show might go from here, Armistead Maupin, Jake Shears, the process of being part of a new production, marriage equality, mustaches and on-stage nudity.

To see a shorter version of the interview, click on the examiner.com article here. I am also hoping to eventually post an audio file of the interview, so check back.

Tales of the City is now running through July 24th. Buy tickets here.

-------------------------------------------------
Jamie: First things first, so I see that the 'stache is real. You could walk down Mission Street and no one would know the difference.

Wes: I went to New York for twenty-four hours last weekend which was crazy, and for the first time I was a little embarrassed about the mustache and was noticing people looking at me funny. It's interesting because San Francisco is so embracing of every kind of oddball. Like that's what this city kind of stands for, it doesn't matter what you look like, it doesn't matter what you wear. And that's why there's so much personality in this city. It's really a sanctuary of people who are different. Which is really special, it makes this city so magical.

And yeah, my friends at home keep making fun of my mustache in all the pictures. But I love it. For the last three years I've been playing eighteen-year-old characters and I've been shaving my face every single day and it sort of sucks. So I'm really jazzed about the fact that I can do something different.

JF: Yeah, you look normal to me, but I live in the Mission.

WT: Exactly! When we first started the rehearsals, (director) Jason Moore wanted us to grow facial hair. And I didn't know if Mouse should have a mustache. Marcus D'amico in the miniseries didn't have one and I wanted him to stay twinkie and innocent. Sometimes when I grow facial hair I have the tendency to look sinister or edgy.

But Armistead said, "Mouse has a mustache. I had a mustache in the 70s, Mouse has a mustache." And it was at that moment that I realized Mouse was Armistead. And I actually didn't know that before. I had read the books and watched the miniseries, but it just hadn't dawned on me that he was telling his story mostly through Michael. It was pretty surreal when I figured that out, and it was very intimidating.

I was also really intimidated when I first got the part because I didn't know what a huge deal the books were। But when I started telling people that I got it, every middle-aged gay man in New York freaked out. It really scared the hell out of me that so many people identified with this character. But what made me feel really comfortable was that Armistead had the final say on the casting. He gave us his blessing.

JF: I love how involved he's been in making this production; I mean how often does that happen?

WT: It doesn't। I mean on the first day of rehearsal, he said that this is one of the happiest days of his life. He was so excited and such a part of it. But, still kept his distance respectfully to the writer Jeff Witty who made Armistead's books into a musical. He couldn't have been better to me through this whole process.

JF: Did he offer up any other words of wisdom that you can share?

WT: He told me once that there's something about Mouse that's hard for some people to get: which is this quirk that he is both light and dark. He said that I was really embodying that. And because as an actor you can really get neurotic about getting into a character, it was really comforting to hear from its creator that you're on the right track.


JF: You've said before that playing reserved characters, like the one you played in The Addams Family, is more difficult for you than playing really crazy characters, like Franz in Rock of Ages. What was it like to play Mouse then, who is definitely on the more reserved side?

WT: The thing I love about Michael is that he's a little of everything. He's very much like who I am, which can sometimes be the hardest thing to play on stage because it's the most exposing. You can feel naked and horrified because at the end of the day it's about telling the truth. And telling the truth can be the hardest thing in the world.

But yeah, Michael is a lot like me: we're both from Orlando, Florida, we both have conservative parents, I grew up very religious in the Baptist world just like him, it took us both a while to come out to our parents, we're both hopeless romantics and we both like our vices.

JF: My brother, who's straight, said he got really emotional during Michael's coming out scene. It's a really amazing number.

WT: I like how simple and subtle that scene is. I kept wanting to make it more dramatic, but the director kept telling me to stop and just read the letter. Just love your mother. I was also playing the scene kind of defensive, you know, ACCEPT ME GODDAMIT! And he kept saying, no, you love your mother. You feel for her and you get it. It's more, Thank you for making me who I am, which is more heartbreaking because it's killing them with kindness. I feel like that song is a gift and the character has been a gift. I've been so lucky to stumble across it.

JF: And I'd imagine people have been reacting very strongly to your performance?

WT: Yeah, it feels really great. I've never been in that position before. I mean Franz was super gay but I've never been in the position of having gay men telling me how I've helped and affected them. That's been very special to me and it means a lot. And I didn't care about that stuff before. I don't want to say I was selfish, but I was really focused on being an actor on my own terms. I wasn't really interested in being a role model or helping other people's lives. I was just interested in doing good art, but the older I get I realize what's the point of that ?

Like when I first moved to New York my agents told me that it's probably better off that you don't come out for television and film. But I think that's changing dramatically; you know with people like Neil Patrick Harris, I mean things are changing in a great way.

JF: That couldn't have even been that long ago, what 3, 4 years?

WT: Yeah, I got out of school three years ago. But they did say that they would be completely open to it if I wanted to.

JF: But they were just recommending…

WT: Yeah, and they're all gay too. It's just one of those hard decisions to make as an actor, deciding weather or not you want to sacrifice the possibility of putting you into a box as a gay guy. But I think it's getting easier to be a gay man and being able to do it all. But I started to realize that if I wasn't going to get cast in something because I'm gay, I don't want to be part of that project. You start growing up and you start seeing these things. And now I'm trying to be as active as I can in the gay agenda. I mean we are so close in New York to getting marriage equality right now. This is such a big deal! It's made me really passionate, it has to get done! So yeah, it's affected me. I love how it's affected other people. I love that it's made a difference, I think this piece is really special in that way. Even though it's dated, it takes place in the 70s, but we're still dealing with the same issues.

JF: It's from the 70s, but I think the San Francisco in this show is still here. Have you felt that?

WT: Yeah, you can feel it. And everywhere you go in this city is research for the show! All of these locations are all over the books and the lyrics. Even the street names, it's everywhere. I love working on a show and being in the world of the show while you're working on it. I've never had that experience before.

JF: Everyone is talking about if they'll be able to take this show out of San Francisco and on the road. What do you think?

WT: Because of all the inside jokes? I think that the show has the heart and I think it's good enough to be able to transfer anywhere and work. Sure, you might have to tweak some of the lines and jokes. I actually think it would go over really well in London it would be super successful. The books are huge; Armistead is very popular over there. And the Scissor Sisters are everything in the UK! They're way more known there than they are here. The demographic in London is right up our alley. But we won't know what's going to happen for a while. I mean, we got extended here until July, and it might even get extended until August. We just don't know and as an actor is a little scary. Do you look for more work? Can you rely on the show?

JF: It's like dating two people at once, and geez! Everyone should have these problems!

WT: It's exactly like that! It's awful! And yet exhilarating and great.

JF: What was it like working with Jake Shears (Jason Sellards)?

WT: He sort of became my big brother while he was here. We got along really well. We partied like rockstars, The Scissor Sisters don't fuck around! They had a concert here and the whole cast went, it was really fun. He's never written a musical before, but he's such a natural at it. And he was so not precious about anything. He was cutting songs left and right. He probably wrote over fifty songs for the show and there are only nineteen or twenty in it. There are so many great songs that got the chopping blog. There was a song that Mona and I sing together called "Who's your Mama?", and after one week of previews, it wasn't working for them, so he wrote another one called "Everything Gets Better" in twenty-four hours and put it in. I mean, that's previews. It's pretty stressful.

JF: They should make a B-sides album.

WT: Yeah, like bonus tracks. There was another song called "Show Me How to Love You" and it was so gorgeous. My verse was my favorite thing that I got to sing in the show, and they cut it! People need to hear this stuff!

JF: So this was all in two months? You guys learned double the amount of material?

WT: When we started previews, the show was something like four hours long. I mean it's three hours right now, which is also too long for a musical comedy. But they've taken a lot out and changed even more.

I remember the first time Mary and I sang our new song for an audience, we were shaking because there were people sitting there hearing a song you had only sung three times. It's terrifying. I think putting up a new musical is one of the most terrifying things you could ever do.

JF: Earlier you mentioned that playing the role of Mouse is "revealing" makes you feel "naked". You like getting naked don't you?

WT: As soon as they made us sign that nudity clause…

JF: There was a nudity clause?

WT: There was a nudity clause that all of the men signed. There was supposed to be a lot more nudity in the show. But, I mean, obviously you have to show flesh in the show, it's Tales of the City, it's a big component of the show. But Jason didn't want it to look like an excuse to please to the gay community.

JF: So all we get it is your butt.

WT: Yup, that's it. I've never gotten to even take off my shirt in a show, I love it. As soon as I signed that clause I stopped eating fried food and starting hitting the gym every day and doing five hundred sit-ups. It's a fun challenge to be working on something outside of the show, whether it is growing out a mustache or going to the gym more! It's a cool experience to have to change something about your appearance for a show, it really makes you feel like you're earning your paycheck.

http://www.alwaysmoretohear.com/2011/06/conversation-with-wesley-taylor-of.html

Tales of the . . . Cast! Meet Patrick Lane

Meet recent
NAME Patrick Lane.

CHARACTER Brian Hawkins.

HOMETOWN Louisville, Kentucky.

FIRST THEATER EXPERIENCE Well, my father was a preacher and my mother directed the children's choirs, so my first experience performing was as one of the lions in Noah's ark. I suppose constantly performing in church, coupled with my middle-child syndrome, left me completely defenseless against the alluring theater.

FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCE My favorite experience would have to be when I played Horace Robedaux in a college production of 1918. It was my first experience delving into the deeply complex family relationships that are so common in plays by Horton Foote and Arthur Miller and Sam Shepard. It also calls to mind a kind of interesting phenomenon that many actors go through when they find "their playwright" or their "style," so to speak. Being from Kentucky, and coming from a long tradition of deep rural roots and close family bonds, made it easy and very fulfilling to play Horace. In a way, I suppose coming into contact with that material taught me a lot about who I am and the traditions I come from.

FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH TALES I actually didn't know much about Tales until I heard A.C.T. was doing it. Being the obnoxiously over-prepared grad student that I am, I immediately went out and got the book and couldn't put it down. I was shocked that I had never encountered it before, and from that moment on I was searching for a possible avenue into this process.

HOW ARE YOU LIKE BRIAN HAWKINS? Brian is a man's man who seems driven by some kind of energy—sometimes sexual—that he cannot control. I grew up playing sports, so I guess that classifies me as a "jock"—and that, paired with the fact that I drink beer and watch football, probably moves me into the man's man category. Like Brian, I've always been very driven by my passions, but I suppose what I hope to bring to the role is an energy that isn't just cro-magnon in its need to satisfy innate desires, but also genuine in the pursuit of digging deeper and discovering what's underneath the strong, cad-like facade.

FAVORITE MUSICAL Always a tough choice, but if I had to choose I think it would have to be Sondheim's A Little Night Music.

FAVORITE SONG TO SING "It's Hard to Speak My Heart" from Parade by Jason Robert Brown.

EDUCATION B.F.A. in theater performance from the University of Evansville; M.F.A. in acting from A.C.T.

PERFORMANCE RITUAL Arrive to the theater an hour before curtain, hot tea, warm-up in the Garrett, head up to the stage.

FAVORITE '70s WARDROBE ITEM Not one thing I own is '70s. I know . . . blasphemous.

http://blog.act-sf.org/2011/06/tales-...

See Tales with Olympia Dukakis!Join us on Friday, June...

See Tales with Olympia Dukakis!



Join us on Friday, June 24 for an official San Francisco Pride event! Olympia Dukakis—who played Anna Madrigal in the Tales of the City television miniseries—hosts a special performance of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City benefiting A.C.T.'s arts education programs and the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation.



Select tickets include a VIP afterparty and an exclusive preshow dinner with Dukakis and special guest "Top Chef: Just Desserts" winner Yigit Pura at celebrated San Francisco restaurant Fleur de Lyse.



Order tickets online today!




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See Tales with Olympia Dukakis!Join us on Friday, June 24...

See Tales with Olympia Dukakis!

Join us on Friday, June 24 for an official San Francisco Pride event! Olympia Dukakis—who played Anna Madrigal in the Tales of the City television miniseries—hosts a special performance of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City benefiting A.C.T.'s arts education programs and the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation.

Select tickets include a VIP afterparty and an exclusive preshow dinner with Dukakis and special guest "Top Chef: Just Desserts" winner Yigit Pura at celebrated San Francisco restaurant Fleur de Lyse.

Order tickets online today!

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Tales of the . . . Cast! Meet Alex Hsu

Meet Alex Hsu, who plays Lionel. Click here to read his official bio.

NAME Alex Hsu.

CHARACTER Lionel.

HOMETOWN Born in Taipei, Taiwan; grew up in Hayward and Fremont, California.

FIRST THEATER EXPERIENCE My mom took me to see a production of Promises, Promises! at the college where she worked, and I remember being absolutely mesmerized by Turkey Lurkey Time. I can probably trace many aspects of my personality to that experience, such as my love of musical theater, my affinity for mid-century design and fashion, and my appreciation of go-go dancing.

FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCE Seeing Les Misérables on Broadway in 1996. I basically wept for three hours. It was absolutely transcendent and spiritual.

FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH TALES Watching the TV miniseries on DVD many years ago.

HOW ARE YOU LIKE LIONEL? We are both second-generation Bay Area Chinese. Well, I imagine that Lionel is second-generation. And I did spend one summer in college delivering frozen yogurt to office ladies who would call me "Yogurt Boy."

FAVORITE MUSICAL A Chorus Line. A close second would be Irving Berlin's White Christmas (for personal reasons, of course).

FAVORITE SONG TO SING Right now, it is "I Wish I Could Go Back to College" from the musical Avenue Q.

EDUCATION B.A. in linguistics and anthropology from UCLA. Dance training at Dance Arts Center in San Carlos.

PERFORMANCE RITUAL Pre-: putting on makeup. Fewer and fewer men seem to wear stage makeup in professional theater, especially when the production is in a realistic style. But I still do it because to me it is part of the transformation into my character. I don't feel completely present until I go through that. Post: EAT!

FAVORITE '70s WARDROBE ITEM I owned a pair of rainbow "Mork from Ork" suspenders as a kid. LOVED them. Also any pair of tight bell-bottoms that make my ass look good!

http://blog.act-sf.org/2011/06/tales-of-cast-meet-alex-hsu.html