MAN FOR THE JOB
Willson’s vintage musical presents challenges for Stratford production
What was he letting himself in for?
That was the initial reaction of Daren A. Herbert, an award-winning song-and-dance man, when he had his first look at the historic thrust stage of the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ont.
How on earth could a vintage musical like Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, a show conceived for a traditional proscenium picture-frame stage, work in this space?
What would happen to a blastoff musical number like 76 Trombones? And what sort of challenges would Herbert face by taking on the lead role of Harold Hill, the jaunty con man who bounces into River City in 1912 with the intention of merrily duping the citizenry into putting up money for a kids band that will never happen? But Herbert likes challenges. “That stage is a bit of a nightmare for a musical,” he says.
“For a show that was built for proscenium presentation, that space is tough. Performing on it is a constant negotiation. But when we get it right, the audience is with us all the way.”
And the audience is especially embracing Herbert, a native Bermudian who is scoring a personal triumph with his exhilarating approach to a legendary role.
This is a guy who’s been around the block a few times with awards from both the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and Toronto theatre’s coveted Doras. His versatility on stage extends to George Bernard Shaw (Saint Joan) Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross) and Shakespeare (Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet).
But his seven-month Stratford stint is proving an eye-opener for the 42-year-old performer. Herbert now appreciates that the 1,800-seat Festival Theatre’s full potential. Its stage may have originally been conceived for Shakespeare, but has also proved to be an astonishingly effective venue for Broadway-quality musicals.
“I knew nothing about Stratford,” Herbert says sheepishly. “Well, I knew it was here, but I had no intention of coming. I didn’t see the appeal.” But then he became a father — “and a year in the country didn’t seem that bad for a family with an infant.”
Now he’s devoted to the institution.
“I came completely fresh, completely new, and I’m amazed now that I’m here. It’s a factory of art … they even make their own shoes.”
And he has settled happily into the character of Harold Hill. It’s not the first time he’s done a role that was not written necessarily for black actors: Earlier stints include The Wild Party, which earned him a pair of Toronto awards, and Anthony Newley’s Stop the World I Want to Get Off. There was even a previous Harold Hill in Vancouver.
“Throwing someone like me into the mix can do something extraordinary to a piece,” Herbert says.
Just don’t refer to his presence in The Music Man as “colourblind” casting.
“I hate the phrase,” he says tersely. “I hate the lie it portrays because it insinuates that you’re seeing something that is not unseeable. People come to see this show and they see me — a black guy. There’s no way to pretend that I’m not.”
Stratford’s evocation of the mythic Iowa town of River City suggests a pluralistic culture. Herbert and director Donna Feore did some homework on that period — “and it’s not as though there were no black people there. There was one who was fairly high up in the Republican Party, so we’re not completely out of the bounds of reality.”
He credits Feore, who also choreographed the show, for making The Music Man work on a difficult stage.
“Donna is a master,” he says. “And the designers are, too.”
Meanwhile, Herbert is under no illusions about the physical demands involved in portraying Harold Hill.
“In the first act, he’s barely off the stage, and when he is it’s just to change costumes and keep on going,” Herbert says. And eventually, with scarcely time to catch his breath, he’s into one of the production’s glory moments — the exhausting 76 Trombones number.
So he has to gear up before every performance.
“You have to, if you’re going to survive,” Herbert says. “I’m running behind already,” he adds with a glance at his watch. He has a matinee coming up, and he needs to meet his musical director for a 12:30 warm-up session.
“He takes us through our scales while I’m running up and down steps in the rehearsal hall. I don’t really sing standing still in this show at all. If I’m singing, I’m singing on the run. I always thinking I lose half my body weight before the show ends.
“It’s a perfectly crafted musical, and I’m amazed we can make it work in this space. It’s all about getting the story out, staying on the path, and enjoying the ride, as difficult as it is ... And with every performance I discover something new.”