THE THRILLS ARE ALIVE
For actor, ‘Sound of Music’ at Broward Center is a homecoming.
Playing the Broward Center for the Performing Arts is mind-blowing for Adam Ross Glickman.
“That’s where I was when I saw my first musical, ‘Showboat,’ ” Glickman recalls. “I remember afterward standing in the living room and pretending to tap-dance. I used to usher at the Broward Center. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s such a gift, and I’m so grateful.”
Glickman is starring in the national touring company of “The Sound of Music,” which will appear at the Broward Center Tuesday through Oct. 22. Glickman plays the villainous Herr Zeller, an Austrian official relentlessly trying to convert Captain von Trapp into Nazi naval forces.
“And he’s ruthless,” Glickman says in a telephone interview. “He seeks out Captain von Trapp, and he’s cruel. But it’s also a beautiful story of morality. It’s a ball to play the character who is very different from who I am and how I would handle any situation.”
Here’s more about 25-year-old Glickman, who grew up in Davie and Cooper City.
It has to be weird that you’re Jewish and playing this Nazi, right?
In the beginning, sure. It’s nuts. It’s wild. And then, as I got into it and interpreting the character: He’s just a guy who believes in what he believes in, for whatever reason and is on a mission to get it done. But is it strange and off-putting. I mean, we performed on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For the moment, that was a little strange for me. It’s acting. It’s not me. I’m grateful to be a part of such a beautiful piece where the bad guys lose in the end.
How do you get ready for this part every night?
The character has two meaty scenes in Act 2, and I’m constantly preparing for them right up until I’m up on that stage. Some actors can just walk on stage and do their part and walk off stage, and that’s it. That’s not me. I like to fully embody that character. I’m constantly going over my dialogue. And I’m thinking, “How can I spice it up and live in that moment?” All those things I work on daily. I’m working on physical movement, as well. It’s all the time. It’s ever present.
You went to American Heritage School and did a lot of theater there before you graduated in 2010, but did you do any acting at regional theaters here in South Florida?
Not really. When I was a kid, I went to the University Center for the Performing Arts [in Davie]. That’s where I really started. And I did FLCT, Florida Children’s Theatre. And then, I did a lof of musicals when I was in high school at American Heritage. When I was in eighth grade, I did “Big the Musical” at Mosaic Theatre when it was at American Heritage [the professional theater company closed in 2012]. But mostly, I did musicals at American Heritage, which for a high school, the value and professionalism that is showcased there is off the charts.
Then you went to college, somewhere in Illinois, right?
I did. I went to Millikin University. Why did I go to this small school in Illinois? I have always had an obsession with “The Little Mermaid.” And both mermaids graduated from there, the one from Broadway and the one from the movie. The fact that they both — Jodi Benson in the movie version and Sierra Boggess on Broadway — graduated from there always fascinated me. And they have a great program.
Didn’t you also work on Viking Cruise ships?
Yes. I opened their second ship as a vocalist on the Viking Sea. I was under contract for a little over eight months, and I saw 25 countries and countless cities in that time. I sang Gilbert and Sullivan, ABBA, Rat Pack, Beatles.
And you studied Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre in London, performed on Viking and now you live in New York. Is there anything you took with you to all these places — foreign ports, London, Manhattan, and now on tour — from South Florida?
The acceptance of all cultures. I didn’t realize I was immersed in so many different cultures growing up and that so many people don’t have the opportunity to know so many cultures. And still today, I’m such an introvert … and yet I have such a love of people, meeting so many people and that stems from South Florida, a love of people. I come from such a melting pot.
“The Sound of Music” runs Oct. 10-22 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., in Fort Lauderdale. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and 6:30 Sundays, with matinees 2 p.m. Saturdays (and Wednesday, Oct. 18) and 1 p.m. Sundays. Tickets cost $30-$150. To order, call 954-462-0222 or go to BrowardCenter.org.