 | Chad Doreck
(© Joseph Marzullo/WENN) |
IT CHAD TO BE YOU
The NBC-TV reality show Grease: You're The One That I Want has resulted in many high-profile gigs for its contestants -- and not just the Broadway revival's stars, Max Crumm and Laura Osnes. Take Chad Doreck, who has become an Off-Broadway fan favorite as boy band leader Matthew in the long-running hit Altar Boyz, and who credits the show with preparing him to take on the role. "I only had eight days of rehearsal, and my chops were pretty good from being on the show and learning five numbers a week, with choreography," he says. "Plus, the show is really good training for life in general. Having the cameras on you 24-7 means you need to take responsibility for everything you do."
Doreck praises his castmates for their support as he has adjusted to his first extended run in a show. "It's an experiment every week in keeping my body and voice healthy. I've found sleep is really necessary; if I don't sleep, then I don't sing," he notes. "And I found alcohol doesn't treat my body so well. I was never much of a drinker anyway, but I had four drinks on my birthday last month -- they were tequila -- and it ruined me for a week. The native Californian has also had to adjust to life in the Big Apple. "We spend so much time in our cars that we get used to anonymity. The first time I ran into people I knew on the street, it sort of freaked me out. But no it's fine," he says. "Plus, I was scared to get on a train for about a month. Early on, I ended up on an all night tour of New Jersey trying to make my back to the city."
The actor says he's been trying his own take on Matthew, who is the fictional boy band's resident hunk. "I am consciously bringing some sexuality to my portrayal; I think my Matthew isn't as goody-goody as some others have been," he says. "These are young guys on the road, and even if they're strict Christians, it doesn't mean they don't flirt with temptation." And speaking of temptation, would Doreck consider going into Grease now? "I'm a really competitive person, so considering I didn't win, I don't know if I could. Let's say the circumstances would really have to be right," he says. "And I think getting a chance to do a long run like Altar Boyz without being under fire from Broadway critics has really been a blessing."
 | Frances Sternhagen
(© Joseph Marzullo/Retna) |
COMING FULL CIRCLE
While sadly one can't see Frances Sternhagen acting in a play, fans of the two-time Tony Award winning actress have two chances to see her in person this month. On Tuesday, January 15, she'll join Jill Eikenberry and Myra Lucretia Taylor for a Selected Shorts performance at Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse, where the talented trio will read the works of Eudora Welty, Alice Walker, and Julie Orringer.
Meanwhile, on the previous Tuesday, January 8, she'll participate in a New York Times Arts and Leisure Week panel discussion on Circle in the Square with that theater's legendary producer, Ted Mann, and fellow Tony winner Philip Bosco.
"Without Circle, we wouldn't have the number of classics and wonderful actors we had," she says. "And I always found it so interesting that Ted, who I knew socially before we worked together, had such a desire to do it, since he wasn't an actor." Sternhagen particularly remembers one night at Circle, even if it took place 50 years ago. "My husband Tom was doing a television play with Jason Robards -- they even used to go ballgames together -- so we went to down to see him in The Iceman Cometh. It was a remarkable performance."
Sternhagen only did one Circle production herself, a 1981 Broadway version of The Father with Ralph Waite that lasted less than a month. "It didn't really bother me that it wasn't successful. I thought it would be interesting to work on, and I wanted to explore the character of Laura," she says. "But years later, when I saw the play with Frank Langella, I really wished I would've been able to do it again."
These days, Sternhagen is working more in film and television. She co-starred in the recent horror film The Mist, based on the Stephen King novel, and she has a recurring guest role on the television series The Closer, in which she plays star Kyra Sedgwick's mother, Willie Ray. Both parts came about without having to audition. "Frank Darabont, who directed The Mist, called and said he had been a fan since he'd seen me in the movie Starting Over. It was the kind of movie I'd normally be too terrified to see, but people love it. The nurse at my podiatrist's office said to me recently: 'It's wonderful and it's so creepy.' I got the role on The Closer because I did a play by the head writer James Duff called Home Front many years ago, and after it closed I suggested he go to California to work on television. I think it's a very well-written show and the cast really enjoys each other. There's always that funny kind of bantering on the set. I always said I'd be happy to do a series, as long as I don't have to live in Los Angeles."
SEEING STARS
 | Liliane Montevecchi, Paul Szilard, and Chita Rivera
(© Kwame Bratwhaite) |
The end of the year brought its own slew of celebrity sightings. The fabulous Jan Maxwell and hubby Robert Emmet Lunney attended the December 13 performance of The Homecoming. The December 16 performance of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, honoring the 95th birthday of longtime benefactor Paul Szilard, brought out the very busy Chita Rivera -- with daughter Lisa Mordente and ex-husband Tony Mordente -- Liliane Montevecchi, Jacques d'Amboise, George S. Irving, Joey McNeely, and Donald Saddler.
The December 18 performance of Gypsy of the Year attracted a truly star-studded crowd, including Barbara Cook, Christine Ebersole, Howard McGillin, Matthew Morrison, John McDaniel, Jose Llana, Marian Seldes, and many more. (For our photo feature on the event, click here.)
Finally, spotted in the audience of the December 20 performance of Cyrano de Bergerac were the lovely Amy Irving (who starred alongside Cyrano star Jennifer Garner on TV's Alias), Thomas Meehan, and Andre Bishop.
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