Earlier in her career, Lisa Gajda may have been more mindful of whether she’s the right type for a role. But now that she’s been in 12 Broadway musicals set in virtually every decade of the 20th century, in various cities and countries, even in a circus and a mythical kingdom, she’s not so concerned. For one thing, she learned that “you think you’re right or not right, and it’s not really up to you.”
She’s also learned how to make herself into whatever type is needed. Which is how Gajda—with her small frame, quirky hairdo and slightly tomboyish demeanor offstage—got cast as one of the flirty 1930s showgirls in the Roundabout revival of Pal Joey, which takes place in an era when showgirls were fuller-figured. “My look is pretty contemporary,” Gajda says, “so I went to the audition with big fake boobs and tried to make myself look soft.”
When she was just starting out, type was important to Gajda (pronounced “Guy-da”) because in those years she was based in L.A., where dance work is heavily “type-based,” she says. Today, however, she doesn’t even bother with appearance and personality when asked what type she is. “If you need somebody to work hard, I’m going to get hired,” she says, describing herself as “a real dancer’s dancer—not necessarily the most incredible dancer, but I love to dance and people know that. I will dance hard and I’m pretty sturdy.”
In Pal Joey, the dance numbers showcase the women, since they’re playing the chorines who perform in the clubs with Joey. “Having the lion’s share of the responsibility as a female dancer is not common; usually it’s the men,” Gajda says. “It’s a treat to take that on.” She’s one of the two ladies who dance with Joey (Matthew Risch) in the opening ballet, and she’s the lilac in the comic Act 2 song “The Flower Garden of My Heart.”
Pal Joey would have been Gajda’s fourth time receiving the Gypsy Robe—presented on opening night to the ensemble member with the most Broadway credits—but she decided to forgo the honor so it could go to her friend Eric Sciotto, who’d never received it in his previous seven shows. Gajda received the robe for her last two shows, Cry-Baby (which Sciotto was also in) and The Times They Are A-Changin’, as well as for 2003’s Taboo.
All three of those musicals were short-lived, and they’re not Gajda’s only experience with flops: She was also in Sweet Smell of Success and Urban Cowboy. But she’s also been in such long-running Tony winners as Spamalot, Movin’ Out and Fosse and the hit revivals of Kiss Me, Kate and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. (She is sometimes billed as Felice Gajda, which is the name her parents gave her but never called her.)
Despite her long résumé and work for leading choreographers, Gajda expects no special consideration for roles. “I have no sense of entitlement or pride,” she says, “and all jobs are good enough for me. Last year at my age—39 years old—I went to an open call for Brigadoon. A lot of my friends had gotten direct offers from Rob Ashford [who was to direct and choreograph the revival, which has now been shelved]. I’m happy to try and try and try in whatever way I can. Half the shows on my résumé I got from going to an audition, getting cut, going back, going to jobs none of my friends would go to. I think working is really fun and really awesome, so I do whatever it takes to work and I’m not afraid of anything.”
Well, maybe the one thing she fears is not working. She went nearly a year and a half between Broadway appearances after Times They Are A-Changin’ closed in November 2006 and grew a little panicky as the drought dragged on. She’d never been off stage more than six months or so, and 2007 became the first calendar year in a decade that she didn’t perform on Broadway. “As you get older, these dry spells get scary,” she remarks. “You expend a tremendous amount of energy surviving financially and piecing together one, two, three days of work. I’m so used to performing, I just want to do it.”
