BWW Interviews: FANNY's James Snyder

Original cast albums are wonderful things. They preserve the music, lyrics and orchestrations of shows for other generations and allow today's teens to enjoy the craftsmanship of Rodgers and Hart and Vincent Youman. They also allow someone who was only six years old when the original production of FANNY played on Broadway to fall in love with Harold Rome's remarkable score on black vinyl and later on CD. This is music that is filled with gems, but the special moment that most aficionados tend to recall is William Tabbert's soaring rendition of the title tune. His singing of the plaintive lyric, "Here's a boy with no heart to give Fanny... Not worth the tears you'll cry, Fanny, oh Fanny, goodbye" is so stellar that it remains in peoples' minds more than half a century later. The production ran for almost 900 performances but most people who remember Tabbert's singing never saw the show. It's the cast album that echoes in their ears and resonates in their hearts.

Now Encores! is presenting FANNY at New York's City Center for a limited run from February 4th through 7th. The cast features George Hearn, Fred Applegate, Elena Shaddow, Priscilla Lopez and James Snyder-who has the daunting task of erasing the memory of Tabbert's singing and making the part his own. Speaking on the phone after one of the earliest rehearsals, Snyder is remarkably relaxed and eager to discuss his career and the happiness he has in being part of this greatly anticipated production. He has nothing but praise for fellow cast members. "We've pretty much blocked everything," Snyder says, "We were fortunate to have a few extra days with George, Elena, Fred and me at the front end so we got a lot of the bulk out of the way as far as setting the story we're telling, which is simple and complex at the same time. It's definitely working."

Snyder continues, explaining, "Today we ran through a couple of numbers-there's a big chunk of scenes where my character is leaving and I have to communicate with my father (Hearn). It leads to several numbers that culminate in the title song. It's a huge, sweeping scene where everyone's crying. Elena has a headache from all the crying she's doing. The emotions in this piece are sweeping us all!"

The young actor is a California native who was born in Sacramento, attended the University of Southern California and was graduated from their theatre school. After graduation he did some musical theatre which lead to his appearance in the film SHE'S THE MAN, a movie that was loosely based on Shakespeare's comedy TWELFTH NIGHT. It was a "teeny bopper comedy" that starred Amanda Bynes that led to a list of television films which Snyder lent his talents to. "I was doing television and films for a good five years," comments the actor, "and then I booked CRY-BABY" The John Waters musical is a project that had a brief run on Broadway and is still a hot topic on theatre message boards.

"I did ROCK OF AGES when it was in both LA and Vegas, playing the lead, Drew. I was shooting a movie in Boston and the producers of the show called to tell me I'd have to re-audition for the New York production. I took the Chinatown bus from Boston for about fourteen bucks and did my audition. While I was doing the reading for ROCK OF AGES, John Waters happened to be in town and was finalizing the CRY-BABY casting. Ten auditions later, I was cast in the show's title role. I floated around with that for a year and a half and moved back to Los Angeles after a little stint at the Kennedy Center."

In CRY-BABY, Snyder got to work with Harriet Harris; a performer for whom he holds in enormous respect. "I just went to the opening of PRESENT LAUGHTER and have to say that woman is sensational. In CRY-BABY she played the matriarch and as a performer she set the bar for the rest of us. She's a wonderful woman, too. She just has such grace. There are people who you watch work and they constantly amaze you. I'm so blessed to have worked with Harriet and am now with George Hearn, Fred Applegate and Elena."

Will there ever be a cast album of CRY-BABY? "I called Adam Schlesinger, the composer, a little while ago. What I think happened was that they had things laid out for a recording but as Broadway lost momentum the record deal fell through. I want some sort of a cast album done because there's some really good music in that show and the lyrics are fantastic. I'm still trying to push for a recording; I'd like to think there's hope for a cast album. I've talked to some of the producers and no one wants to spend any money on it. However everyone seems to be on the same page in feeling we ought to get something down on record. Adam Schlesinger is a working music producer who has produced tons of hit CD's and has studio access, so I feel it's only a matter of timing."

Snyder didn't really start out to be an actor or singer. "I was hell bent on being a soccer player all through junior high and high school. I did my fist show, GODSPELL, in my freshman year of high school. I played the Jesus role and I may have fallen in love with it there but I don't think it even entered my world that someone could make a living being an actor. Around my junior year, when I was doing WEST SIDE STORY, I began to feel that I could do this and could go to school for it. I think that for me a college or university education was always a necessary thing just because of the way I love learning. The fact that I could go to a theatre school in a major university and sort of expand my talents was appealing." James Snyder's musical talents have led him to form a rock band. They've recorded a CD entitled "L.A. Curse" and it's available on I-Tunes as well as from www.jamessnydermusic.com.

FANNY came about rather quickly for Snyder. He was cast as Marius, the young man smitten with the sea, right around the new year. "I was already home in Sacramento for the holidays when my agent called with the news that I had to get back to New York for the 27th and 28th," Snyder explains. "I had already put myself on tape for FANNY. I had worked very hard with my voice teacher, Edward Sayegh-who's worked with Brian Stokes Mitchell, Doug Sills, Terrance Mann, Vicki Clark, Celia Keenan Bolger and many others. He even did workshops with Pavarotti, so he truly knows what he's doing. He helped me out tremendously. To be honest, he taught me how to sing. Not only sing it, but give it its due. He's brought the legitimate qualities out of my voice so that it can match the orchestrations. There's great size to the music and size to the story and rising to meet them has been the biggest part of my preparation for this role." Perhaps Snyder is achieving this goal because he mentions that FANNY's director, Marc Bruni, commented that he had no idea Snyder had such a legit voice.

The whole FANNY experience is proving to be remarkable for Snyder. There are times when he's off on the side, not directly involved the the scenes being played when he gets caught up in what his fellow actors are doing. "All of a sudden I'll hear Fred Applegate singing "To My Wife" and I'll put down what I'm doing and become engrossed in the story. I'll look around and find that everyone in the room is weeping. This show is truly beautiful and everyone is feeling it in such a huge way. It has life. It's honest. It's open. It has depth. It has love. It has lost love, and it has love for a father and his child. That hits me hard because it makes me think of how much I love my Dad. I guess I could sum it up by saying that it's so French. It all just swims in this beautiful score."

Snyder is starting fresh in this role. He hasn't seen the three Pagnol movies that served as the basis for the musical. Those films are called MARIUS, FANNY and CESARE respectively. Nor has he seen the non-musical film that starred Leslie Caron and Horst Buchholz as the lovers. "I had that one on my NetFlix list but it never made it to me in time!" He does, however, plan on spending his day off in perusing lots of material that Bruni is loaning him.

From February 4th through 7th at New York's City Center, musical theatre fans will not only have a chance to relish the show they've grown to love but may never have seen. They'll get to hear S.N. Berman's libretto and Harold Rome's score sung live by this first-rate cast. They may even get to understand how a bellydancer fits into this charming tale of life and love in a French seaport town. The question will be whether all the talents and charm of James Snyder will eradicate the memories of William Tabbert's singing on the original cast album? After chatting with this thoughtful and amiable young man, one strongly feels that he certainly will and may even be breaking into a new and impressive aspect of his career.

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Tickets for the 2009-2010 Encores! season are available at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or online at www.nycitycenter.org. Tickets for the Orchestra, Grand Tier and Mid-Mezzanine are $95; tickets for the Rear Mezzanine and Front Gallery are $50; tickets for the Rear Gallery are $25.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.