BWW Interviews: GILGAMESH TAGGETT on Tour With ANNIE

ANNIE has been loved the world over by many theater attendees who are always impressed with the pint-sized actors who portray ANNIE. Inspired by the comic strip of many years ago, ANNIE takes the audience on a journey of joy and hope between a little orphaned girl and a billionaire named Oliver Warbucks who realizes his money is nothing if he has no one to love. Gilgamesh Taggett currently plays the role of Oliver Warbucks and BWW had a chance to chat with Gilgamesh about the road that lead to playing Daddy Warbucks.

With a name like Gilgamesh Taggett, it seems like you were destined to be in show business. How did you get started?

I wish I had a more definite answer but as a child, before I could even figure out why I wanted to be an actor, I just wanted to be one. I wasn't even sure what it was or what it was that I would be doing. I loved acting. I loved storytelling, storytelling has always been a part of my life.

What was the first show you remember doing?

"Billy Goats Gruff" and I was the troll under the bridge and had a great time. I was five. I believe.

You have been involved in a lot of shows over the years including "Oklahoma," "Jerry Springer, The Opera" and "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson." What are some of your favorite roles you have played?

One of my favorites was actually in "Jerry Springer: The Opera" playing the warm-up guy and then Satan in Act II. It was physically demanding. It was vocally demanding and I thought it was really funny. When I was a kid, I remember playing Evil Eye Fleagle in "Lil' Abner." I had the time of my life doing that. I don't know why. I've seen the show since. I been a participant and produced shows. It's one of those cursed shows that comes with a lot of problems and hang-ups and difficulties. I don't know why but it's always been one of my favorites. I love challenges. If we don't have challenges, we don't know what we're made of.

How did you get the role of Oliver Warbucks in ANNIE?

I had played it for two in Cleveland. A regional production at Becks Center for the Performing Arts and I was planning on doing some auditions throughout the country. A friend of mine gave me a call and said he was in New York and my friend's job at the time was being one of the people involved in the casting process for this production of ANNIE. They saw a whole bunch of people and really weren't satisfied with what they had. And he said, "Well, we got to know each other while doing shows in Cleveland. You're a nice guy. You've always been good to me, to my family and my kids. I wanted to put your name out there if you're ok with that." I thought that was really telling there. It's not just about how talented you are or what you do. It's how you connect with people around you and their impression for you and what that can do for you in the future. So, I went up to New York and met the casting directors and stood before an impressive table of people including Martin Charnin, Charles Strouse, a fantastic conductor and music director Keith Levenson. It was very inspiring. I would say intimidating but I thought it was inspiring. Here are these people that are clearly very good at what they do. They want to see you do your best. They're looking for you to do your best. So many people auditioning think that they're out to get me or they're waiting for me to fail. They're not. They really want to see your best come out of you. If you give them that, well, you never know where you can end up.

Tell us more about Oliver Warbucks.

It's really simple. He's a very driven man. He's a man who was hurt once and has decided he's never going to be that hurt again. That's where his pursuit of financial stability comes from. He doesn't just want to be financially stable, he wants to be at a point where nothing ever can let him feel that out in the wind and vulnerable again. And ironically, this little girl shows up and says, "Excuse me, you're missing something you didn't even know you wanted." And that's how the relationship begins. He's not a mean guy. He's not a bad person at all. If you really listen to him, and you take out all of the direct references to Annie whenever he's talking to somebody, he's trying to accomplish a goal. At the moment he's trying to fix the economy, find people jobs. He wants the country to move forward. So, he's not a bad person, he's just ruthless at what he does which is make a lot of money.

People say you should never work with children or animals and you're working with both.

But, they didn't say you shouldn't work with children AND animals.

What's it like being out on the road with everyone?

Being on the road and being in a very small microcosm, it can be very difficult. Fortunately, we have a bunch of great people and it helps that we have children and animals there. Our lives are very transient. They're very nomadic, we're happy to receive love from the little girls who are always there with a smile on their faces and loving a hug and a kiss on the cheek. They really are amazing. So, it helps take the edge off this lifestyle.

What advice do you have for anyone thinking about getting into show business?

Don't. Michael Shurtleff and his book "Audition" said at one point, "if you can picture yourself doing anything other than this, do it." A lot of people misinterpret that to mean, oh, it's that hard or it's that horrible. That's true. Life can be extremely taxing but, if you can't give it your all, at all times, in every moment, then don't do it. Find something else. It's not about that someone is willing to do that if you aren't. It's not about what you can and can't do. It's about being honest to yourself. It's going to require all of that out of you with every breath, every idea, every emotion. If you don't want to do that, there's so many varying facets of theater to be involved. They start out as being the star and they end up as a costumer. Never look down your nose of any costumer. Don't look down your nose at any job. Everybody that's doing their jobs, is not being onstage, doesn't come out and take a bow. It's just a name on the program. They're working five times as hard as you and they never get the applause. It's struck me as something that needs to be respected and honored. So, I think that's what he means by that. It means a very hard lifestyle, touring especially. But, it's also the joy of bringing a show like this to life in front of people. ANNIE is one of those shows that changes a young lady's life and to see that transformation after. I walk and meet people and see little girls walk up with their Annie doll or poster wanting a signature and she's so thrilled and you can't beat that. It's a wonderful responsibility that I hope to have for quite a while.

ANNIE plays at the Bass Concert Hall in Austin, Texas from April 21-16, 2015. Tickets are available by going to the Texas Performing Arts Website.