Interview: Analise Scarpaci of PATHETIC LITTLE DREAMER at 54 Below October 19th

Analise Scarpaci, late of MRS. DOUBTFIRE, will make her solo show debut this month when she plays PATHETIC LITTLE DREAMER at 54 Below on October 19th at 54 Below at 9:30 pm. The show shares a title with Ms. Scarpaci's first album as a singer-songwriter, an album born out of Analise's pandemic-necessitated quarantine time. The album released on the Broadway Records label has opened new doors for Analise and one of those doors has led her right to the nightclub stage of Broadway's Living Room, where the actress has appeared in numerous group shows with her friends and colleagues from the industry.

As Analise divides her time between rehearsals for the concert and her daily life of auditions, submissions, and benefit performances, she was gracious enough to find some time to exchange some questions and answers with Broadway World Cabaret about her Mrs. Doubtfire experience, her status as a new college graduate, and her burgeoning career as a singer-songwriter.

This interview was conducted digitally and is reproduced with minor edits.

Analise Scarpaci, welcome to Broadway World!

Hi!! Thanks so much for having me!!

First of all, congratulations on your graduation this year - I know a lot of people are proud of you.

Thank you, it really means the world!

So you had quite a mercurial journey with Mrs. Doubtfire, with the pandemic wreaking havoc on the production. What is the most prominent thing that you took away from your Doubtfire Experience?

Oh boy, what a journey. Certainly one I will never forget for so many reasons. I've taken so many lessons with me, but the most important one is to never take anything for granted and to never be too comfortable. As we all learned, things take turns pretty quickly and we should always be prepared for the unexpected no matter what.

During all of the pandemic on again/off again of this Broadway experience, you managed to write and record an album. Now that Pathetic Little Dreamer has been out in the world for a little bit and you've had a chance to look back on the process and the product, what will your next move as a singer-songwriter be?

Hmmm I'm not entirely sure, If I'm being honest I haven't written as much as I would like to. I have a lot of unfinished songs that need a little love, but I'm hoping to release some more in the future. I have an idea for something that I think could be really special.

Do you find it liberating, being a singer who is creating the stories you are telling, or would it be easier to just show up and sing someone else's songs?

I think they both have their perks. When you're singing someone else's work you do everything you can to make it your own and make it special to you. When it's your own work, it's just being who you are and communicating what you feel. Both are extremely vulnerable, but the latter is your own truth.

Did you invest in any kind of curriculum or learning process for being a songwriter, or does it come from you in a natural state of understanding?

It sort of just came natural to me. I actually never wanted to be a songwriter. I was very convinced that I couldn't do it and thought there was some crazy method to get the perfect song that's thought out and has an underlying meaning. I started taking guitar lessons in my junior year of high school and I owe pretty much all of my music to my teacher Laine Thompson. Laine's students all started out playing piano or guitar and pretty soon we were coming out of our lessons with full songs. He will tell you himself that I am the coolest, but he is definitely the coolest.

You have lent your talents to many group cabaret concerts in the last few years, gigging in for a song or two, here and there. What has that experience taught you about the cabaret and concert industry and art form?

I love performing in cabarets and concerts! It's such a different way of performing because you have to connect with the people around you directly rather than indirectly when you are in a staged production. I love what I do because of the exchange of energy, and that's what performing in these concerts has taught me.

You will be taking those group show experiences to the stage in your first ever solo show. What was the dominant thought process that led to that decision?

I wanted this show to be a celebration! I got covid the day my album was released so I didn't really get to celebrate as I would have liked to. I figured what better way to celebrate than 10 days before my birthday which is just around 10 months after its release!

All singer-songwriters have to play out to get their music out there, to sell albums, to build their brand. What would it look like, making that a part of your regular work model?

Believe it or not, I was always very shy about getting myself out there. I still am, but now I'm a little more open to the fact that in oder for people to know your work, you have to make your work known! So I'm definitely planning on singing my stuff more often and have been loving getting the opportunity to sing at local restaurants and venues in my hometown!

Tell me about the guest artists that will be playing in your 54 Below playground on the 19th.

Oh gosh I am so excited to have them! Mitchell Sink and Renee Reid are two extremely talented humans I've had the fortune of working with! I've known Mitchell since 2014 when he joined the company of Matilda on Broadway shortly after I arrived. There are some people who you just know are lifelong friends and from the moment we met, I knew that's what we would be. I'm excited to finally get to sing with him in a public place rather than in a large group or normal Camp Rock duets when we are together. Renee is super special. She was our last company member to join Doubtfire as a swing. She covered for Charity Dawson, who I shared a dressing room with, so Renee and I spent a lot of time together when she would absolutely kill it as Wanda Selner. Renee is a year older than me and in the short time we worked together I watched how she took care of every role she covered with such grace. She truly is one to watch and I am so incredibly proud to have her join me.

Analise, what is a dream that you have that definitely is not pathetic?

One of my biggest dreams is to do it all, and by that I mean do anything that will make me 100% honest and 100% happy. I want to create art in any way I can, no matter what medium and that's all there is to it!

Thank you so much for chatting with us today, I am really looking forward to the show.

Thank you, as always!

For information and reservations to Analise Scarpaci PATHETIC LITTLE DREAMER visit the 54 Below website HERE. To live stream the concert visit THIS link.

THIS is the Analise Scarpaci website.

Read the Broadway World review of the album Pathetic Little Dreamer HERE.

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