Victoria Clark Talks FOLLIES, Sally Durant Plummer and Stephen Sondheim

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Every role comes with intrinsic highs and lows.  The joys and challenges for me are making every character I play human and believable.  Sally has beautiful music to sing, to express what she is going through--this score makes this role a particular delight.

 

 

The biggest challenge is not to make Sally a victim.  I don't think she is.  I don't like to see women onstage who are victimized.  I prefer to see and play characters in such a way that we see them pull through their set of circumstances and obstacles with dignity and as much poise as they can muster. Another challenge are the short scenes.  They are snapshots of a much bigger picture of characters with a 30-year history.  That back story has to be in place as well as details; then, the scenes themselves are like eavesdropping into seismic personal rifts and discoveries.

 

Sondheim 's work has a complexity and depth that are a dream for me and most actors.  The more you dig, the more your find. He is the goldmine of thinking actors, and has made our whole world so much better for the work he has produced.  He has given us permission to look at ourselves in an honest and unflinching way, which can be both a comfort and a catalyst.

 

Yes, it was difficult in the most joyous way imaginable.  With colleagues onstage beside me like Danny Burstein, Ron Raines, Jan Maxwell, and Elaine Paige, how could this experience be anything but remarkable?  Eric Schaeffer, Warren Carlisle, and James Moore  allowed me the space and time to truly create, and that was an immeasurable gift.  The creating is still ongoing--there is always more to solve--the learning never stops.  And life itself should be a constant process of educating ourselves--rehearsal and real life walk hand in hand.

The role of a lifetime in the most beautiful musical ever written.  What more can I say?

 

 

A wonderful journey with long-time friend and director Jerry Zaks, and my first time working with Alan Menken.  Also a joy.

 

Well, of course Margaret Johnson inThe Light in the Piazza will always be at the top of my list.  She is soulful, funny, complicated, resilient, and romantic. And a Southener!  Everything I personally strive to be.  Playing that part made me a better mother and a better person.  The whole experience was filled with a kind of grace for me. Piazza taught me a lot about forgiveness and letting go.  And I was introduced to the remarkable Adam Guettel, Craig Lucas, and Bartlett Sher who all showed me the way and gave me their trust.

 

Not really.  I go with the flow.  There are several projects on the stove.. Life and work have to be balanced; I have learned that.  My life has been blessed.  It seems that the right roles find me at just the right time in my life when I can provide the insight  and skill set needed to allow the character to jump off the page.  I have worked with so many of our business' greatest writers, directors, and actors, and learned so much from each one--my life has been  nourished and blessed by each person.  I just have enormous trust that I will end up where I need to be to make the biggest difference possible.

And that she does! In every single role she plays! Don't miss Victoria Clark in Follies now until June 9! For more information, visit: http://www.centertheatregroup.org