Interview: Dustin Harris Smith of MAMMA MIA! Farewell Tour

If you are a native of Atlanta and the surrounding metro, you have more than likely been to the Fabulous Fox Theatre. Whether it be for a show, or senior prom, or maybe a wedding, you have seen how iconic the location is. If you are lucky, you have even had the opportunity to sit in the balcony and look up at the stars that twinkle in the ceiling. So, imagine that you are from the Atlanta area and now get paid to sing and dance on stage. Imagine how amazing it just might be to perform on the stage of the Fabulous Fox Theatre as an Atlanta native. Well, Dustin Harris Smith is about to do just that.

Dustin, a Georgia native, graduated with the class of 2008 at North Springs High School. After attending New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, the triple threat joined the international tour of "American Idiot." However, the tour had already gone through Atlanta at the time.

After the tour ended, he was hired to perform on the national tour of MAMMA MIA! Tuesday night, on his second year with the show, Dustin's dream of performing on the stage of the Fabulous Fox Theatre will become a reality.

Here's a little Q&A with Dustin on his start in Atlanta and what it is like to be a part of the farewell tour of such an iconic musical.

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JCA: You are from Atlanta and actually attended North Springs High School, which has a focus on arts education as a charter school. How did that learning curve help you?

DHS: I actually attribute a lot of my awareness as a performer to my teachers at North Springs. And a lot of teachers, BRyan Kimmel and Marty Akins and Eileen Edwards, instilled a sense of purpose in me. When we took Urinetown to the Edinburgh Spring Festival, I was in the ensemble but I had a backstory and I had a character. There was no part or character too small, just small actors.

JCA: You have performed professionally at a lot of local theatres. Can you give us an overview of that and what it was like?

DHS: As part of North Springs, we did Batboy and we were able to take that to the Hertz Theatre. That was also my senior year and they took that show to the Fringe that year, as well. It was a really cool experience. I also worked in the area with Fabrication and did a couple shows with them. I have also done a lot of community theatre. I like to support those theatres because those are the places that are introducing shows to a particular medium that might not be exposed to theatre.

JCA: Mamma Mia closed last year on Broadway. Now we have the farewell tour. How are people reacting and what is it like having people see this show for the last time in its original format?

DHS: It is bittersweet. It is really fun, even if you have seen the show, you want to come back and see it again. It is that tune that never quite leaves your head. It is that old friend that randomly invites you out to go dancing and you do. This is really the last chance you will be able to see it in its original form, too.

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The farewell tour of MAMMA MIA! is playing at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Midtown Atlanta now until June 18th. Tickets can be purchased online for any of the eight performances.

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