BWW Interviews: Merritt David Janes, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, January 12 – 16.

"Tale as old as time.." as the title song so beautifully tells us, but when Beauty and the Beast returns to the Fabulous Fox Theatre January 12 - 16, Atlanta audiences are in for something new. The hit Broadway musical has been tweaked and updated and this newly reworked tour is sure to please. Inviting audiences to "Be Our Guest" in this new production is actor Merritt David Janes who plays the fiery candlestick, Lumiere. We caught up with Merritt and chatted about his career, the updates to the show and what it's like playing a candlestick.

BWW: Merritt, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today. I am excited to hear about the show and I know our readers will be too. We are really looking forward to Beauty and the Beast in Atlanta!

Merritt David Janes: Great!

Let's start by having you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career. Specifically, how did you get into the theatre business?

Well, I grew up in Colchester, Vermont and I went to college at the University of Maine where I studied music. My mom is the concertmistress of the Vermont Philharmonic and my grandfather is a great pianist as well. He is actually a lawyer, but he played a lot of jazz piano in the late 40's and 50's, still plays at 86 years old. That is where I get a lot of my musical inspiration from. I went to music school and studied to be a teacher. From there I went to Circle in the Square theatre school in New York.  Then I did a year of touring with the Wedding Singer. During that, I became aware of the John Doyle version of Sweeney Todd, which was going out on the second tour. Three auditions later I was Sweeney Todd. It was one of those rare things of walking right into rehearsal with Sweeney Todd following my run on The Wedding Singer and I felt lucky to do that.

So is this your first experience with Beauty and the Beast?

It is, besides the movie that I saw as a kid. I remember going with my whole family and watching the movie, and we all loved it. I remember hearing Gaston sing and thinking what an awesome voice he had and I remember hearing our Gaston singing in this show and thinking he had just as awesome a voice.

And how long have you been part of the tour?

Gosh, it has flown by but it's almost a year. I have been with it since January, we started rehearsals, so we are coming up on a year.

What drew you to the show?

Well, I do like the music from this show. I had never seen the stage show itself, but I knew it was going to be a big show with it now being on the road for four years. This is actually a new version of the show. The original creative team from the Broadway production got together and decided to make a new version after reviewing things that they thought could be improved. They made certain cuts and adjustments with songs and choreography and costumes. One kind of a subtle change that gives the show a lot of life is that the show now has a summer setting instead of a winter setting, so the costumes are much more vibrant.

So with this production of Beauty and the Beast being a new one, if someone came out to see this production they will see something fresh and new?

That's absolutely right, this is the first tour of the new version of the show. It really is a great version. Basil Twist, who is a very accomplished guy with puppets, he's taken the wolf scene and really improved it, and there is a lot of great, cool puppet work that goes on. There's a lot of really cool stuff that goes on that wasn't there before.

Beauty and the Beast is such a fun and heartwarming story that obviously has many fans because of the movie and the Broadway production. What do you think it is about the show that brings people out to the theatre?

You know, people have a really strong reaction to the show. Everywhere we go, the houses have been very full and at a time when it really is not that easy for people to make extra expenses. I have wondered that and the best thing that I can come up with is that this show gives people an opportunity to step into a whole different world. This story has been around a long time and people remember it from when they were kids and how much they loved it and they want to have their kids experience the same thing. It also has that Disney magic that we all know is there but can't explain.We have people who have seen this show 20 times, they just cant get enough.

You play one of my favorite characters in the show, Lumiere. As a character, audiences probably feel they know what to expect. Let's talk a little about him and what you try to bring the role to make it your own? How have you made Lumiere unique to you?

Well I think you just said it, unique to me is the key. That is a challenge I have had in every show that I have done professionally. In The Wedding Singer, I was playing a role that Adam Sandler and Stephen Lynch played on Broadway, same with Sweeney Todd. So the challenge then becomes how to make a role played by someone else uniquely your own. I really think it is important to not forget yourself in the process. Just by being who I am, that is bringing something unique to the role that has never been done before. What I have discovered is the idea of the circumstances in this particular show help alot. The idea that there is a spell cast on the castle and there is a need to break free from that spell, that is my starting place. The characters have to be larger than life and full of energy but we still have to be honest about telling the story so that world is set up with those circumstances in mind.

What part of playing this role do you like the most? What do you look forward to the most each night?

I love "Be Our Guest" and I love working with Keith Kirkwood [Cogsworth]. This guy has been an actor in the West End for over ten years and has had a great career over in London and I get to be his comedy partner. I get to do the show with him every night and that to me is really a great experience. But "Be Our Guest" is what I look forward to the most every night.

And being part of a show that reaches people of all ages, including children, that has to be nice knowing you may be inspiring a new generation of actors and actresses.

Yeah. It is nice to be part of a show that people really want to see. People line up and sell out and there is a reason for it. So yeah, it's great.

So, I have to ask about the costumes. Love them? Hate them? A little bit of both? From the audiences perspective they are amazing, but I can imagine they create their own set of challenges for an actor?

I love the design. The design is fantastic. Ann Hould-Ward, who is a Tony award winning costume designer, she designed these costumes and has lived up to her reputation. They help make that transition and allow us to step into another world. My costume in particular has the design of the French court and the candle intertwined. The hands themselves are actually not what they were on Broadway, they are much lighter. On Broadway it must have been a huge challenge, the guy had to wear a propane tank on his back with a hose running up his arm with big metal candles that lit fire. That is not the case this time. Unfortunately I cant tell you exactly what they have done, but they are very cool. The candles are light and bright and the design of them is great. Something important to say about the stage production that is different than the movie is the idea that the spell is happening, it hasn't happened completely. It is a race against time, a race against the rose. In the movie, the spell has completely happened and it is a race against time to fix it or always be in that form. So, part of the challenge of the show is planting that idea into the audiences head, even though they have seen it. And the costumes help with that.

You have been involved with a number of touring shows, and with a tour like this one, you are constantly on the road from city to city. What would you say is the hardest part of that life?

Well, that is tough. We are right in the hardest part of our tour right now. We will get up and go four times this week alone. The best possible schedule is to be in a city for a week or longer. Staying healthy is a big challenge too because you are always on planes or buses, but in the end I am traveling around. I am 29 years old and on my 29^th birthday I realized that I had been in all but 6 states in the U.S. including Hawaii, where we just performed this year.

Really, Hawaii? I've always wondered how that works? Do they put the sets and costumes on a boat?

Yeah, exactly. That's our favorite too because it takes them a week to boat it out there so you get a little break and it takes them a week to boat it back so you get to stay in Hawaii for a week off. That right there is the best part of touring. You get to see these great places and you are not just going to a place, but you are going to do your show and you end up experiencing the most cultural part of these cities.

So have you played the Fox before or will this be your first time here in Atlanta?

Yes, I played the Fox with The Wedding Singer, towards the beginning of our tour. It is such a beautiful theatre. I have been lucky enough to do shows at two different Fox Theatres, in Atlanta and in St. Louis. They are both different, but the Atlanta ceiling is going to be a huge gift for our show. To have the design work so well with Beauty and the Beast is an extra bonus and should give the show that much more of an impact.

So thinking toward the future, do you have a dream role that you would one day like to play?

I have always wanted to be involved with a production of Amadeus. I am trying to mount my own production of that when I leave here, which is yet to be determined. Other than that, I don't have any other plans. This tour is scheduled to go through the next four years, and with the current economic state anybody is lucky to have a job and I feel lucky to have one that I actually enjoy and something that I have wanted to do my entire life.

Merritt, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers?

Well, I just want to reiterate that doing this on the road requires a lot of sacrifices, and living with a huge group of people and working with them can also be very tough. This group has some really incredibly talented people and they are a really great group to work with. We have such an awesome time together on the road. I have enjoyed it from day 1.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast will play the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta from January 12-16, 2011.  Performances are Wednesday – Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 11 am, 3:30 pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 1:30 pm and 7 pm. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster outlets, by calling 800-982-2787 and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices range from $25 - $60.  

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