Interview: EDWARD TULANE's Brady Dalton Richards JOURNEYs to the Glamorous Life

24th Street Theatre presents its latest for kids (and for the kids in all of us), the Los Angeles premiere of THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE, opening April 6, 2019 at their converted carriage house at the edge of L.A.'s historic West Adams district. I acquired the chance to query Brady Dalton Richards, one of the four-person, EDWARD TULANE ensemble. Brady tackles a number of roles, not including the porcelain rabbit named Edward Tulane. Brady managed to carve out some time from being on-camera to answer my inquisitive queries.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Brady!

How's the weather up in Toronto?

A bit bracing and chilly, still squarely in winter mode up in the northeast, though beginning to warm up. They say we've just missed experiencing a big chill, ice, snow and grey. Got to see some flurries on our last day.

Can you tell us what project you're involved with in Toronto? Would it be something glamorous, by chance?

It would indeed! Now that my casting's been announced, I'm finally allowed to talk about it a little. I'm a series regular on a CW pilot called Glamorous. I could name drop and detail here, but I'll just direct you to the Deadline article, spare you the regurgitation. It's all tremendously exciting, whirlwindy and magical, distinctly honored to be along for the ride on such a sweet, important, sassy story.

What cosmic forces brought you together with this production of EDWARD TULANE?

It was largely the doing of our directors past and present, Jane McEneaney and Debbie Divine, respectively, and the casting team at Michael Donovan. The opportunity nearly evaded me, as rehearsals began late last year with a slightly different cast. Once the new year rolled round, the team reached out to me again, and I was invited back onboard the journey.

Have you worked with any of the cast or crew before?

I've not before worked with any of the cast you'll see on stage, though I shared a stage and a few songs with a Mr. Michael Redfield in Rogue Machine's U.S. premiere of Oppenheimer this past fall. Michael's helped shape the sonic palette of our show, and regularly tickles the keys for 24th Street's morning program, Enter Stage Right.

You already previewed EDWARD TULANE earlier this month. Any audience reactions surprise any of you?

It had felt like the dust was still settling around this latest iteration of our show, so I was surprised to hear how smoothly it appeared to run. Delighted by folks' response to Lucy the Dog, as well. Perhaps not surprised, as she's so very much fun to play, but the kids really get a kick out of her.

Any noticeable tweaks in EDWARD TULANE for those who've seen your previews and are attending again?

Not that I know of yet, as we've yet to fully dive back in since those previews (largely due to my leave of absence), but expect tighter movement, tighter tech, and who knows, maybe we'll all be playing different characters. Ha, ha!

Besides your ability to play various musical instruments, I love your special skills listed on your resume, which includes: "can wiggle ears, cross eyes, hurdle leg, imitate velociraptor." Are you getting the opportunity to use any of your special skills in EDWARD TULANE?

Ha, ha, ha! Thank you, I pride myself in party tricks. None of those specific skills make an appearance, though I suppose our crow calls carry a shade of raptor. I do get to do some fun spins and physical comedy that I love so very much.

Can you name a show you've done in which you've used one of your special skills? Possibly SPRING AWAKENING? TWELFTH NIGHT? WHAT THE FLOAT: VENICE THE MENACE? TWINKLE IN CLEOPATRA: THE NEW POP EXPERIENCE? PETER PAN?

Woof, well! WHAT THE FLOAT, though not a show in the traditional sense (it's a traveling silent disco series which I help curate), allows me to break out whatever lil trick I want in real time with a bunch of other crazy people. Some strange sounds made it into PETER PAN, I got to sing and play guitar in SPRING AWAKENING. Though I must say, looking back, none of these skills have proven themselves particularly useful in a theatrical setting. I suppose they're better equipped to entertain folks I'm auditioning for... and interviewers.

Good one! So, I see your credits listed under two names: Brady Richards and Brady Dalton Richards. Is there another Brady Richards already in the acting unions?

There actually isn't. I've just recently checked, and had only assumed 'til now. I've waffled at length about it, and don't quite feel ownership of the full name just yet.

Are you planning to use your three-name moniker moving forward?

I'm the worst with decisions, I still don't know! I love my name, both versions. I feel Dalton has a regal, refined sort of quality to it, and I get to honor my parents in another small sort of way. Someone once said it sounds like I've been knighted. Now I'm known and billed as such in the context of Glamorous, so I suppose it makes sense to hang on to it, but really who knows.

How would you compare and contrast the two Fringe Festivals you've participated in: Hollywood Fringe (w/BEATNIKS) and Edinburgh Fringe (w/ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT)?

Oh, wow! Blisteringly different, ha, ha! My Edinburgh Fringe experience was fortunately through a drama school class at Syracuse University. We rehearsed this play, ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, throughout the school year, set the blocking, ready to go. I was in this all-female play about German women in the Third Reich, (playing a gender-flipped head of a seedy children's hospital testing war drugs on its patients, a baby dies (well, I guess lots of babies), it's horrible! We reconvened halfway through summer, flew out to Scotland, had a week of rehearsals and a week of performances out of the Quaker Meeting House. Got the chance to see the widest range of incredible, strange, daring theatre, met some lovely people and soaked up the city with some of my best gal pals. Oohhh, we're getting long... Hollywood Fringe on the other hand, also oddly a university-centric experience. I auditioned out of a literal dorm building on UCLA's campus, and wound up in a cast comprised almost entirely of current and recently-graduated UCLA drama students. A sweet little musical recounting the emerging beat poets of the 1950s (I played Jack Kerouac amidst On The Road's boom) with a focus on the oft looked-over women of the movement. We ran for five performances, about the same as ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, I think, though I ashamedly didn't take the time to catch any other pieces in this Fringe festival. I suppose the major difference in my experience is Edinburgh felt like a work/school vacation, whereas I found myself struggling to fit Hollywood Fringe into my already busy life in L.A., without a car, and without pay for the show.

Will you be juggling schedules for the next couple of months?

Thankfully, once our show's opened, my schedule actually chills out for a bit. We won't be hearing about the fate of the pilot (something I'm trying my best to put out of my head) until at least once we close. So 'til then, I've got EDWARD TULANE, work at Tesse Restaurant in Weho, and the occasional dance party to keep me busy.

What audience reaction post-curtain call would make you the most satisfied? (moved to tears? stomachache from laughing? something to remember and think about?)

Tears and laughter are spectacular food for a theatre actor. Though I suppose, my personal prized takeaway is the notion that all creatures (human, rabbit, sentient or not) - no matter their position in life, their trials and preoccupations, how much hurt they may have endured in their lives - are capable of experiencing love, wonder and the stars.

Thank you again, Brady! I'm looking forward to meeting EDWARD myself and its surrounding, crazy characters.

Thank YOU for this fun, lil opportunity. Excited for y'all to meet, too.

For ticket availability and show schedule through May 19, 2019; log onto www.24thstreet.org

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