Interview: Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Maine Pre-Teen Lily Philbrook Follows Her Theatre Dream

"It all began with Wizard of Oz at Maine State Music Theatre," confides ten-year-old Lily Philbrook. "That was the show where I found my real passion for theatre. It was a huge show and working with Marc [Robin] and everyone at MSMT was an amazing experience." In those performances, for Lily Philbrook, a dream was born- one that would carry her over her own rainbow - to performing on stages at leading regional theatres.

Philbrook, who lives in Cumberland, Maine, and attends Greely Middle School, is currently playing the role of Small Alison in the Fulton Theatre production of Fun Home, which runs from September 9 - October 17 in Lancaster, PA. The shift from a big, joyous fantasy musical that is Wizard of Oz to the intense, often dark, but always moving Fun Home constitutes a major breakthrough for the young artist, but she is embracing the challenge with energy and enthusiasm.

Fun Home, adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori from Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir, deals with the author's journey from childhood to adulthood, the discovery of her own sexual orientation, her coming to terms with family secrets, and her confronting and accepting her parents as flawed human beings. Asked how she approaches playing a key role in this tragicomedy, Philbrook replies, "One of the things we do when we are backstage is to try to be super lighthearted. We chat; we tell jokes; we may do a little dance to the ragtime piece playing on stage. Another key thing," Philbrook astutely observes, "is that Small Alison is the light of the show. Once that light gets taken away, things get darker, but I am not there during the darker moments."

Philbrook is enjoying the opportunity to work for the second time with director Marc Robin. Robin who co-directed [with Curt Dale Clark], choreographed, and starred as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, is at the helm for the Fulton's riveting production of Fun Home, which stars Kate Fahrner, Jeffrey Coon, and Katie Sina among others. Philbrook says she was thrilled to be able to work with Robin "in a different context", and adds, "I have learned so much from him and Kate [Fahrner] about Alison's character; it has helped me to grow as an actor to understand her journey." Philbrook, whose Small Alison is one of three incarnations of the whole character, says working with her two colleagues [Fahrner and Abigail Isom as Medium Alison] has been an interesting process of observation and intuitive assimilation. "I am not trying to be like them," Philbrook explains, "but because we all learned the same things, [there is a sense of being one.]

Lily Philbrook was invited to audition for the Fulton's Fun Home by Robin after her 2019 appearances as a Munchkin at MSMT's Wizard of Oz. She has spent the last six weeks in Lancaster, living in the theatre's new artist housing with her parents while rehearsing and performing. She notes, "Both parents are here now, but they have been taking turns going back and forth." Like all child actors, she has a school regimen that must be incorporated into her day. Philbrook says for the opening months of her 5th grade, she has been fulfilling her study requirements by completing "workbook assignments and writing prompts." In her spare time, she has enjoyed "exploring and spending extended time in Lancaster," and she raves about the newly completed renovations to the theatre that have transformed the downtown city.

Asked what she sees as the role of performing in her life after Fun Home, she says she cannot imagine a life without theatre. She recalls that her desire to perform began at a very early age, when "I was singing everywhere and all the time out of control, so my parents tried to find me an outlet for that. And that was theatre." Philbrook performed in ballet at an early age and at Maine summer theatre camps, but 'the first time I really felt performing was what I wanted to do was during the Wizard of Oz." She credits her parents for their support and mentoring and says she plans to resume her private voice and dance lessons as soon as she returns to Maine and to continue to audition- "lots of auditions." She also has written a play, which she hopes to perform with friends in some venue. "It is about Eliza Hamilton - a spinoff from the Broadway musical."

Hearing Philbrook speak with such confidence and maturity, I recall the day I met her at the MSMT auditions in 2018 - a much more reticent young lady. In those three years with hard work, the right mentors, and some truly transformative theatre experiences, she has come to be the poised and articulate young performer she is today.

Lily Philbrook tells me that not only is Fun Home an extraordinary musical play, but the opportunity to do this show has meant the world to her after the pandemic. "Not having theatre for almost two years was so hard; it made me want to do it even more. I want to continue on this path for a really long time. I think of theatre as something I want to do for the rest of my life."

Photos courtesy Fulton Theatre, Kinectiv

Fun Home runs at the Fulton Theatre, 12 N. Prince St., Lancaster, PA until October 17

www.thefulton.org 717-397-7425

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