BWW Interviews: THE john & jen CHRONICLES, Part Two - Patrick Waller

There are three things you should know about Patrick Waller, according to his "co-conspirators" Martha Wilkinson and Tim Fudge:

• He has odd eating habits: "He eats meat and that's about it," Fudge reports, mystified that Waller has ordered a "chicken and brie sandwich, with caramelized onions...you do know what that means, right?" he jokingly prods.

• At one time, he harbored unexpected career thoughts: "Yeah, he wanted to major in pre-med - can you imagine that?" Wilkinson asks. "This one a doctor? I just don't see it."

• And he has (how do I put this without sounding too unprofessional?) a nice ass: "I'm blocking the show so everyone gets a good look at it," Wilkinson jokes, slipping into one of her patented theatre veteran characters. "In a musical, all you need is a good voice and a nice ass. In straight plays, a nice ass doesn't work so much."

Good naturedly, Waller takes the ribbing from Wilkinson and Fudge in stride, which is quite a good thing considering they are masters of the game. Longtime friends and professional collaborators, the worldly wise and experienced pair have welcomed Waller into their charmed inner circle with open arms - and the easy camaraderie among the three is by turns compelling, rollicking and, quite frankly, amazing. In conversation (particularly in an interview about their current project) , where one starts, another takes off and the third continues, with punch-lines abounding, self-deprecation the rule of the day and laughter at every turn. It's an easy give-and-take that promises a particularly entertaining production of the Andrew Lippa-Tom Greenwald chamber musical, john and jen.

With music by Lippa, lyrics by Greenwald and a book by both , john & jen focuses, in the first act, on brother and sister John and Jen, while the second act finds Jen all grown up and mother to a son, also named John, after her brother. First produced in New York City at Lamb's Theatre off-Broadway, featuring Carolee Carmello and James Ludwig, it has gone on to countless productions around the world. However, the production opening Thursday, March 4 at Backstage at the Barn, and starring Wilkinson as Jen and Waller as John, with Fudge taking the reins as musical director, is the first Nashville mounting of the show.

The music is lush and beautiful, scored to be performed on piano and cello, and the book is moving and emotionally stirring. Even a glimpse at the show's plotline on Wikipedia can leave even the most jaded theatre aficianado misty-eyed. Clearly, it's a vehicle tailor-made for this supremely talented trio.

In fact, john and jen will be the second time Fudge has music-directed Wilkinson and Waller. In 2008, he was musical director for the acclaimed Tennessee Repertory Theatre production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. Wilkinson played Mrs. Lovett, the role which resulted in the Nashville Scene proclaiming her Nashville's best actress in its annual "Best of Nashville" issue. Waller was cast as Toby in the production, but it was his other roles at Nashville Children's Theatre and Nashville Shakespeare Festival that held greater sway when the Scene named him Music City's best actor. And in our own listing of Nashville's top performances of 2009, both Wilkinson and Waller topped the list of remarkable performers.

But it was pure serendipity that Waller is even an actor at all - remember, Wilkinson says he could've been a doctor. A native of Tullahoma, a small town about an hour south of Nashville, Waller went to college at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville where he took an Intro to Theatre course as an elective as a freshman. "I had acted in Christmas plays and sung in the choir at church," he remembers, "But I'd never really thought about acting as a career choice. I thought I might be pre-med."

(During our lunchtime interview, that statement sets Wilkinson off on gales of laughter until she concedes: "Actually, you do know what's wrong with you when you have a pain or something, so I guess you could have been a doctor. You know when to use Ben-Gay when you pull a muscle.")

Brushing aside Wilkinson's laughter and Fudge's muttering one-liners, he continues: "I took some core classes, including an Intro to Theatre class with a very passionate professor, which sort of sparked my interest."

After that first year at APSU, Waller returned home for a summer job doing electrical work, a well-paying gig that did a turn on the young man's psyche: "I thought, why go back to college? I was making great money and wasn't particularly inspired to do anything else at the time."

What he did find inspiring, though, surprised even Waller. While driving down the main street in Tullahoma one day, he saw a sign outside the local community theatre's playhouse, advertising auditions for Annie, so he went inside, his hat figuratively in hand and asked, "Can I audition?"

"They asked me if I had a resume, if I had a headshot," he says. "I said, 'No, I just want to audition for the show.'"

Fudge interjects, with a gleefully evil grin on his face: "And the rest is history: He was cast as Annie - see, he really is so versatile he can play any role!"

Waller, not missing a beat and keeping his charm intact, his smile broadening as he attempts to regain control of his part of the interview, continues his story: "They asked if I had a song prepared and I didn't, so they asked me to sing 'Happy Birthday.' And so I was cast in the show..."

"As Rooster!" Wilkinson proclaims. "Can you believe that? He auditions for his first show, completely unprepared, and gets cast as Rooster in Annie!"

And, according to all reports, Waller played that first role to as much acclaim as he now garners for his professional performances at Nashville Children's Theatre, Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Tennessee Repertory Theatre. When the run of Annie wound down, he was offered a chance to do a role in nearby Manchester in a local production of the classic comedy You Can't Take it With You.

Patrick Waller was, as theatrical legends go, bitten by the bug - something directors and audiences have been thankful for ever since. This season alone, he's played the title roles in two NCT productions, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and later this season, he takes on the role of Huck Finn in Tennessee Rep's 25^th Anniversary Season production of Big River.

The role of John in john and jen is challenging to Waller for the sheer amount of music he must master. He calls the show "a contemporary operetta" (a pretty impressive interpretation for someone who still considers himself a theatrical neophyte in many ways), with almost 90 percent of the show sung. Although john and jen is not completely sung through, as in opera, it remains a vocally challenging musical for any actors tackling the work.

"You just have to blast through the work," he says just ted days before the show opens to a discerning audience and critics waiting to pounce. "But I'm having a great time working with Martha and Tim. Sometimes it's easy to forget that it's work."

- john & jen. Music by Andrew Lippa. Lyrics by Tom Greenwald. Book by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald. Directed by Martha Wilkinson. Musical direction by Tim Fudge. Presented by 3Ps Productions, produced by Johnny Peppers. Starring Martha Wilkinson and Patrick Waller. February 4-20. At Backstage at the Barn at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, 8204 Highway 100, Nashville. For reservations, call (615) 646-9977. Tickets are $25; house opens at 7 p.m., with curtain at 8 p.m. No buffet is included, but dessert and bar service are offered.

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