On The Road To Oz With PATRICK WALLER

Despite being a veteran of five Studio Tenn productions already, Patrick Waller - who's clearly one of Nashville theater's favorite thespians - admits being a bit terrified by taking on a new role in the company's upcoming rendition of the iconic musical The Wizard of Oz, playing the Schermerhorn Symphony Center this weekend.

Playing Dorothy Gale's pal, The Cowardly Lion presents Waller, an actor with an enviable resume that includes everyone from Tom Sawyer in Roger Miller's Big River to Bobby in Stephen Sondheim's Company, with perhaps his biggest challenge: Playing a beloved character whose personality and demeanor are as much a part of the pop culture zeitgeist as Dorothy's ruby-encrusted Mary Janes.

"It's terrifying is what it is," Waller tells me a week before rehearsals with the rest of the Studio Tenn company for the show were to beging. "I'm approaching it from a really relaxed standpoint, with no preconceived notions. There's so much I don't want to do, but so many things I want to do. It's all about find the balance of creating something that is unique to me without disappointing people. It's such an incredibly iconic role, so I have to figure how how to pay homage to that without copying Bert Lahr's performance in the movie."

And while Waller was justifiably anxious prior to entering the rehearsal hall to begin work on the show, which promises to be yet another feather in the cap of Studio Tenn's theatrical legacy in Nashville what with its cast that's led by Diana DeGarmo, Matthew Carlton, Megan Murphy Chambers, Laura Matula, Greg Mayheu and Graham Keen (accompanied by an ensemble that features Garris Wimmer, Lauri Gregoire and Billy Ditty, which only adds to the show's starry pedigree), he admitted to finding comfort in the fact that he will once again be directed by Matt Logan.

"I have ideas, but the one of the wonderful things about working with Matt is that you don't have to come into rehearsals with anything in mind, necessarily," he says. "Matt's wonderful about finding and shaping ideas.

In fact, coming into rehearsal with a blank slate might be an even better plan than approaching the process with preconceived notions and an eye toward recreating the 1939 film's most memorable moments and characterizations.

"Coming into rehearsal with a blank slate, starting from scratch is probably the best way to approach the project," Waller muses. "Whether what develops is close to the film or to peoples' ideas of that particular role - or if it's close to that or not anywhere near it at all - well, that's what is most exciting about the whole process."

Working with the best directors Nashville theater has to offer, Waller's perspective on the whole creative process is particularly intriguing and informed - and his shared experiences with Matt Logan offer an insight into what ensures that Studio Tenn productions are so compelling for audiences to see and so artistically triumphant for the people more intimately involved in that process.

"Matt is able to get you to a place without him really telling you how to do it," he ponders. "He's able to guide you to a place, to get you to realize where you need to be...without saying this is what you need to do."

It's a sometime difficult, often painstaking, process - "even as an actors," Waller says - "And sometimes you just want to say, 'just tell me, tell me what to do,' but that's not what Matt's going to do. He's able to shape your performance by asking questions that you may not have thought to ask yourself about what you're doing and about your character."

Another thing that helps set Logan apart insofar as the creative process is concerned is his vision for each production: "He's a very guiding director and has such specific visions for shows and that is evident in every aspect of Studio Tenn productions. His design is so specific and he wants to work with really great actors."

As a result, actors are encouraged to feel comfortable in the rehearsal process, in order to "break something down and then be able to build it back up. There's a bit of vulnerability in that - you don't want a director to say that's crap - but because of the comfort level you find in the process, Matt's able to do that without breaking your spirit."

Waller's first experience working with Logan came as a cast member in Studio Tenn's production of Guys and Dolls, followed in subsequent seasons with performances in such critically acclaimed shows as The Miracle Worker, Into The Woods, A Christmas Carol and Les Miserables.

As a member of the Les Miserables cast in 2014, he was treated to another first-time experience, working at the Schermerhorn: "Working at the Schermerhorn...it's awesome, I'll tell you that. There's just something about that hall and being on that stage. Hearing your voice ring out throughout the cavernous space is pretty amazing and it's just a vastly different experience from performing anywhere else in town.

"It's no more fantastic than doing a show in the [Ann Stahlman] Hill Theatre at Nashville Children's Theatre, but it's just a completely different experience. It's amazing how that happens from space-to-space and the relationship that the space creates with the audience and, in turn, how that impacts your performance and how you play to the audience."

One memory of Les Miserables stands out in Waller's memory: Singing "One Day More" at the conclusion of the show's first act. "I can't even describe to you the energy and power of doing that song with a 100-voice choir behind you and a 20-plus member cast onstage. The energy in that moment was just palpable."

About the show: Equipped with plenty of heart, wit and courage, Studio Tenn Theatre Company will travel to Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center and transform it into an opulent Emerald City for its season finale production of The Wizard of Oz, live on stage June 13-14.

Sure to enchant audiences of all ages, this lavishly staged and costumed production backed by a full symphony orchestra will take place Saturday, June 13 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 14 at 2 p.m., plus a newly added performance at 7 p.m. For tickets, visit StudioTenn.com or call the Schermerhorn Box Office at (615) 687-6400.

For the starring role of Dorothy, Studio Tenn has tapped Broadway's Diana DeGarmo, who rose to fame as the runner-up on American Idol in 2004. Since that debut, she has starred in Hairspray and Hair on Broadway. Recently, she co-starred in a national touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat alongside her husband and fellow American Idol veteran, Ace Young.

"I'm so excited to be working with Studio Tenn in what is shaping up to be a truly magnificent theatre experience," said DeGarmo. "It is a thrill to take on the iconic role of Dorothy in such an imaginative, innovative production in my own hometown."

The rest of the cast comprises an abundance of Nashville talent, including Studio Tenn veterans Graham Keen as the Scarecrow, Patrick Waller as the Cowardly Lion, Greg Maheu as the Tin Man, Laura Matula as the Wicked Witch of the West, Megan Murphy Chambers as Glinda the Good Witch, and Matthew Carlton as The Wizard/Professor Marvel, as well as 42 local munchkins, cast through a collaboration with The Theater Bug.

Studio Tenn's Artistic Director Matt Logan said, "The Wizard of Oz is, in a word, magical."

While the iconic film's influence will certainly be felt, Logan assures that Studio Tenn's Wizard will be far from a mere rerun. "We want to pay homage to where this classic story has been and what it has looked like in the past, but at the same time, we feel the best, most genuine way to honor its spirit of imagination is to unleash our own," Logan said.

As a rule, the company's innovative interpretations of classic theatre titles are anything but cookie-cutter. "At Studio Tenn, we don't make copies, and we don't serve up leftovers," Logan said. "We believe that our audience deserves more, and that the pieces we take on deserve a fresh perspective. We start with the source material, and we invite other adaptations and derivations to inspire our work, but never to dictate it."

Managing Director Jake Speck explains that this approach is central to Studio Tenn's mission to use a rich combination of talent from Nashville and Broadway to bring classic works of drama and musical theatre to life in Middle Tennessee. "It is a dream come true for us to create live theatre of this caliber and this scale right here in our own backyard," said Speck. "There truly is no place like home."

To post a comment, you must register and login.