BWW Interviews: JEFFRY DENMAN

Disney. The name itself has been magic for decades. No doubt it's been every child's wish to be in a Disney movie or show at some point in his life. Lucky Jeffry Denman, the actor who wowed Connecticut audiences as the narrator of Into The Woods at the Westport Country Playhouse three years ago. This year Denman is co-directing and choreographing the premiere of Disney's When You Wish, a musical journey of Disney's classic tales including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Newsies, Tarzan, and Mulan, all through a little girl's imagination. How wonderful is that?

It gets even better. The show will be performed at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts, an absolutely stunning venue on 80 acres. The stage is an amphitheater with a background of 1,500 foot red sandstone cliffs at the base of Padre Canyon. It dwarfs summer outdoor theatres, making them look as if they are being performed in someone's back yard, albeit a very spacious one. Not that the State of Utah isn't worth seeing, but for a theatre lover, it just might be the best reason to visit that state. Now combine one of the world's most breathtaking theatre venues and Disney, and the magic enters a whole different stratosphere.

BroadwayWorld was curious. How did Denman find this amazing venue or did it find him? It turns out that two years ago, a friend recommended him to Scott Anderson, artistic director of the Tuacahn Center for the Arts, when he was looking for a director/choreographer for his production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. They met in New York City and immediately hit it off. Denman was told that "Even though this is a "Disney" show this is not a DISNEY show. Tuacahn was given the rights to develop the show. Disney is acting as consultant, which has been really fantastic, but the show is produced by Tuacahn. So I was chosen by Scott Anderson."

When You Wish encompasses everything from classics such as Snow White, The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, and Hercules, but it also includes more contemporary movies and shows such as Tangled and Newsies. Denman says, "I was not involved in the actual creative content discussions when they were putting it together so I can't speak to exactly why they chose which stories they did. But I am very glad of the worlds we get to visit in the show. It's a lovely panoply."

Some of the shows within the show have special meaning to Denman. "Hercules was a favorite of mine. Not sure exactly why. I think part of it was the fact that it was the first Disney movie where I actually knew some of the people doing the voices. Lillias White, Roger Bart. Our Herc (Drew Aber) sings "Go the Distance" in our show and just soars. I'm also now a very recent fan of Tangled. Our Rapunzel (Donna Louden) sings "When Will My Life Begin?" with our Little Girl (Bridget Biggers) and I get choked up every time." Still, he notes, "When You Wish is really its own animal due to the fact that you get to see all of these characters in one fell swoop and we get to draw from the very specific tone, as well as the different musical and visual components of each world. We go from Beauty and the Beast to Mulan to Hercules. It doesn't get much more wide-ranging than that. And that's incredibly exciting to me."

Surely, there must be challenges to convey all that excitement in a meaningful way when you're performing in a huge venue such as Tuacahn. It seats just over 2,000 people. "Even though it's a large outdoor space, you can create intimacy," Denman explains. "They have a wonderful lighting designer Joseph Eddy who I work with to direct the audience where to look. Ever since I did Millie here in 2013 I try to use the size to my advantage. You can, if you want, get a real sense of distance and isolation when you need to. Tuacahn offers so many different places to play. It is the most unique theatrical setting I've ever had the pleasure of working in. It's why I love coming back."

Denman won IRNE awards for his performances in Crazy For You and White Christmas (Boston) and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Artie in Yank. He was also the Astaire Award Nominee for White Christmas (Broadway), LA Ovation Award Nominee for On Your Toes, and the winner of the Backstage Image Award for Jazz Turns. Between Denman's commitments to performing and choreography, he holds master classes. But with a "pretty brutal" schedule of preproduction and rehearsals, he has been too busy even to think about them. He work smart, not just hard. He is proud of creating CastPRO, a solution to a casting director's slog. "I was in dire need of an iPad app that collected and collated all of my audition notes and head shots/resumes," he recalls. "I didn't see one out there, so I started putting the word around on Facebook to see if I knew anyone who developed apps. Funny enough, my brother worked with a guy who did and we connected. CastPRO is a real source of pride for me. It's a really amazing app that I use all of the time. I'm proud to say that it's been embraced by a number a casting directors as well as directors and choreographers in New York City. I like the idea of a paperless casting system. We waste so much paper during auditions. CastPRO is my addition to the green movement." And no doubt an answer to every casting director who wished there were a better way to cast performers.

Back to the show, When You Wish. Do those who are not planning a vacation to Utah have realistic hopes of seeing the show elsewhere? Denman says, "You're always hopeful that any new show you work on is going to have a further life beyond its premiere but it's a dangerous game to look too far ahead before you've gotten it up. So right now, the most important part is getting this version of the show up the best we can. If it's successful, Disney will likely give it further life."

Here's to wishing for that famous Disney magic. In the meantime, catch When You Wish through October 16 at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts. For more information, call (800) 746-9882 or (435) 652-3300 or visit www.tuacahn.org. Also, visit www.jeffrydenman.com.

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