BWW Interviews: Ben Davis from THE SOUND OF MUSIC ON TOUR

As THE SOUND OF MUSIC made its way into the hearts of many all over the world, Rogers and Hammerstein's songs have made a lasting impression on many. As THE SOUND OF MUSIC tours around North America, BWW caught up with Ben Davis as they prepared to open in San Antonio, Texas.

How did you first get interested in performing?

I grew up as a jock but I had taken piano when I was younger, loved to sing usually in the back of the bus to try to get girls. It never worked; annoyed them more than anything. I was a jock all the way up until my sophomore year. I ended up quitting the basketball team because I got mad at a coach. I had/have authority issues. So I got upset at a coach and quit. My mother got me to audition for the school musical my junior year in high school which was WEST SIDE STORY. I got cast as Riff in that. I don't know how, but it happened and it all just rolled from there. I ended up going to Butler University which is a small private school in Indianapolis and studied voice. After two years of wasting my parents' money, I decided to stop and take a year off. I went to work for Prudential Securities, which at the time was brokerage firm. I ended up auditioning; mom got me the paper for The Chicago Performing Arts, which had audition notices in it. I was in Indianapolis which was a two and a half or three-hour drive. Saw auditions for THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Went up and auditioned for that on a whim. I got called back for Raoul then didn't hear anything for a couple of months and then they were coming back. The same casting directors were casting LES MIS. They were coming and asked me to come to Chicago again so I did. Then they flew me out to New York the next week for another audition. I came back and didn't think anything of it. It was only my second time ever being in New York so I was excited to be flown there. Then, I was working in the office and they called and said, "We didn't see how high you can sing so we're going to put you on the phone with the music director in New York and if you can hit this note, we'll see what happens." I'd never hit this note before in my entire life. It was higher than I'd ever sung. I left the office, went home. He was on the speaker phone at the Imperial Theatre in New York and I was at home in Indianapolis, Indiana and hit the note twice. Two weeks later, I started touring with LES MIS. Weird confluence of events.

What are some stand out roles for you?

I've been very lucky. I've played some really amazing characters from Enjolras and Javert in LES MIS to Marcello in LA BOHEME which we did a production of on Broadway to fun roles like Trevor Graydon in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE to Sir Galahad in SPAMALOT. I feel so lucky to have not been boxed in as far as the type of characters I play and that's the dream. I just want to continue that.

Now, you are touring with THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Tell us more about how you got that role.

I had done another production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC that the casting director, Bernie Telsey, cast. When this production came up they were like, "I think Ben would be a good fit with us." So, like anybody else, I came in and auditioned for it and luckily I was along the lines of what Jack O'Brien, our amazing director, wanted. And, it all just fit together. You can feel like you're the best for it and it's perfect for you but if you're not exactly what that director wants, it won't happen. You feel very fortunate anytime you get an offer. I love the role of Captain Von Trapp. You know, Christopher Plummer, who played it in the movie, was famous for not enjoying that and he hates to be known for being Captain Von Trapp in the movie. A lot of people say that it's an underwritten part and I can see why they would say that but I think that he really undergoes a huge transformation. Is that transformation fully flushed out in the dialog and what happens? No, because that's not the main crux of the story. But, what Jack O'Brien has done, because he's such a great analyzer of text, is giving me new ways of approaching this character and looking at who he is and that has been a boon to me as far as being able to look at this role and to look at this human being in a more fully flushed out way. Everybody knows the movie so well and Jack likes to liken it to taking a raft down the river. You can get on the raft that is THE SOUND OF MUSIC and enjoy the pleasantries of do re mi and the charming children and the beautiful charming Maria but what the musical does allow for is a little bit more substance and a lot more bite. Hopefully what we've done is we brought that stuff out and allowed it to fill out and make for a more complete experience.

It does appeal to a variety of people.

I do a lot Rogers and Hammerstein. It makes up the majority of my work right now of which I'm thrilled because I don't think there's any better stuff out there and I'm not doing HAMILTON anytime soon. What I think is really fantastic with Rogers and Hammerstein is usually your audience is a middle-aged or older, well educated, upper class white audience. Let's just call it as it is. That's exactly what you get. THE SOUND OF MUSIC: it spans across racial, generational, socio-economic backgrounds. Everybody has such a unique connection to this piece. I love that. When I was in LA, the show opened in LA, and to get to the stage door, we would have to walk where everyone congregates to get into the theater. I never saw more African Americans, Asian Americans, everyone at a performance of Rogers and Hammerstein. It's a real testament of the reach of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and the movie in particular. I think people come to it just with the background of having seen the movie in the past. The emotion that they feel from the musical. It's so much fun to see those generations; see grandparents bringing their grandkids and parents introducing it to their kids. I really feel lucky. We're not doing children's theater by any stretch of the imagination. It's a very adult production but, it will introduce children to theater and hopefully bring new audiences to theater and make them less afraid of it and more interested and curious about it.

What advice do you have for people thinking about getting into performing?

Everybody's journey in this crazy business is so individual and so different. The only thing that I would have to say as a general rule would be to be a well-rounded person, to have interests. Of course you're going to spend a lot of time on theater and try to develop your work and try to develop what you do. But, the most interesting actors I know are the most interesting people that I know. I think a lot of times we specialize so much that we lose the fact that acting is all about the human experience. You better know as much about the human experience as you can. That means stepping outside of your comfort zone as far as the type of the things that you do normally. If you're not a sports person, go to a sporting event and see what that's like. Spend time with people who are very different from you from different backgrounds. Learn about things that aren't directly involved with theater and become an interesting person. My experience in this business is very different from what anyone else will experience. There is no real way of saying, "You must do this or you must do that." And also, to quote Sutton Foster, "Don't be a d!@k." And be a well-rounded person.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC plays in San Antonio, Texas at the Majestic Theatre for one week only from September 13-18, 2016. Tickets are available by going to Majestic/Empire's website. Don't miss out.

To post a comment, you must register and login.