Front Row Centre Interview: JEFF LILLICO

 JEFF LILLICO: From Shaw to Soulpepper

In a publicity photo for the Shaw Festival, Jeff Lillico is seen holding up a sign that reads, "Never never never give up." With his earnest look you can sense instantly the drive and dedication that has established him as a leading actor with an impressive list of credits.

What makes this all the more amazing is the fact that Lillico is only in his mid-twenties. It is an age when most people are graduating from college or university, and in a way he is: graduating from the Shaw Festival to Toronto's Soulpepper theatre company. He joins them in their inaugural season at the Young Centre for the Arts – a brand new state-of-the-art theatre complex in Toronto's distillery district.

Jeff admits that it will feel strange not being in Niagara-on-the-Lake this summer. "That was my home the past 5 years from April through October." He made his debut there at the age of 20 – having left Sheridan College during his second year to take on the role of Nana, the dog/nursemaid - in PETER PAN. Supporting roles in THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (2001) and MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (2002) gave him a chance to develop his musical theatre skills. He relished the interaction with the audience in the former, while in the latter he had his first chance to sing Sondheim "who writes beautiful complex songs." 

This past summer found him featured in the musical GYPSY for which Sondheim wrote the lyrics. As Tulsa, he had one featured number, "All I Need is the girl" - and he made the most of it. "I had to work very hard to do GYPSY and I was able to surprise myself to get it to that level. I studied tap, jazz and ballet. My tap and jazz are pretty good, but I don't think you'll ever see me in a ballet" he says with a laugh.

Concurrent with GYPSY, Lillico also had a chance to fulfill a long-term dream: Playing young Raleigh in R.C. Sherriff's 1929 classic JOURNEY'S END. The role earned him considerable praise, yet the actor seemed more pleased with the emotional response the play was provoking for members of the audience.

Did the almost daily switch between heavy drama and musical comedy challenge the actor? "The heart of it all is in the acting. I love to sing and dance, but I think that in any show it is the story and characters that dominate."

Of course, some contemporary musicals allow a performer to do both. In the summer of 2004 he won praise for his brilliant performance as reporter Skeets Miller in the Shaw Festival's staging of the Adam Guettel musical FLOYD COLLINS.

The actor hedges on the question of preference of one type of theatre over another. He does admit that a few musical theatre roles beckon. "I would love to play the MC in CABARET. Also Franklin Shepard in MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG" though he is quick to append that "Tyley Ross did an amazing job at Shaw."

Lillico enjoyed the six-month run in MERRILY, but notes that the show's story, which is told backwards, is always a bit of a challenge for first time audiences. "When you meet all the characters they are all at their low point, but in singing "Our Time" (the musical's moving final song) all through rehearsals we couldn't keep from crying. We were thankfully able to get it together in performances, but in the rehearsal hall we would break out crying almost every time we went through the song. My girlfriend (actress Rachel Fischer) came to see that show five or six times. She was that blown away by it."

Mention of his girlfriend reveals another recent change for Jeff. The two just moved into a downtown Toronto apartment together, putting an end to "the long distance part of our relationship...for now." Fischer who appeared as Josie Pye in Stage West's recent production of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES spent the summer playing Babe in GOOD NEWS at Winnipeg's Rainbow Stage, while Lillico remained in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Making up for so much time apart, the couple "did a tour through Thailand in the fall before I started rehearsals with Soulpepper."

Jeff loves living in downtown Toronto ("I can bike to the theatre!") and his first show with Soulpepper, OUR TOWN has Toronto theatre critics beside themselves coming up with superlatives to describe the production. "I haven't read the reviews, but people really seem to respond to it," he says. Wilder's play, which has long been a staple of community theatre groups, remains a thrilling and potent piece as directed by Joseph Ziegler. "The themes are so eternal. I think it will be done forever." 

He plays George Gibbs, the young man whose courtship and wedding occupy the entire second act. Also, playing in rep with OUR TOWN is Morris Panych's adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, in which he has a supporting role. Later this season, he will be Bobby in David Mamet's AMERICAN BUFFALO and also will appear as Brodie in Tom Stoppard's THE REAL THING.

 "I've been surrounded by fantastic people, and I feel very fortunate to have learned– through osmosis – at Shaw. And now at Soulpepper, working with an incredible group of very talented people. I'm so glad to be getting an opportunity to play Mamet and Wilder."

When asked about dramatic roles he would love to play, he mentions Romeo adding that he loves Shakespeare and is particularly looking forward to doing KING LEAR with Soulpepper later this year. As for disappointments, Lillico pauses to think about it then responds, "Any disappointment has been replaced by something rewarding. I can't complain. I feel very fortunate."

Any advice for aspiring performers? "I learned early at a young age: Work very hard, never stop learning more and more about the piece, and never, never, never give up."

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