Charm City Girl Hits the Road with 'Cats'

Baltimore native Julia Lancione is actually doing what so many people only dream of.  She is a professional actress, currently on tour with The 25^th Anniversary Tour of Cats, which plays at DC's Warner Theatre through March 18^th.  She may be best known to local audiences for her work with Cockpit-in-Court or as a graduate of Patapsco High School's vocal magnet program.  I had the opportunity to ask this young star on the rise a few questions:

James Howard (JH): Hi, Julia! Welcome home! How does it feel to be back in the area where you started?

Julia Lancione (JL): Thanks for the welcome home! It feels wonderful to be back. As we were driving down 95 on the bus, passing Baltimore, I got really excited seeing the skyline out the window! I haven't really been to DC since I was in middle school on field trips, so it's nice to be back and do some sight seeing as an adult. I'm also very fortunate that my fiancée's parents live in Manassas, VA and have offered for us to stay with them for the two weeks that Cats is playing DC. It's certainly nice to live in a house for two weeks after living in hotels on tour!

JH:  Tell me a little about growing up doing theatre in the Baltimore area. Where have you performed? What shows? Any favorites?

JL:  I've done theatre in the Baltimore area since I was a little kid. I was really involved in theatre at Stemmers Run Middle School and knew I wanted to pursue it further. I was accepted into the Vocal Magnet program at Patapsco High School & Center for the Arts, which is where I got to perform a lot in all sorts of choirs and performance groups as well as the musicals. My favorite roles from high school would have to be Polly in Crazy for You and Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street. In college I came back for two summers to do the musicals at Cockpit in Court Theatre. I did the roles of Rose in Meet Me in St. Louis, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Rita in Lucky Stiff.

JH:  What kind of training/education have you gotten? How much of it has helped you? How did you transition into professional touring

JL:  These are some loaded questions! I've been blessed with some wonderful educational opportunities. My mom likes to say that as soon as she noticed I could sing, she put me in dance classes.  That was when I was 4 years old. I did shows and community things when I was younger and took voice lessons in middle school, but really started training I guess in high school. The Vocal Magnet Program at Patapsco had so much to offer. I took private voice, was involved in numerous choirs, music classes, workshops, it was a wonderful experience. After high school I moved to NYC and went to The American Musical & Dramatic Academy for Musical Theatre. The training I received there was excellent and living in NYC was amazing, but I think I just wasn't ready for it. AMDA was such an intense conservatory environment and I wanted to study musical theatre, but have a college experience as well. I transferred to Shenandoah Conservatory in VA and it really was a perfect fit. I was in the BFA Musical Theatre program for 3 years. While at SC I had the opportunity to perform in a variety of groups, musicals, plays. It was really wonderful. It's a very well rounded program where the actors have to take technical theatre classes and vice versa. It's a very rigorous music program as well and definitely challenged me. I feel both AMDA and SC prepared me for the professional world of theatre. They both were very intense and focused on the process of auditioning and the business itself and how that's just as important as having the talent and the training.

JH:  What have you learned as an actress from being on the road with Cats?

JL:  Well, the biggest thing, I think, is how hard it is being a swing. I cover three roles in the show and my fellow swings cover up to seven. At first it was a little overwhelming having to learn three character's blocking, choreography, music, makeup plots. It did get easier though. I still find myself referring to notes every time I go on for an injured or sick company member. We have to be ready to go on at any time and that's a bit stressful, but it keeps things interesting.

JH:  What have you learned as a person being on the road with Cats?

JL:  I've personally found that tour has its positives and negatives. Of course, I miss my fiancée, my family, friends... but I've met some wonderful people this year and been to so many amazing places. Places I NEVER would have gotten to see otherwise. We were in Brazil for a month (Sao Paolo and Rio) then Santiago, Chile for a week... it was incredible. The scenery, the culture, the public reaction to the show in both countries was amazing!

JH:  What is your first &/or favorite Cats memory?

JL:  This is cheesy, but I will never forget that first day of rehearsals when we met our director, Richard Stafford, the rest of the company, and just about everyone involved with the tour itself. I just felt like, "Wow, this is it. I'm starting rehearsals for my very first national tour." Cats is also my first professional job out of college, so it was pretty overwhelming.

JH:  Tell me about the parts you cover.  The Jennyanydots tap dance looks like a lot of fun.

JL:  Well, as I said before, I'm a swing, which means I go on if a company member is sick or injured. I cover three roles and Jennyanydots is one of them. I also cover Grizabella and Jellylorum. They're all a lot of fun. I think they're all very different roles that allow me to do different things. I love being Jenny and doing the "Gumbie" tap number, she's kind of bi-polar--fun loving and a stickler at the same time. I also love to sing opera as Jellylorum and be sort of the caretaker of Gus and the younger kittens. Grizabella is a great character too. She's the outcast of the show, only comes onstage a few times, but every time makes such an impact... and of course, getting to sing "Memory" in front of a packed house is pretty amazing.

JH:  Why do you think Cats is still such a hit over a quarter of a century after its premiere in London?

JL:  You know, Cats will just never die. The posters say "Last chance!", but I really think it will run in some capacity, whether it be tour, Broadway, regional, for a very long time. A lot of people, I feel, don't really know the true meaning and story of Cats until they see it. It's not just production number after production number and a bunch of people in tails with funny character names. It really has a story that is relatable – a story about hope and acceptance and rebirth. Touring with this show and seeing just how it affects people and how much they love it has really made me appreciate it more and more. It just has this power over people.

JH:  What is something interesting you've learned from doing the show that your average Cats fan might not know?

JL:  I guess your average Cats fan might not know the extent of the rehearsal process for this show. It was intense! Along with learning choreography, music, etc. every day we did what is called "Felinity" training. This is where we basically put our rehearsal tails and knee pads on, do a set of back warm ups and crawl around on the floor. Our director would shout out directions at us and we'd play with random objects in the room, stare at things, groom, interact with each other and basically act like cats! It was so insane to me at first, everyone sweating and hissing and clawing, but it really works and shows onstage! Felinity training actually felt normal by the end of rehearsals. I'd say it's most definitely an important part in the process of becoming a cat.

JH:   After Cats, what do you hope to be doing? What are your dream roles?

JL:  Well, after touring for a year I really want to just stay in one place for a little while. I'm hoping to find a job in theatre in the DC area, which is where my fiancée is based out of. I'm also really looking forward to getting married! Dan (my fiancée) was in Afghanistan for a year with the National Guard, I am on tour for a year, so some things have pushed our wedding back. I'd love to be able to find a job doing musicals in the area for the time being and hopefully join actor's equity soon. As for dream roles, I've always wanted to play Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Eliza in My Fair Lady, and The Narrator in Joseph...  The list goes on and on! 

It looks like you have a lot to look forward to in the future!  Thanks for your time, Julia! 

PHOTOS: Julia Lancione; Julia as Maria in The Sound of Music; Julia as Rose in Meet Me in St. Louis; Julia and her Cats cast mates backstage.  She is second from the right.  All photos courtesy of Miss Lancione.  Cats photo used by permission of Troika Entertainment.

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