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Interviews
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An international theatre professional Philip Fisher talks to Adam Garcia, an Australian in an English production of an American musical playing in Paris Adam Garcia is part of a relatively new breed of international theatre professional. He hails from Australia, made his name in the West End, has been involved in the film industry in LA and we met in the Green Room at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, during a run of Leonard Bernstein's On the Town, in which he is starring. The dark, handsome entertainer started professional life in Hot Shoe Shuffle in his home country, which later spawned the well-known Tap Dogs. When the show transferred to the West End, he did not look back. First, there was an opportunity to take a big part in Arlene Phillips' Grease and then star in Saturday Night Fever at the Palladium. That was a performance that won him an Olivier nomination and established the young man as a big star. Along the way, he also tried straight theatre with some success, playing Upstairs at the Royal Court in hot young American playwright, Christopher Shinn's Where Do We Live. Alongside his stage persona, which is built on all-round talent as a dancer who can both sing and act well, Garcia began to develop a screen career. He has done so without ever having professional training as an actor, learning on the job by emulating the stars with whom he has worked. His film CV to date includes Coyote Ugly and Bootmen, while on TV, amongst other roles, he played a part in Doctor Who. One part that he failed to get was the Marlon Brando role of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls. Garcia still gently bristles at being overlooked for Ewan McGregor ("Damn you Ewan"). This cloud did have a silver lining, as the conductor and musical director, Simon Lee suggested that he audition for Jude Kelly. In 2005, she was casting for an unusual idea, a musical to be performed at the Coliseum, the home of the English National Opera and a venue many of whose habitués look down their noses at musical comedy. "It was the first musical that the ENO was performing (or the first for a very long time) and there was the hype and the controversy that came with that" but potential disaster turned into "an enormous success". Even though "I've never seen the movie", Garcia is a great fan of On the Town. "It's almost the perfect piece to bond the musical theatre audience and the opera audience. It's got a really great, racy modern story and lots of fun and energy - hugely exciting. Then it's got this semi-operatic score which is vast and gorgeous, and tons of comedy". The experiment worked for all concerned and Garcia had a whale of a time in the Frank Sinatra role of Chip, playing opposite his old Aussie pal, Caroline O'Connor, whom he describes as "a remarkable talent. It's awe-inspiring to get to go on with her and have her whirl around the stage and make me look fantastic". The Australian fits in well with the ethos of a work that started out as a dance piece written by Jerome Robbins, since that is still his strongest suit. He can though also act with wit and sing much more than passably. He is in a cast that includes high quality opera singers, ballerinas and comic actors and relishes the challenge of working with highly-trained specialists. It's an honour to be in this sort of cast. "It's a real joy to be able to mix and blend with them and see how we complement each other and pick up each other's strengths". This was also a dream opportunity to play in front of big audiences in theatres that are more impressive and daunting even than the Palladium, where he had starred in Saturday Night Fever. "The Coliseum was just vast. Although I've played the Dominion and the Palladium, which are big places, I never figured I'd ever be in an opera house. It was really cool, especially having the chorus who were all professional opera singers, it's certainly overwhelming". After that, he missed out on an opportunity to star in Wicked on Broadway as he was working on a film at the time. He put this right when the post-Wizard of Oz musical finally made it to London. The first run of On the Town was so well received, that ENO reprised the production two years later but at that time, Garcia was working on Wicked and had to decline. Things worked out far better at the end of 2008, when once again, the "phenomenal" Kelly brought the work back, this time to play in Paris over the Christmas and New Year period. "They said 'would you be interested in doing Paris and it was just a no-brainer'". He is also enjoying Le Châtelet. "It's a really big place, it's a 2,000 seat auditorium and the energy that you have to put out, not just singing but vocally as well." On the Saturday night after Christmas, having just enjoyed playing two performances to a pair of full houses, everything seems right with the world. Even the prospect of two further shows the following day cannot dampen the boyish enthusiasm of a man enjoying a rare opportunity. The next steps in Adam Garcia's career will almost certainly see him return to the world of film and TV. He would, however, love to take On the Town further around the world. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the peak of his career would be if it ever managed an appearance at the Sydney Opera House , "It'd be awesome - really, really cool". We can all dream but having got so far, this show and its star might just make it.
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