May 12 2006
Center stage
16
Behind the scenes with ‘Tony’ and ‘Maria’
From Wes
BEIJING TODAY
Editor: Dong Nan Designer: Zhao Yan Email:yushanshan724@ynet.com
By Gareth George The real challenge for me is bringing a real life reaction to the death scenes, the sad parts. I’m happily married and if I ever lost him, God forbid, that thought really helps bring me to a truthful moment. A created situation, but with real feelings ... Although sometimes it’s just as easy as thinking about when your dog died.” – Carolann M. Sanita By Gareth George When Josh Young’s Tony first catches sight of Maria, he’s thinking about another woman. “When they meet, it’s love at first sight. I draw on my own emotional experience - specifically my own first kiss,” he says. “I was at summer camp as a kid, and you know, Tony is a young guy - 18. To get into his mind, I’m back there, after my kiss, running and jumping back to my cabin.” The role of Tony is a dream for Josh. While he’s studied music and acting since he was 12 or 13, and even found time to release an eponymously titled debut album of Broadway songs, he’s only been with West Side for six months. His Maria, Carolann M Sanita, is a gifted young soprano with a wealth of experience in showpiece Broadway roles: the mistress in Evita, Marian in the Music Man, Luisa in the Fantastiks and now Maria. “Actually I first played the role two years ago.” She says. “It was always a role I wanted to do. Of course I knew the music growing up, and it was great to really learn the subtleties of the part.” The pair have been trying to squeeze in a little of Beijing. They’re anticipating a heavy schedule. “I’ve been to the hutongs, a bit of shopping,” Carolann says. “We’ve both seen the Great Wall and a jade factory...the Friendship Store.” They’ll actually be working even harder than usual in Beijing. Carolann counts off the days on her fingers, “Usually we work Tuesday through Sunday, with two shows a day on Saturday and Sunday and one a day the rest of the time. Here we open on Sunday, and do two shows Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.” “When we’re not working we REST,” laughs Josh. Carolann nods sagely. “When we’re performing, there’s no drinking, no partying. It takes a lot to keep yourself healthy and to vocally and emotionally sustain what you’re doing.” Josh actually follows a special diet. “I have to eat about an hour before I go on stage, then rest. What you eat can
affect your vocal chords. The acid in spicy food can actually burn them, so that’s out for me.” Hot-pot is off the menu then. “I’m interested in trying some local herbal medicines or relaxation techniques,” adds Carolann. It never looks easy to leap up there on stage night after night, singing and dancing your heart out, and Josh can tell you, it takes a lot of work to get there and stay there. “The story is relevant anywhere in the world, and I hope some Chinese people see it and want to get involved in this kind of musical. For this kind of show you need training. Some singers are born gifted, but here you need to sing and dance night after night.” Carolann agrees, “The acting certainly needs training. It’s a special kind of expression. The music isn’t easy to sing and you need technique to maintain it throughout the show, as there’s a lot of screaming and emotional intensity.” For this show, they’re dancing the original choreography too. “And that’s hard,” says Josh, “You couldn’t just come off the street and do it.” Carolann saw the Beijing opera, and wonders whether the opera performers might understand their regime. “There are probably similarities, but of course, the show you see is different. The atmosphere there was very interesting and neat. It wasn’t singing as I know it, more like talking in different pitches, but they were obviously very talented.” “Anyway, we don’t want people to think so much about how we do it,” says Josh, “We want them to enjoy the universal love story and the beautiful music and dancing. If we do that, we’ve done our job” Carolann nods, “It’s the classic Romeo and Juliet. In fact the real challenge for me is bringing a real life reaction to the death scenes, the sad parts. I’m happily married and if I ever lost him, God forbid, that thought really helps bring me to a truthful moment. A created situation, but with real feelings...” she blushes slightly, “Although sometimes it’s just as easy as thinking about when your dog died.”