TORONTO TALK EXCHANGE SOUND OFF GUYS & GUYS → The Shaw fest’s Kyle Blair, starring in Guys and Dolls, discusses this great
American musical and his pending marriage to fellow ensemble member Kyle Golemba
You’re currently starring in Guys and Dolls at Shaw, playing Sky Masterson. What do you love about the musical and this production? “It’s such a great musical and I love our approach. We’re aggressively pursuing character and situation to determine how we tackle each song. That’s such a great challenge when you are singing such well-known songs like ‘Luck Be a Lady.’ The director Tadeusz Bradecki said he wanted to avoid any heavy directorial concept in the hope of allowing the musical to flourish. It’s got such great writing as it’s based on the stories and language of Damon Runyon. So we need to get out of the way and serve it as best we can. Plus we’ve got great dancers in this company. There’s all these wonderful male-driven numbers plus the sexy Hot Box numbers for the girls.” You have a unique history with Guys and Dolls. “I’ve been in it four times, so it’s my most frequently done musical. The last time, I played Sarah [Sky’s love interest] in a cross-gendered version for Talk is Free Theatre in Barrie. It was fun but really difficult. It’s great to be wearing the pants again.” Marlon Brando or Ewan McGregor? (They’ve both played Sky.) “Ewan McGregor.”
You both have worked at Stratford. What’s it like being back at Shaw? “We’re both very conscious of how lucky we are — to have a partner in life and in work. And this company is so supportive and loving. The first couple of years Kyle was at Stratford and I was at Shaw, so we only saw each other once a week. Last year we were both at Stratford so that was a big year for us. We were a little nervous about it. But if we’ve got one thing going for us, it’s communication. We talked over everything, our hopes and fears. The transition went really positively. We have a house in Stratford but of course we’re living in Niagara-on-the-Lake this season. I love living by the water. This place is so beautiful.” Any local hotspots you can share? “The Stone Road Grille has great food and a funky atmosphere that is unique. And we’ve done one of the bike tours of the wineries. That was hilarious.” Coming up. “I’m also doing Lady Windermere’s Fan and Kyle is doing Major Barbara. So we’re in one production together and one apart... which is good, so we have something to talk about at dinner.”
SHAW FESTIVAL Season runs until October. Niagara-on-the-Lake. 1-800-511-7429. shawfest.com.
Andrée Lanthier
In the cast is your fiancé Kyle Golemba. Where did you two meet? “In Winnipeg three and a half years ago. We were both doing The Drowsy Chaperone at MTC. We hit it off immediately.”
You’re getting married sometime in the future, a year and half or so from now. Who proposed to whom? “It was made clear to me that that was my job.”
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