East graduate makes it big in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ // SARAHMCKITTRICK
East graduate Kyle Kleiboeker lay in his recently bought, two bedroom apartment in Astoria, a 20 minute subway ride from New York City. Barely having lived there a week, the boxes of his stuff still cluttered his rooms. Several days after his final call back from the Off-Broadway musical “Hell’s Kitchen,” Kleiboeker was waiting on a call from the director to see if he had made the cut. When his phone finally rang, he grabbed it from the table and saw New York City’s 212 area code. Too nervous to pick it up and find out if he had the part, Kleiboeker let the phone ring. When he called him back an hour later, the director asked what he had scheduled for the next Wednesday because that was their first rehearsal. Kleiboeker had gotten a role on an Off-Broadway show within a week of arriving in New York. “I was just in the right place at the right time,” Kleiboeker said Kleiboeker, who graduated from East in 2005, participated in chambers and Choraliers while he was at East as well as three musicals productions. He performed with the local production groups Theatre in the Park, Starlight, and Music Theatre for Young People. Liz Kelly, his dance teacher from age four to 14, recognized his talent early on when he started taking tap and jazz from her at Dance Studio 1-Liz Kelley. Kelley remembers how he stuck with dancing even when he was one of the few guys. “It’s rugged out there when you’re a guy wanting to dance,” Kelly said. To follow his dream of performing in New York, Kleiboeker went to Oklahoma City University, a top school for the career in performing he wanted to pursue. After spending a year at OCU, he decided that he wasn’t getting the dance classes and the
acting technique needed to be in the musical business. He left with some seniors and drove to Dallas to try out to perform on the Royal Caribbean Cruises. Three weeks later he had a job. Although his mom, Tionne
EAST PERFORMANCES Gypsy
as “Tulsa”
Little Shop of Horrors as Ensemble
Once Upon a Mattress as “Sir Harry”
// PHOTO COURTESY KYLEKLEIBOEKER Ellegard, was surprised at his decision, she supported him. “It’s not every day that your 18-yearold tells you that he wants to perform on a cruise ship that sails around the world,” Ellegard said. Throughout the year and a half he was performing on the cruise and traveling around the world, Kleiboeker gained valuable time working with choreographers and vocalists and really honed his skills. “Performing on the cruise was more beneficial than what I had been learning in the classroom,” Kleiboeker said. After realizing that New York was the place he had to be if he wanted to succeed in the business, Kleiboeker made the life changing decision to go to New York, try out at various auditions, and hope he got a part. After reading about the open audition for “Hell’s Kitchen” in “Backstage” magazine, Kleiboeker decided to audition. However, he had moved in the day before and when he
// JACKHOWLAND
“Slumdog Millionaire” will blow you away. But not for the witty comedy or the intense action sequences. It’s because of it’s simplicity. There are no explosions or crazy car chases. It’s simply a magnificent story that virtually has everything you could want in a movie. Suspense, comedy, love, you name it, “Slumdog’s” got it. It’s a mystery that America has never been introduced to this story. Before this film was released, I had never heard of it. But that’s because I don’t tour the film festival circuit. In nearly every film festival across the globe, “Slumdog” has dominated. It’s won award after award in city after city. It is truly one of the great news stories of the year, a rarity in the industry, a film festival movie making it to the top. And not the top as in, In Theaters Everywhere, I mean one of the best movies in decades. When I started to see previews for this movie appearing in theaters, I was not sold on it. To me it just looked like another Hollywood bust. An attempt at an inspiring love story that would ultimately fail. The whole fate and destiny thing I just wasn’t seeing as successful in American theaters. My perception of this supposed “chick-flick” soon changed when I began to hear the buzz. And after seeing this international hit, I finally knew what all of the hype was about. “Slumdog Millionaire” follows the life of Jamal Malik, (Dev Patel). Patel portrays the life of a poor “slumdog” who has a low income profession. He has numerous troubles
woke up on the day of his audition he was seriously contemplating not going because he was tired from his move the previous day. “Then I told myself, ‘This is New York. You have to go and do what you’ve worked hard to do,” Kleiboeker said. “Thank god I went.” When he arrived at the audition, he found himself in line with 600 others, each auditioning for the spot he wanted. As he stood in line waiting for the audition, he started to get nervous and began to psych himself out. However, once he went in and started to sing his audition song, “Lost in the Wilderness,” the nerves went away. “I tried to take it one step at a time,” Kleiboeker said. “I focused on each thing I needed to do.” After reading lines from the musical, the director asked Kleiboeker to return for a call back the next day with 300 other hopefuls. The amount of people that could potentially make the cast grew progressively smaller as the group who were called back sang, danced and read lines. After making it through the second day of call backs, he returned for a final call back with 30 others. Within several days found out he had made the 12 person cast. “It takes a lot of hard work, determination, talent and also a little bit of luck,” Kleiboeker said. Not only did he get a part on the OffBroadway show, but he acted in two episodes of Lipstick Jungle, a show on NBC, as Jake, which he called “the most amazing and random experience.” This created a balancing act between the two productions for Kleiboeker, and for about a week he worked on the set of Lipstick Jungle from 5
PAGE 16 A&E / ISSUE NINE AM to 5 PM, then went and rehearsed “Hell’s Kitchen” from 7-10. “It was exhausting and very excited at the same time,” Kleiboeker said. Although he enjoyed filming, once his stint on Lipstick Jungle was over he refocused himself on what he really wants to do musicals. With the show’s opening night, Feb. 11, approaching, the rehearsals have become less sporadic and more centered around fine-tuning the music and lines. “Hell’s Kitchen” is unique in that the show is new to Off-Broadway, which means that Kleiboeker gets to work with the people who actually wrote the music. This also means that the lines and blocking have often been changed during rehearsals, something that Kleiboeker says can be frustrating at times. “We see what works and what doesn’t,” Kleiboeker said. “We’re getting into the flow of it.” Kleiboeker plays Chico, the main character, Danny’s, right-hand man, in a story of the struggles of growing up in New York. “Hell’s Kitchen” is mainly music and acting, which is both good and bad for him. Because the musical emphasizes music, there is a lack of dancing, which he misses. However, he loves the variety of music there is, varying from gospel to rock. Kleiboeker is truly living his dream, whether he’s walking through Times Square on the way to rehearsal or waiting on his opening night on Off-Broadway to come. He feels blessed, but also knows how hard he worked to get to where he is and isn’t taking any of it for granted. “I’ve waited a long time for this and worked really hard,” Kleiboeker said. “It’s been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember.”
// CELEBRITYWONDER.COM with his life, including a violent brother Salim (Nadhur Mittal) and a star-crossed lover that he has not seen for years. His life changes forever when he gets selected to be on India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”, the show being the exact same as our rundown show except that it is a hit. The cleverly devised premise for this movie is sheer genius. Instead of the overused plot of a man winning big and spending the money, director Danny Boyle takes a different approach. As a matter of fact, it’s not even about the money, the only reason he comes on the show is in hopes that his one true love, Latika (Frieda Pinto) will be watching. After an episode of questions ranging from a missing lyric in a song to the item held in the hand of a symbolic Indian god, Jamal remains perfect, answering every question correctly. Each question is linked to a distinct childhood memory of his. He is on a miracle run that has never been seen before. In a state of shock, the host
Hitting the
Jackpot inspiration ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ brings and romance to the big screen Prem (Anil Kapoor) gives him to the police on suspicion of cheating. These police will do whatever it takes to get the truth, even if it means torture.
For the complete review, visit the Harbinger Online at www.smeharbinger.net.