Thomas a Wagon Wheel Theatre Favorite
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
When people make a list of favorite Wagon Wheel Theatre performers, there is always one name that shows up time and time again.
Rod Thomas.
But ask Thomas what it feels like to be so well-liked, if he feels any pressure from all the admiration, and he plays it off modestly.
"No pressure. I'll tell you that," he said during an interview Tuesday afternoon in the theater office. "It's a huge compliment that I've just been able to connect with people in that way. If I'm connecting to people ... that's what we do as artists. Try to connect with people. Take them on a journey. It really is a huge compliment. I enjoy coming back here. It feels like home. It's nice because they always want me back here."
His many fans may recall Thomas from roles in "Phantom of the Country Opera," "The Nerd," "The Glass Menagerie," "Grease," "Children of Eden," "Forever Plaid," "Oliver" or "The Music Man."
But his love for the theater, for performing, goes back to the first grade.
"I was a discipline problem in first grade, so I didn't get to the do the reindeer dance," he said. Instead, he had to be a part of the chorus in the school play and had to wear a tie - that was the worst thing that could happen. However, the play needed a narrator and the teacher was looking for someone who had a really loud voice. A schoolmate recommended Thomas because his voice could be heard all over the playground. He still was upset he didn't get to do the reindeer dance, though.
Second grade rolled around and Thomas got a teacher who actually liked him. He also got the lead in the play - an elephant named Ramo. Then in fourth grade, Thomas started taking acting lessons at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Ga. (He grew up in Atlanta, but lost his southern accent later while in school in Chicago, though it has been known to return on occasion. "I got rid of that fairly easily and quickly," he said.)
Thomas continued acting through middle and high school. He didn't stop there; he decided to continue studying acting at Northwestern University.
After graduating, he did a show that summer in Chicago with the Light Opera Works. He auditioned for a non-equity tour of "She Loves Me." Upon getting a part in that, he thought he was "in" and he was going to go up from there.
"That," he said, "was not exactly true."
When "She Loves Me" finished, he was back waiting tables.
In 1995, he gave his first audition at WWT. He didn't get a call back. Two years later, he finally had his first full season at WWT in "Phantom of the Country Opera" and then got the role for which most people remember him, "The Nerd."
"The Nerd" also was Thomas' second comedy, the other being "The Actors Nightmare" beforehand. When he received the role in "Nightmare," Thomas said, he was stunned he got it because there were so many more actors who auditioned for it who he thought were more talented.
"I really wasn't considered a comic actor," Thomas admitted. But it was after "The Nerd" when people would come up to him in the grocery store and say, "You were the nerd."
"That was me," Thomas said, smiling. "People still talk about it."
He also performed in the Christmas show at the WWT that year and finished another complete summer season in 1998. Then he got his equity card. At that time, Thomas said, he thought his career at the Wagon Wheel would be finished because equity actors weren't being hired.
The following summer, that idea turned out to be false. Artistic director Roy Hine called Thomas up to be Tom in "The Glass Menagerie" and to be Danny in "Grease." Thomas wanted to do Tom, but not Danny. Hine told Thomas if he wanted to do Tom, being Danny was part of the deal. Discussion was over, Thomas took on both roles. After another actor dropped out of his contract, Thomas also was hired to do "Children of Eden" and "Forever Plaid."
In 2000, Thomas performed in "Oliver" and directed his first play at the Wagon Wheel - "The Foreigner." He said he was nervous about it, being his first time directing. And how would the other actors, whom he worked beside, behave with him as their director? His worries were unnecessary as it turned out. Not only did Thomas know how the system at the theater worked, but he got support from everyone, including his fellow thespians.
"I could not have been happier," he said. "Everyone worked so hard. It was great, really great. Fantastic." His lead actor for his directing debut was his good friend Tony Humrichouser.
In 2001, Thomas got a part in Chicago in "Big" the musical for five months. While performing there, he soon found his WWT fans were traveling to Chicago to see him perform. They'd send him notes backstage after his performances to tell him they enjoyed seeing him.
"It was such a great compliment to get notes from people down here. ... It was really touching, really neat," he said.
After dazzling audiences in "The Music Man" that Christmas at WWT, he then went on to do "Anything Goes" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in Chicago at the Drury Lane Oakbrook Theater.
This year, to the delight of his fans, Thomas is back at WWT with a lead role in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" as the Roman slave Pseudolus, directed by his friend Humrichouser. Then Thomas will direct "Inherit the Wind" with Humrichouser in a lead role.
Of "A Funny Thing," Thomas said, "It's a big excuse for a zany comedy." While a good time, he said, he also recognizes the challenge the play presents because they have to make it different and interesting and "it has a definite rhythm to it."
"Inherit the Wind" takes Thomas back to drama. The play is based on the Dayton, Tenn., Scopes trial of 1925. The trial centered around the teaching of evolution versus creationism in public schools. The trial was a publicity stunt of some of the local townspeople, but it got out of hand. William Jennings Bryan, a famous orator and statesman of the era, decided to argue for creationism while well-known attorney Clarence Darrow opposed. The trial became the event of its time.
"Inherit the Wind" dramatizes that trial, takes a few liberties and becomes more about freedom of thought rather than evolution versus creationism, Thomas said. "It's about making sure everyone has the same rights and the right to think (what they want) and no one can take that away."
The drama, he stressed, is fiction based on history but has a strong message of opposing any law that prohibits free thought.
"It's going to be a great challenge for me because I've never directed a drama," Thomas said. The cast of 32 also is the biggest cast he has directed yet.
After the runs of "Forum" (June 4-14) and "Inherit the Wind" (June 18-28) are finished, Thomas said he will return back to New York where he lives, come back to the WWT to do the Aug. 6-16 run of "Promises, Promises" and then he's off to St. Louis to play the son in "La Cage Aux Folles."
But no matter where Thomas goes, he still has fans in Warsaw. And the feeling is mutual.
He said, "Being down here is a really great feeling." [[In-content Ad]]
When people make a list of favorite Wagon Wheel Theatre performers, there is always one name that shows up time and time again.
Rod Thomas.
But ask Thomas what it feels like to be so well-liked, if he feels any pressure from all the admiration, and he plays it off modestly.
"No pressure. I'll tell you that," he said during an interview Tuesday afternoon in the theater office. "It's a huge compliment that I've just been able to connect with people in that way. If I'm connecting to people ... that's what we do as artists. Try to connect with people. Take them on a journey. It really is a huge compliment. I enjoy coming back here. It feels like home. It's nice because they always want me back here."
His many fans may recall Thomas from roles in "Phantom of the Country Opera," "The Nerd," "The Glass Menagerie," "Grease," "Children of Eden," "Forever Plaid," "Oliver" or "The Music Man."
But his love for the theater, for performing, goes back to the first grade.
"I was a discipline problem in first grade, so I didn't get to the do the reindeer dance," he said. Instead, he had to be a part of the chorus in the school play and had to wear a tie - that was the worst thing that could happen. However, the play needed a narrator and the teacher was looking for someone who had a really loud voice. A schoolmate recommended Thomas because his voice could be heard all over the playground. He still was upset he didn't get to do the reindeer dance, though.
Second grade rolled around and Thomas got a teacher who actually liked him. He also got the lead in the play - an elephant named Ramo. Then in fourth grade, Thomas started taking acting lessons at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Ga. (He grew up in Atlanta, but lost his southern accent later while in school in Chicago, though it has been known to return on occasion. "I got rid of that fairly easily and quickly," he said.)
Thomas continued acting through middle and high school. He didn't stop there; he decided to continue studying acting at Northwestern University.
After graduating, he did a show that summer in Chicago with the Light Opera Works. He auditioned for a non-equity tour of "She Loves Me." Upon getting a part in that, he thought he was "in" and he was going to go up from there.
"That," he said, "was not exactly true."
When "She Loves Me" finished, he was back waiting tables.
In 1995, he gave his first audition at WWT. He didn't get a call back. Two years later, he finally had his first full season at WWT in "Phantom of the Country Opera" and then got the role for which most people remember him, "The Nerd."
"The Nerd" also was Thomas' second comedy, the other being "The Actors Nightmare" beforehand. When he received the role in "Nightmare," Thomas said, he was stunned he got it because there were so many more actors who auditioned for it who he thought were more talented.
"I really wasn't considered a comic actor," Thomas admitted. But it was after "The Nerd" when people would come up to him in the grocery store and say, "You were the nerd."
"That was me," Thomas said, smiling. "People still talk about it."
He also performed in the Christmas show at the WWT that year and finished another complete summer season in 1998. Then he got his equity card. At that time, Thomas said, he thought his career at the Wagon Wheel would be finished because equity actors weren't being hired.
The following summer, that idea turned out to be false. Artistic director Roy Hine called Thomas up to be Tom in "The Glass Menagerie" and to be Danny in "Grease." Thomas wanted to do Tom, but not Danny. Hine told Thomas if he wanted to do Tom, being Danny was part of the deal. Discussion was over, Thomas took on both roles. After another actor dropped out of his contract, Thomas also was hired to do "Children of Eden" and "Forever Plaid."
In 2000, Thomas performed in "Oliver" and directed his first play at the Wagon Wheel - "The Foreigner." He said he was nervous about it, being his first time directing. And how would the other actors, whom he worked beside, behave with him as their director? His worries were unnecessary as it turned out. Not only did Thomas know how the system at the theater worked, but he got support from everyone, including his fellow thespians.
"I could not have been happier," he said. "Everyone worked so hard. It was great, really great. Fantastic." His lead actor for his directing debut was his good friend Tony Humrichouser.
In 2001, Thomas got a part in Chicago in "Big" the musical for five months. While performing there, he soon found his WWT fans were traveling to Chicago to see him perform. They'd send him notes backstage after his performances to tell him they enjoyed seeing him.
"It was such a great compliment to get notes from people down here. ... It was really touching, really neat," he said.
After dazzling audiences in "The Music Man" that Christmas at WWT, he then went on to do "Anything Goes" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in Chicago at the Drury Lane Oakbrook Theater.
This year, to the delight of his fans, Thomas is back at WWT with a lead role in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" as the Roman slave Pseudolus, directed by his friend Humrichouser. Then Thomas will direct "Inherit the Wind" with Humrichouser in a lead role.
Of "A Funny Thing," Thomas said, "It's a big excuse for a zany comedy." While a good time, he said, he also recognizes the challenge the play presents because they have to make it different and interesting and "it has a definite rhythm to it."
"Inherit the Wind" takes Thomas back to drama. The play is based on the Dayton, Tenn., Scopes trial of 1925. The trial centered around the teaching of evolution versus creationism in public schools. The trial was a publicity stunt of some of the local townspeople, but it got out of hand. William Jennings Bryan, a famous orator and statesman of the era, decided to argue for creationism while well-known attorney Clarence Darrow opposed. The trial became the event of its time.
"Inherit the Wind" dramatizes that trial, takes a few liberties and becomes more about freedom of thought rather than evolution versus creationism, Thomas said. "It's about making sure everyone has the same rights and the right to think (what they want) and no one can take that away."
The drama, he stressed, is fiction based on history but has a strong message of opposing any law that prohibits free thought.
"It's going to be a great challenge for me because I've never directed a drama," Thomas said. The cast of 32 also is the biggest cast he has directed yet.
After the runs of "Forum" (June 4-14) and "Inherit the Wind" (June 18-28) are finished, Thomas said he will return back to New York where he lives, come back to the WWT to do the Aug. 6-16 run of "Promises, Promises" and then he's off to St. Louis to play the son in "La Cage Aux Folles."
But no matter where Thomas goes, he still has fans in Warsaw. And the feeling is mutual.
He said, "Being down here is a really great feeling." [[In-content Ad]]