Matthew Janisse is doing a lot of things this summer he’s never done before. He’s working in a theater in the round at the Wagon Wheel. He’s playing a darker character in the musical “Carousel”, which kicked off Wednesday and goes through July 14. And he’s doing summer stock. Monday afternoon, he also had his first interview with the Times-Union. The full interview can be seen for free under the video section at www.timesuniononline.com From Miami, Fla., Janisse goes to Florida State University. In the last two years, three other actors from FSU worked summer stock at the Wagon Wheel Theatre. Artistic Director Scott Michaels liked the work they did, and they convinced him to go to FSU to hold auditions, Janisse said. Because Michaels went down there, Janisse was able to audition for him, and eventually get a job. In “Carousel,” Janisse plays the lead character Billy Bigelow. “‘Carousel’ is about Billy’s and Julia’s love,” Janisse said. “It’s all about this boastful and prideful barker at the carousel from Coney Island, New York, so he’s very New York outspoken, brassy. It’s all about him allowing himself to feel real love or a connection.” Girl after girl, he never finds the true meaning of love until he meets Julie, played by Annie Yokom. He realizes he loves Julie, Janisse said. Then Billy discovers he has a baby and it becomes a story of what Billy needs to do to find the baby. “It’s all about redeeming his less-appealing qualities and finding true love,” Janisse said. The Rodgers & Hammerstein musical has been characterized as dark by some people over the years. “That’s true. It’s dark. There’s a lot of topics unspoken, but there’s definitely read-between-the-lines moments and there’s a huge talk about Billy ‘beats’ Julie, and then it’s all the definition of beating. In the story he hits her, and through my perspective as Billy Bigelow, he only hit her once, not like mercifully beating. So it’s that. You have to redeem someone who hit his wife, so that’s where it’s dark. The protagonist is somewhat, sort of a mean guy,” Janisse explained. Billy is Janisse’s first “dark character,” he admitted. “That sort of dark. Of course, I look at him as light. His circumstances are dark,” Janisse said. “But as an actor I go, oh no, this part is relatable. But this is the darkest, and this is my first classical musical theater show.” Before, he said, he did a lot of “poppy” and “rocky” shows. He was Roger in “Rent” and Jerry in “The Full Monty.” “These sort of everyday guys who are sort of on the verge of slackery but never dark, never beating anyone,” Janisse said. His role as Emmett in “Legally Blonde” this summer, he said, was probably the nicest role he ever played. “He was just me,” Janisse said. The music in “Carousel,” Janisse said, is “absolutely beautiful.” “I think there’s 17 minutes of dance, and there’s a 10 minute ballet in Act II ... Rodger’s and Hammerstein's orchestrations are just beautiful, and they just tell the story without even words,” Janisse said. “Tony (Humrichouser), our director, always wants to bring out that this music, these songs, have all these luxurious underscorings you get to use. There’s a song every second, not as much as ‘Legally Blonde,’ which was song after song after song. But there are these beautiful eight-minute songs that feel like three-minute songs in this show, which are just great.” At the end of Act I, Billy finds out Julie is pregnant. He has an eight-minute song going through the trials and tribulations of accepting the fact that he has a child, Janisse said. At first, he talks about having a son. Then he realizes he could have a daughter, so the song ends up being two in one. Janisse acknowledged an eight-minute song could sound like a long time for one song. “It is,” he said. “Luckily, ‘Chip on the Shoulder’ (from ‘Legally Blonde’) was also eight minutes. Not the same eight minutes. It was broken out. Before I got here, I was a little worried about eight minutes of singing on the stage by myself. But now that I’m here and doing it, it’s OK. Sometimes I forget how long I’ve been singing.” Despite some of the dark aspects of “Carousel,” Janisse said it’s a family show. “I think it will appeal to a wide range of audience. As a young actor, I always looked at theater as appealing to any young people, but there are a lot of adult, it’s a kid’s show, but there are a lot of adult themes. True love and having insecurities with all that,” he said. “It’s not profane or rude in any sense. Children will love it, and I believe they’ll enjoy it, but it has a dark edge to it which makes you feel an older crowd will really appreciate that. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s stuff is so beautiful, anyone will love it.”Putting the show together for audiences and the actors alike is Humrichouser, who has been with the Wagon Wheel Theatre for 20 seasons as an actor or director, Janisse said. “So he has a mastery of working in the theater in the round for an actor who has never worked in the round,” Janisse said. “Doing all these movements, just circling. It just feels unnatural. He has a very nurturing way of getting you to, like explaining what we’re doing, the circles, what they mean, how you maximize everything you do.” Janisse said Humrichouser is very concerned about the artistry of the show. Since Humrichouser is only here for one show, he can focus on “Carousel” and nothing else. Janisse said Humrichouser understands most of the actors are still in college, but also doesn’t treat them like students but like actors. “It’s such a pleasure working with him,” Janisse said. He also complimented the rest of the company he’s working with in “Carousel.” “Tony says this all the time, it really is just beautifully cast. From Julie Jordan all the way to Cabin Boy No. 5. Everyone just brings something amazing to what we have,” Janisse said. After “Carousel,” Janisse will stay on as a member of the ensemble in “Chicago”, but doesn’t return for the play “Blithe Spirit” or the show revue “I Love A Piano.” Working at Wagon Wheel, he said, is “amazing. It’s also my first summer stock so I feel I’m getting spoiled.” He gets to work with two directors – Michaels and Humrichouser – both who he enjoyed working with this summer. “The concept of a company. Being a dog in ‘Peter Pan’ and then going to Billy. All these different parts I get to play. Then in ‘Chicago,’ it will be a different person’s time to shine,” Janisse said. “... It’s such a family.”
