Posts Tagged musical theatre

Pirates of Penzance: Zach Garcia

Recently, I was able to connect with actor Zach Garcia, who is singing and dancing in The Pirates of Penzance at Park Square through March 25. A lover of serenity, cooking and Jack Sparrow, there’s more to this pirate than meets the eye!

What brought you to the Twin Cities and how did you get involved with Park Square? What other work have you done in your time here? 

It’s hard to answer the question of where I’m from. Most of the time I just say ‘The Midwest, et al’. My family hails from just north of Chicago, but I spent a good majority of my life in the Green Bay, Wisconsin area. I attended high school in a small farm town where my graduating class was 98 students total. It was there that I had a high school music teacher encourage me and foster my interest in music by having me sing in choir, recommend me for music camps, and allow me to perform in our school musicals and plays. I graduated from Lawrence University (also in Wisconsin) with a double major in Theatre and Music. I originally attended Lawrence to study opera, but I found my true home in the theatre department. Fortunately for me, I had mentors and a group of colleagues in the theatre department who guided me and challenged me to do my best work.  I was motivated by the material and learned the value of having a strong work ethic. I was constantly juggling rehearsals, class assignments, lessons, and projects. This is, by far, the most important thing I learned in university… put in the work, you’ll see results.  Being able to maintain the stamina of an actor’s life is not for the faint of heart. Lawrence taught me to be a warrior, and I will be forever grateful for that.

I moved to the Twin Cities after spending a year in Chicago after graduation. I originally moved up here for a theatre education opportunity five years ago, but once I got here, I started booking gigs and haven’t stopped since (thank God!).  The Twin Cities theatre community has been so warm and welcoming to me.  I’ve had some veteran actors take me under their wing and guide me through the ‘business’ side of the industry, which has been incredibly helpful. I also met my beautiful wife through the theatre when I was an essential at the Guthrie five years ago. It’s crazy, because not only do my wife and I own a home here, but my parents, my sister, a few of my cousins, and my in laws all live in the Metro area. I love it here… I think I’ll stay.

Since moving here, I’ve worked with companies like Theatre Latte Da, Children’s Theatre Company, Frank Theatre, The Guthrie, Walking Shadow Theatre, as well as worked on some new work with Keith Hovis, a brilliant young writer and composer. I was fortunate to work at Park Square Theatre in the Andy Boss space for The Palabras Project which was the brain child of Jessica Huang and Ricardo Vazquez exploring and expanding the story of Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca through a variety of artistic mediums. I’ve never done a show as exploratory and integrated as that!

Cast of The Pirates of Penzance: (photo by Petronella J. Ytsma)

What are you most excited about and what could be a “fun” challenge? 

It has been really fun digging into the material and learning all the ins and outs that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote. They were so clever and so masterful at blending beautiful, fun vocal music with the twisting and turning of the plot.  I’m really excited to tackle the monstrosity that is Pirates with a small cast of nine actors. It’s a daunting task, but Doug and Denise have assembled a brilliant group of versatile artists that are ready to attack this piece with vigor.  We will be busy!

Working as tirelessly as you do, what could you possibly do with your free time

I love being outside! One of the great things about living in the Twin Cities is the ability to have a vibrant city life, but you simply drive 30 minutes north and you’re in the wilderness. My wife and I love the North Shore and have found a lot of solace and serenity up there. After I’m done with a long run of a show, we try to set aside time to take a trip somewhere to disconnect and recharge. This ‘reset’ time is so vital for an artist. I also really love cooking… Mexican food especially! I’m really bad at just ‘relaxing and doing nothing’. Cooking is active enough and has routine, but also allows room for spontaneity. It’s very relaxing when I can go to a farmer’s market or grocery store, plan an entire meal, and spend the entire day cooking.

OK, last question: Do you have a favorite pirate? 

Oooh… that’s a tough one! I’m going to have to say Captain Jack Sparrow. My wife has a mild obsession with Johnny Depp and, by default, have watched the Pirates of the Caribbean series multiple times.  I mean… who doesn’t love a drunk pirate, right?

Tickets and information for Pirates of Penzance can be found here!

Beware: Bradley the Green!

As you probably know by now, there are pirates running amok at Park Square, but who is leading this band of motley marauders? Who, oh who, is their fearful leader?

When I sally forth to seek my prey
I help myself in a royal way.
I sink a few more ships, it’s true,
Than a well-bred monarch ought to do…

For I am a Pirate King!
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!

And playing our incorrigible PK is Bradley Greenwald, or if you were to meet him on the high seas, Bradley the Green!

A well-known face around town, Greenwald has been performing in the Twin Cities for the past 25 years, starting when he landed a touring gig with the Minnesota Opera while in college. While in the midst of majoring in German, he fell into voice lessons and quite literally find his voice. He took time off of school for that tour and never went back.

Fast forward to today and he’s one of the most hard working actors and singers in the community with a mountain of credits at theatres such as Theatre da la Jeune Lune, the Guthrie, 10,000 Things Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Jungle Theater, and A Prairie Home Companion. Greenwald doesn’t discriminate either when it comes to choosing projects. In a 2015 interview with the Pioneer Press he said,

If it’s honest and honestly written, I love it… Whether it’s a 1918 novelty song, ‘Impossible Dream’ or Act II from the finale of ‘Figaro.’

Photo by Ann Marsden

No wonder he’s so popular to work with! No wonder, too, that he’s even got his own fan club on Facebook. (Upon further investigation it’s called “The Association of Bradley Greenwald Lovers”. It’s an open group as well. Nice.)

What does Bradley the Green have to say about all this attention? Again in the aforementioned interview, ““a little oodgy”. It’s that sly sense of humor, combined with his voice, that he is able to wield so effectively and highlighting that effectiveness is his treasure chest of accolades that includes a McKnight Fellowship for Theater Artists and a 2006 Ivey Award for the one-man drama, I Am My Own Wife at the Jungle Theater.

The Major General (Christina Baldwin) with the Pirate King (Bradley Greenwald). (Photo by Petronella J. Ytsma)

With all of that, Park Square is happy to share him with audiences in one of the most famous operettas of all time, The Pirates of Penzance, where  those comic skills and sublime voice will be on full display as the lovable and goofy, Pirate King.

 

 

Oh, better far to live and die
Under the brave black flag I fly,
Than play a sanctimonious part,
With a pirate head and a pirate heart…

But I’ll be true to the song I sing,
And live and die a Pirate King!

Tickets and information here. 

 

Christina Baldwin: The Very Model

A leading face in Park Square’s Pirates of Penzance is actor, Christina Baldwin, who is portraying the famous “Major General”. Of course, in this particular production, everything about the “traditional” staging has been re-interpreted. Not only is Baldwin playing the Major General, but she is playing the real-life, Helen Lenoir, (who is playing the Major General).

The cast of The Pirates of Penzance take their bows. (Photo by Petronella J. Ytsma)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expanding upon this, Baldwin states; “Doug’s [Scholz-Carlson] knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan history and trivia is astounding! He has placed Gilbert, Sullivan and many other characters from their circle in our show. I had never heard of Helen Lenoir, and Doug’s idea to incorporate her into the Pirates story is well-placed. By all accounts, she really was a large cog in the machine that kept the G&S machine rolling. It makes sense that she gets to be the Major General!”

Photo by William Clark

Christina Baldwin grew up in Jordan, Minn. where she and her seven siblings were introduced to the arts at an early age. Her parents brought her along to see theater and live music whenever possible. She attended college at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and after a brief stint in New York, returned to Minnesota to pursue a Masters of Music degree at the U of M. It was then that she began a nearly 10 year collaboration with Theatre de la Jeune Lune. Other credits around town include work with the Minnesota Opera, the Guthrie, History Theater, Nautilus Music-Theater, Minnesota Orchestra, the Schubert Club and the Ordway.

No stranger Park Square either, Baldwin was previously seen in Lisa Kron’s Well, as well as Ragtime, Calendar Girls and the co-production of Grey Gardens with the Ordway. She’s even well acquainted with Pirates of Penzance, having performed in the show at the Guthrie and Kansas City Repertory.

With her first turn as the Major General, what could her inspirations possibly be? “Honestly, my inspiration drifts somewhere between Mary Poppins and Karen from Will & Grace.”
Now that sounds like a major general we can all get behind! You can catch the multi-talented Baldwin at Park Square until March 25 on the proscenium stage at Park Square Theatre. More information and tickets can be had here.

Tickets

The box office is currently closed. Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with any questions.

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