MIA by John Lansing: Guest post

Careers are a long time in the making. I thought I’d share a glimpse into

how mine got started. I was a theatre major at Hofstra University on

Long Island, but I knew the action was really in New York City. So, I’d

take the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan and audition at cattle calls

when I didn’t have class. Amazingly, I booked my 1 st big job as an

understudy in the First National Tour of Grease. I traded my shoulder

length hair for a DA, and ditched school for a trip to Chicago where I

began the tour.

I wasn’t a very good understudy. The job description was covering

Danny Zuko, and four other characters. But in all honesty, I was all

about Zuko all the time. I’d seen Barry Bostwick’s brilliant performance

on Broadway, and that was the roll I wanted to play.

Our director, Tom Moore, in his infinite wisdom, schooled the cast that

pacing was everything in Grease. He drilled into our heads not to milk

the moments. Not to take dramatic pauses. Keep it moving. I was the

newbie in the cast and one of the characters I covered was Teen Angel.

Fifties music was already being piped throughout the theatre when I was

notified by the frantic stage manager that Teen Angel had come down

with a terrible case of laryngitis and I was up. What? My first

performance as an understudy, and I had a half hour to prepare. I was

terrified. I’d learned all of Zuko’s songs, but felt ill prepared to play

Teen Angel.

The character had a showy entrance, and I steeled myself for the

performance. On cue, I swung in on a rope, landing on a platform fifteen

feet above the stage. I was dressed in pure white, with a white spotlight

that followed the action. I started singing Beauty School Dropout. The

Pink Ladies, dressed in shower caps and beauty school smocks on the

stage below began singing and executing Pat Birch’s perfectly timed

choreography.

The lights, the actresses, the audience, the orchestra, and the song, all

came together and I started getting into the groove. I got lost in the

moment, and took the dreaded dramatic-pause.

The musical director waved furiously at me with his baton. I glanced

below as one of the Pink Ladies, who had been balancing on one leg, fell

out of the line. And then a second dropped out of her pose and almost hit

the ground before recovering. My recovery wasn’t quite as immediate. I

finished the song, nailed the final falsetto high note, and walked off

stage, knowing I’d blown it big time. I received well-deserved cold

shoulders for the next few weeks from the very talented actresses, and

learned my lesson.

I eventually was cast as Danny in the first bus and truck, and after

playing Zuko in 90 cities on the road, my dream came true. I was cast as

Danny Zuko at the Royale Theatre on Broadway. It was one of the best

years of my life.