Spokane Talent: Jan. 11

The topic for the January 11 Wednesday Matinee comes from a conversation Verne Windham had with Don Caron, the composer and pianist responsible for the music of The Basket. Caron worked with lyricist Kimberly Hinton to create an opera-like treatment of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He'll talk with Verne about it in the second half of the show.

Don is one of several regional people with Broadway aspiration. The first half of the show features Spokanites who have gone on to perfom on the boards.

Scott Wise started out with Spokane Children's Theatre, went on to sing "I Can Do That" in A Chorus Line. Several dance roles on Broadway included Macavity in CATS (although it was hard to recognize him under the fur). He originated two speaking roles on Broadway. One was the dance instructor Billy in The Goodbye Girl with Bernadette Peters, the other was the love interest in State Fair. His latest Broadway credit was Assistant to Director and Assistant Choreographer (working with Twyla Tharp) for Movin' Out.

The biggest name right now is Cheyenne Jackson, or at least the biggest up-and-coming name. He turned heads starring in All Shook Up, and will appear in an upcoming film. He's not too big for his roots, though; he still keeps his Spokane performances on his resume.

Casey McGill dropped his big-band-style combo when Broadway called, and contributed songs and music arrangements to the 1999 show "Swing." Although he says he initially didn't want to be a performer, he created the role of 'bandleader' with ukelele in hand. At the 2000 Tony Awards presentation, he performed this opening number.

Stretching the concept a little, I'm starting the show with Thomas Hampson, "America's Leading Baritone." While he has not actually performed on Broadway, he's a world-class talent who has done an admirable job in researching and recording American song. This includes musical theater. When he came to Spokane last fall for a benefit at the Fox, I found more than half a dozen albums with good and somewhat unusual work. My opinion is that he acts far better than the average opera star, paying attention to the lyrics and not just the sound he makes.

Some other notes that can't make it onto the show:

Kasey Graham musical-directed several productions in Spokane, including "Return to the Forbidden Planet" with me. After some time in NYC, Kasey is touring as conductor for "Oklahoma!" which is coming to town April 13-16. Seems like just a few years ago he graduated from Whitworth.

Spokane native Julia Sweeney took her one-woman play "God Said Ha!" to Broadway for a month in 1996. When she came to town for a benefit at the Fox, she told Verne Windham that she'd like to do that again.

Craig T. Nelson, the Spokane-born actor who has played lead roles in Coach, The District, and The Incredibles, went on the boards in 1998 as an actor in the revival of Ah, Wilderness!

Going the other way around, a Broadway and television star who came to live in the Northwest is Patty Duke (aka Anna). Her first role was Helen in The Miracle Worker in 1960. She went on to another play called Isle of Children. After doing some community theater with Jack Phillips at Spokane Civic Theater, she got the role of Aunt Eller in the revival production of Oklahoma!

And stretching the concept a different way, a relative of a current Inland Northwesterner: John Travolta, brother of Idaho resident Ellen Travolta. I recently borrowed a copy of his first singing production, called "Over Here!" This is a 1970s vehicle for two of the Andrews Sisters. Yes, big band harmonies in the disco era. This was right before John would gain fame as Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back Kotter. He'd already been on Broadway during the run of Grease (Doody replacement; incidentally a young Walter Bobbie was in that cast too). On "Over Here," the voice that would later sing "Summer Niiii-hiiiiiiiiiits" croons with a big band. No kidding.

There are others who have moved to New York or have been and back, but these are the only names I know. I remember seeing a touring production of Annie Warbucks with the villianess played by a woman who had been at Spokane Civic Theater. And we wouldn't be surprised if Abbey Crawford makes a splash on the cabaret circuit in New York.

Bottom line: There are too darn few recordings of local talent singing showtunes. We have a wealth of talent here in the northwest, but not the financial wealth to record it. Then again, as we've seen in the studio, sometimes the talent doesn't translate well when reduced to simply audio. So go to any (or all) of our local theaters and check out the talent we have in our back yard.