ti k it
o s
Av
Juan Person understudy William Gilinsky
has an operatic voice, a back-
stage role and a hand in finance.
SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Wir i l l i a m
Gilinsky's
parents
are follow-
ing in his
footsteps.
Seventeen years ago, he
decided to drop out of his
teaching career and test his
talents in musical theater.
Years later, his parents
retired to Florida and
began leading groups of
line dancers.
"At the end of their first
session, everybody clapped
for them, and they told me
they understood why I
loved my profession and the
satisfaction it gives to other
people," said Mr. Gilinsky,
43, who is an assistant
stage manager and under-
study for "Juan Peron" in
Evita, which will be at the
Fisher Theatre through
Oct. 3.
"The instantaneous grati-
fication that performers get
through applause at the
end of a show makes the
experience complete."
Mr. Gilinsky's current
responsibilities involve
checking props, carpentry
and electrical equipment to
make sure that all the
behind-the-scenes elements
are operating at full capaci-
ty. He also must remain
ready to take on a major
role should the regular
actor become incapacitated.
"This is my 12th year
working in various produc-
tions of Evita," said Mr.
Gilinsky, who also has
taken time to be in West
Side Story, 42nd Street and
other plays. "I have been a
performer, stage manager
and musician.
"The things I like most
about Evita are the music
and historical aspects,
which are loosely based on
the life of Eva Peron. The
show awakens a lot of sens-
es that most musicals don't.
It doesn't fall into comedy,
and it doesn't fall into
tragedy; it has both."
Although he has been in
the main casts and chorus-
es of other Evita companies,
this year-long tour has
brought him face-to-face
with the audience only
once.
"We were in New Haven,
and there was a blizzard,"
he recalled. "The actor who
is playing Peron had gone
to pick up his daughter in
New York and got caught
in traffic. A lot of other peo-
ple were missing, too.
"He walked in the door
about two minutes before
we were ready to go on so
he sat in the audience and
watched me do the role.
Since then, he's never gone
anywhere when there were
severe storm warnings."
Because Mr. Gilinsky has
been in so many versions of
Evita, he has found that
each new production can be
a bit confusing at the start.
William Gilinsky: Twelve years with "Evita."
"The first couple of weeks
involve trying to put it
together and unlearn the
idiosyncrasies picked up
over the years," he said.
"But it's good to see differ-
ent approaches."
His enjoyment of helping
others learn about classical
music and musical theater
prevented him from mak-
ing a clean break from edu-
cational jobs at the time he
began pursuing stage work.
"I was teaching voice at
the University of Kansas
when I began singing with
Kansas City Lyric Opera
Company," said Mr.
Gilinsky, who went on to
perform with other opera
groups around the country
while retaining his educa-
tor's post.
As theater became his
full-time profession, the for-
mer Omaha resident moved
to New York, where he
returns on days off from
tour engagements to audi-
tion for upcoming shows.
Those visits back to his
now-home city allow him to
be very active with the
Actors Federal Credit
Union, which has been a
principal interest during
the past 10 years. Part of
the five-person board of
directors, he also has been
a loan officer for the organi-
zation that serves 14,000
members.
"The credit union is one
of my biggest causes," he
said. "We loan money to
actors who normally
couldn't get it from banks
because of their working
only months at a time and
then experiencing unem-
ployment."
This visit to Michigan
brings back memories of
earlier trips including time
spent performing in an
Evita chorus at the
Birmingham Theatre and
working in Grand Rapids,
where he had lunch with a
former grilfriend and her
daughter.
Regardless of where he
travels, he uses some of his
free hours entertaining in
the Jewish community.
"I call myself a closet
philanthropist," he joked. "I
usually go to the local syna-
gogues and ask if there are
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