I The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 20, 1999 - 19 J isWriter alum gains 'Fame' in nation altour spotlight versity alum Gavin Creel couldn't whether he should paint his sub- s third audition after moving to Fork City, a tryout for the lead in rth American tour of "Fame -The l," had landed him four callbacks. ot the part he would move right o he called his agent to find out if rld need to fix up his sublet. When ent returned his call, he told Creel buy the paint because he had a et. contract will bring Creel to next week as part of the tour that in Toronto last November. He to stay in Ann Arbor during that d catch up with his teachers and . Due to his involvement in ' Creel's life has undergone major s since his graduation from the sity's musical theater program an a year ago. "It's like a great, amazing first step," he said. future wasn't so certain at the ing of last fall. After a couple of n summer stock groups, Creel in New York at the end ofAugust. off the train with my luggage idea where I was going to e said. found an apartment quickly arted going to auditions, ough he said he wasn't too vhat he was doing. He into the "Fame" audition it being on the call list. aid his college experiences, f the best times in his life, give him the courage to do lichigan prepared me to go vYork and just go for it, he sings the opening lines of the musical as well as a solo, "I Want to Make Magic." Creel also got the chance to sing on the musical's CD, made in one day dur- ing their six week long stay in Toronto at the kick-off of the tour. The cast woke up early one morning to record the album, a task that took 10 hours. Creel recalled one of his friends saying he listened to the CD at Borders here in Ann Arbor. "Of course, we hear all the problems, but it's such an honor to be on a cast record- ing," Creel said. The tour also has its ups and downs, including living out of a suitcase and moving nearly every week. Since Creel misses his college friends and family, he received a cell phone as a Christmas gift to keep in touch. "AT&T One Rate, baby," he said. "It's a beautiful thing." He does have companionship, since the whole cast usually stays in the same hotel. Working and living together can be a strain, however. "You go through days where you want everyone to leave you alone, and then you have days where you want some- to you and no one does;' Creel said. But "For the most part, the cast really works well together." Creel said he feels that being on tour is actually less stressful than some of his previous performing experiences. At the University, he appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Sweeney Todd" in addition to directing last spring's MUSKET show "Pippin." "There's less pressure on the road than at Michigan," he said. At University pro- ductions, "All the most influential people in your life are sitting there and watching you." Part of the pressure stemmed from the fact that the University shows only had four performances, all of which had to be perfect. With "Fame" Creel instead wor- ried about getting bored with playing the same role many times. "At first I thought, 'How the hell am I going to sus- tain this for six months?"' he said. Yet, "Every night I step on stage, and I chal- lenge myself." He uses the scenes where he is having a conversation with other actors in the background for this pur- pose. During each perfor- mance, Creel tries to have new discussions with different characters. Even though he spends it on the :. fringes of the action, he espe- cially enjoys the musical number "There She Goes! /Fame." "I'm only in that for the first minute and a half," he said. But, "I could watch that every night." That scene holds court as his favorite due to his costars' energetic dance moves. Although his part in "Fame" consists predominantly of singing, Creel also studied dancing dur- ing his college career. "I love to dance, but there's no way I can do half the things those people do," he said. "They're fierce." In spite of the cast's spirit, reviewers criticized the musical's script. Creel deals with the reviews by remembering the positive feedback on the actors from the audiences and critics. "When you get a job, you have to treat it like it is Shakespeare," he said. Even with all the new experiences in his life, Creel has become used to the routine of being in a national tour. He compared it to when he worried about getting a job at Einstein's Bagels right after it opened and realized later, through experience, that slicing bagels was sim- ple. "Now that I'm in it, I sort of take it for granted," he said. "Sometimes I feel like, 'Why me?' For me, it's not any dif- ferent than trying to get a part my fresh- man year in high school." "Fame" is already booked through the year 2001, but Creel's contract expires in November. He could leave anytime after that to pursue his other ambitions, including directing and acting in Broadway shows, TV and movies. He has an interest in films that feature actors his age such as "Go," which he saw twice, and period dramas similar to "Shakespeare in Love." "I'm trying to learn about what kind of actor I want to be," Creel said. "Eventually I'm going to have to say goodbye to 'Fame' and hit the pavement again to take the next step." That step could be starring in the Broadway show "Footloose," which currently stars Jennifer Thompson, another 1998 University alum, as the female lead. Right now, however, Creel is still focusing on the upcoming West Coast leg of the tour and the impor- tance of "Fame" as the first step in his career. "This has been a huge part of the plan," he said. "Whereas college was the root ... everything's going to grow from here" courtesy of Carol Rossegg Jennifer Gambatese listens to Gavin Creel explain his dreams of an acting career. ig that chance turned out to worthwhile. Now Creel's Nick Piazza, one of the tudents at New York's ,hool of the Performing ght times a week. Creel Courtesy of Carol Rossegg Carl Tramon, Robert Creighton and Amy Ehrlich discuss ideas for their new rock band. Thianadian Brass ew 'Fame' may not live forever THE FORD HONORS PROGRAM S MADE POSSIBLE BY FORD) MOTOR COMPANY FUND Idsomikxv Saturday, May 8, 6 p.mt Hill Auditorium mll Olean ts Writer ame - The Musical" may have ved a standing ovation at a r e c e n t Philadelphia per- formance, but the applause ie - The ended quickly. Even as the audi- Musical ence began Detroit bundling into its Music Hall coats, a sense of April 27.1999 disappointment pervaded the, theater. In some ways, "Fame" succeed- ed. It gave the audience a real- istic and fun se of a class graduating from York's High School for the arming Arts in 1984. The authen- Os garb served as a disturbing der of an era of fashion trends people would rather forget. t in spite of the costuming and compelling music, the show left behind the nagging sensation of an incomplete work. The missing ele- ment was character development. In trying to recreate the high school experience, writer Jose Fernandez introduced too many characters and their problems in a couple hours. The approach of following an entire class of students through high school works well in shows such as "Grease," because the focus of "Fame" remains on two main charac- ters. In "Fame," however, the audi- ence can't pick out the main charac- ters from a lineup. Often, the characters only referred to a conflict in one line and never came back to it, leaving the audience hanging. The music student Schlomo Metzenbaum, for example, wants to start a rock band, although he comes from a long line of classical com- posers. The potential plot line starts out interesting, but Schlomo only mentions it once before he launches into singing another cheesy tune. The same fate befalls acting stu- dents Nick Piazza and Serena Katz. Although University graduate Gavin Creel and Jennifer Gambatese worked hard to keep their several scenes interesting, the script had already hardened the hearts of the audience into indifference. Only Dwayne Chattman as class rebel Tyrone Jackson and Natasha Rennalls in the role of the ambitious Carmen Diaz really managed to win over the audience by sheer force of character. They also played the only two characters with developed prob- lems for the audience to understand. Jose Restrepo overcame the script in his smaller role as the class clown with the solo "Can't Keep it Down." No one could remain apathetic to his humor. The ensemble songs and dances, such as "Hard Work" and "Fame," also remained entertaining, even with the script's flaws. The cast seemed like they really had attended perform- ing arts school and graduated with honors. Their sheer energy spawned an irrepressible urge to tap your feet. Song and dance segments, even when combined with an energetic and talented cast, don't make a suc- cessful musical, however. The script's holes ultimately doomed the show's chance-at fame to mediocrity. Tickets for "Fame - The Musical" are $25-$50 and are available at all Ticketmaster locations. The Detroit Music Hall is located at 350 Madison Ave. "Fame " begins April 27 and runs through May 2. Call (313) 983-6611 for more information. -'B "TIAA-CREF sets the standard in the Im America's Top Pension Fund," _ o. 0,* Magazine, January 1998 financial services industry." (Hong Kong Style, cafeteria 510 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, M1 48104 . fBUSINESS HOURS Mon. - Sat. 11a.m. - 10p.m. delivery with this ad! Sunday 12 Noon - 9p.m. Suay.., .:s.. elFax: 747-6620 Offere Xp 61sAp 20 , 1999,:: 1.7762 -Morningstar* AAA W...illiam R vdiri.TIAA-CREF Pa )t cipan t ' &Pand rat ig fOr. Mood V TIAA$,; HIGH MARKS FROM MORNINGSTAR, S&P, MOODY'S, MONEY MAGAZINE AND BILL. ational dvertising Now Hiring ,ordinator * You are a student who wants to work at an award-winning college newspaper " You want to be responsible for nlacinn thousands of dollars in U e take a lot of pride in gaining high marks from the major rating services. But the fact is, we're equally proud of the ratings we get every day from our participants. Because at TIAA-CREF, ensuring the financial futures of the educa- tion and research community is something that goes beyond stars and numbers. We became the world's largest retire- operating expenses that are among the lowest in the insurance and mutual fund industries*** With TIAA-CREF, you'll get the right choices-and the dedication-to help you achieve a lifetime of financial goals. The leading experts agree. So does Bill. TIAA-CREF can help you build a com- fortable, financially secure tomorrow, with . . . ,.....4 ..«..,,n ....en#-..ter inv. e4 FF. Y. v rc :"s c n rl n t7vN i' rrnA nnnlll+' ,-c 1YtYl'f'i1..]' ( Aind-z- 1R11C_