Beyond the Point

Wednesday, 26 July 2006

By Karen Mork
Online editor, Funcoast.com

Before S. Epatha Merkerson became Lt. Anita Van Buren on "Law and Order" or portrayed Reba the Mail Woman on "Pee-Wee's Playhouse," she performed at Cedar Point's Palace Theatre.

Before Eric Dysart made the original Broadway cast of Hair Spray, he sang and danced onstage at Cedar Point's Centennial Theatre.

And before Stephen Flaherty won his Tony Award for the Broadway musical "Ragtime," he performed in live shows at -- you guessed it -- Cedar Point.

These are just three of the performers featured in "The Midway, Broadway and Beyond," a book the Live Entertainment staff is compiling about alumni who have made names for themselves in show business.

Working onstage at Cedar Point doesn't guarantee a performer will hit the big-time, but it certainly can help, according to Marje Rody, vice president of live entertainment.

"If you're successful in this business and get a recording contract or get on Broadway, how are you going to do 300 performances of the same show? Well, this is where they learn," Rody said.

Cedar Point performers do the same show six days a week -- and as many as six times in one day - throughout the summer season. Every cast member understudies someone else, because the show must go on, no matter what. It's not unusual for the cast to re-block a show just 10 minutes before showtime because someone is unable to go onstage. Earlier this month a performer got sick in the middle of a show and was unable to continue, Rody said.

"Well, they did an instant re-block, and the people out there (in the audience) may or may not have known, but you've got to act like everything's good and not get that deer-in-the-headlights look. You just keep going," she said. "You don't get to be a professional by doing everything right when everything is going right. You get there by doing everything right when everything is going wrong. And the only way you get that kind of experience is the long run."

In addition to providing onstage experience, Cedar Point helps performers prepare for the next step by offering workshops and bringing some of the successful alumni back to share what they've learned about show business. An audition workshop, for example, helps performers get head shots, put together resumes, learn how to audition and prepare themselves for rejection.

"It's a really, really mean business," Rody said. "It's all about rejection. This will be the last chance some of these people will have to be treated right, so we want to give them some tools to work with."

One of the Cedar Point veterans who will come back this summer to share his experiences is Perry Laylon Ojeda, who appeared in a larger-than-life poster on Times Square while starring in the Broadway show "On the Town."

Ojeda credits Cedar Point with helping him become a professional entertainer.

In a quote provided for "The Midway, Broadway and Beyond," Ojeda said: "For the first time in my life, my days were all about preparing for the show, staying healthy and learning to make my performance work. I was expected to learn my material quickly and show up on time. Most importantly, I learned how to work with all kinds of people from every walk of life and different backgrounds. Cedar Point is where I learned that this is what I want to spend my life doing: Being a performing artist."

Other Cedar Point veterans who have moved on in show business include:

• Tom Anzalone, a comedian and musician, has appeared on radio and television, as well as comedy clubs and colleges around the county. He also has opened for Rodney Dangerfield.

• Lisa Asher won the Back Stage Magazine Bistro Award for best cabaret singer and has performed on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show."

• Kevin Bailey performed in "Annie Get Your Gun" and the original cast of "The Lion King" on Broadway.

• Lawrence Brownlee, tenor, has performed throughout the United States and Europe, and is scheduled to debut in April 2007 with The Metropolitan Opera in Il Conte Almaviva.

• Douglas Coates is a musical director and conductor whose credits include the national tours of "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel."

• Eric Dysart was in the original Broadway cast of "Hairspray."

• Stephen Flaherty won the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for his music for the Broadway production of "Ragtime." His credits also include writing the music for Broadway's "Seussical" and the film "Anastasia."

• Charles Floyd is a frequent guest conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra and music director for Natalie Cole.

• Tony Gonzalez was cast as understudy for the lead in the national tour of "Saturday Night Fever" and ended up doing the whole tour as lead.

• Casey Miles Good performed in "Annie Get Your Gun" with Bernadette Peters on Broadway, and has appeared in "Footloose," "Peter Pan" and "Saturday Night Fever."

• Janine Hawley, mezzo soprano, has performed in opera houses throughout the United States including Kennedy Center and The Metropolitan Opera.

• Karen Kennedy is Director of Choral studies at Towson University in Maryland, former director of Choral Activities at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a guest conductor in the United States and abroad.

• Kristopher (Antekeier) Kyer was the youngest Ringmaster with the Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey Circus, has performed off-Broadway and has an acting studio in Burbank, Calif.

• Michelle Mailhot-Valines performs with the theatrical a cappella group Toxic Audio and will release a solo CD in August.

• Michael McCafferty has appeared in episodes of numerous TV shows, including "The West Wing" and "ER."

• S. Epatha Merkerson has been on "Law and Order" since 1993 and recently completed filming for the movie "Black Snake Moan." She also has a long list of Broadway, off-Broadway and television credits and honors.

• Bill Nolte has performed in the Broadway productions of "Amour," "The Producers," "Jane Eyre", "1776", "King David", Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and "The Secret Garden."

• Greg Reuter is in "Spamalot" on Broadway and has also performed in "The Producers," "Chicago," "Fosse," "Aida," "Bells Are Ringing" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

• Mark Vinci, saxophonist, is director of the Skidmore Jazz Ensemble, has recorded three solo albums and has toured or recorded with many artists, including Rosemary Clooney, Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.

• Cindy Warden is an actress, singer, vocal coach, voice-over talent and musical director.

• Becky Watson performed in the Broadway and television productions of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "By Jeeves" and has made numerous other stage and television appearances.

• Lynne Wintersteller, a Sandusky native, starred in "A Grand Night For Singing!" on Broadway and has been involved in many off-Broadway and regional productions.

• Lloyd Ziel is one-half of the Las Vegas-based music and comedy act, "Tony and Lloyd."

FunCoast.com is your online guide to summer fun for Cedar Point, the LakeErie Islands and Sandusky area. Our site offers up-to-date information on area attractions, restaurants, hotels, gasoline prices, ferry schedules, swimming, birding and fishing, along with a complete listing of events happening in the Sandusky/Cedar Point area. To use our Webcam and zoom in on Cedar Point's rollercoasters, go to http://funcam.funcoast.com

Copyright 2006 the Sandusky Register. All rights reserved.

All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of the Sandusky Register or FunCoast.com. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.