The third issue of our second year contained interviews with Jekyll & Hyde's Chuck Wagner, and Civil War's Gilles Chiasson, John Sawyer and Gene Miller. The issue also included a report from the fan who won a night in Jekyll & Hyde at the BC/EFA Grand Auction, pictures from Linda Eder's baby shower/CD pre-release party, and, of course, more from Rob Evan. Here are some excerpts:

Chuck Wagner, who was the original Jekyll/Hyde in Houston long before he took up the big furry coat on the recent national tour, told us about his second starring role in a Wildhorn show, Svengali.

Chuck Wagner photo by Shirley Campagna

What can I say? After the huge success of J&H in 1990, Frank and Greg Boyd at the Alley were on a roll, and they decided, at Greg's inspiration, to tackle Trilby, the book by George du Maurier. This time the show was written for Linda and me to star in, and the music was custom tailored to our voices. Compaq computer was our corporate sponsor, and a "Making of" video was made. Philip Hoffman, my original Utterson (and my dressing room mate from Into The Woods on Broadway), was cast as Gecko, Svengali's violin-playing sidekick, and we had a blast. The Alley run was good, but we truly found the show at the Asolo in Sarasota, Florida. The show features some of Frank's most beautiful music, and was a dynamite showcase for Linda, who was an amazing Trilby. Strong, sexy and an incredibly powerful singer, she was able, as Madame La Svengali in Act 2, to demonstrate an entirely different side of her voice--one that would and will transport the audience to nirvana! As Svengali might put it, it is the voice of an Angel! A classical soprano unparalleled, and a major change from the voice of steel J&H fans have come to love. There was great passion in Svengali, and I hope that one day it makes it to Broadway. We tried to play up the mysticism and romance, and downplay the anti-Semitic stereotype that Svengali represents. There are some similarities to Phantom, but still Svengali was a great adventure. I will add that the hypnotism scenes with Linda were truly amazing to me, as we would seem to connect on a transcendental level. She can be an amazing actress, and only needs a good partner and director to transport the audience . . . and she is so lovable to begin with. I will always treasure that time. (My daughter Paige was born on opening night in Houston, to the second . . . both Svengali and Paige had simultaneous debuts!) As to the recording of Svengali, it is a promise I still look forward to Frank keeping!

Gilles Chiasson played Corporal Bill McEwan (the guy that sings "Sarah") in Civil War on Broadway. He told us a little bit about the journey his character takes in the show.

Gilles Chiasson with Irene Molloy as Bill and Sarah McEwan Photo by Eduardo Patino

Well, just, when I go into "Judgment Day," when I go into all these different battles, when I go into every scene, I view that scene through the lens of this particular character, and how that affects him. So there are other times in the show when, even though no one can see me 'cause I'm standing in the dark, I pull out the letter from Sarah, and I make reference to it, and it's something that I carry around with me. During "Greenback," when everyone's sleeping with the prostitutes, I stay onstage, I sit way upstage right, and I write a letter home to my wife. And I write a letter every show, and I actually mail them to her once a week. Because she and I don't really have any stage time together, so I want to create a process and a relationship that we could have, even though it's-- I mean the audience may not be aware of it, but I am, and that's what their situation is. So I write her letters and I mail them to the theatre. I mail-- Bill mails a package of letters to Sarah every week, at the St. James.

John Sawyer played Private Nathaniel Taylor (one of the brothers) in Civil War. And he told us....

"This Is The Moment" was my audition song for years. Every job I would get, I would book it from that song. And they would say-- I had so many people say, "Everybody sings that song. Why do you sing that song?" And I'd go, "Well, I got the job. Obviously, you know, you liked my voice singing that song." "Oh, you sounded fabulous on it. That's why we hired you." So I'm gonna keep singing it if I'm getting hired. What did you audition for this show? Well-- I-- Did you audition for this show?

Headshot courtesy of John Sawyer

Well, originally, they brought people in that they knew. I had gotten back from doing Whistle Down The Wind and was in a Kinko's the next day, having my resumes and pictures made up to go to another audition to get a job. And Kathleen Raitt, one of our producers, was in line in that Kinko's. She saw my resume and she said, "Can I have this?" And she went back to the office. And with Dave Clemmons, who was also in Whistle Down The Wind, they were talking about casting the first reading, and she goes, "Well I just ran into this guy at Kinko's. Is he any good?" And he goes, "Yeah, he's good." So they hired me for that, and I've been with it ever since. But we all had to go through an audition process when it got to this point. Before we went to Houston and Broadway. So, um, I sang something from the show, that they had me sing. 'Cause by then I had already been doing it for so long that they knew what I could do.

Gene Miller played Captain Billy Pierce (the Confederate Captain) in Civil War. He talked about representing the South in this show.

Gene Miller as Captain Pierce by Carol Rosegg/Joan Marcus

Well, growing up in the South, I lived in Nashville, Tennessee for a great deal of time, and I remember, even myself growing up, always feeling a little bit embarassed. I mean, in school, you are kind of given that thumbnail sketch of the Civil War that tells you that the Southern guys were the evil slaveowners and the Northern guys were the emancipators, and I always remember feeling a little embarassed about being a Southerner for that reason, for doing such an evil thing as having slaves. But then as I started studying for the role and doing my homework and watching the Ken Burns videos and reading various and sundry books, I became very proud of my Southern heritage and realized, first of all, that that's not what the majority of Southern men were fighting for. They weren't fighting over slavery, they were fighting over much larger issues, issues that were very similar to what their forefathers fought for in the Revolutionary War--freedom--freedom from a dictatorship, freedom from a government getting too big, you know, freedom to have a government of the people and by the people. Obviously the great, the wonderful thing that did come about from the Civil War was that people got free, but we also got defined as a nation, far greater, by this war. And I hope that what "Virginia" and what "Last Waltz for Dixie" and what "Judgment Day"--those songs that I perform in the show--I hope that they show the humanity of the Southern men that went to fight in this war. And I think that Jack and Frank did a great job musically and lyrically expressing these emotions and these truths. As a Southerner, I find it very fulfilling to go out every night and get to tell these stories, and I hope that other people may be enlightened and interested to find out more of the truth about what this war was about, that it really gives you a deeper understanding of what we're all about as Americans, too.

Linda Eder received this "Baby Jekkie" sweatshirt for Baby Jake from Don Simon, the Vice President of the Jekyll & Hyde fan club; photo by Don Simon