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Ethan Le Phong is about to open in the Pasadena Playhouse’s world premiere
musical Mask (based on the 1985 Cher/Eric Stolz movie, with book by the film’s
writer Anna Hamilton Phelan, directed by Richard Maltby, Jr., and music/lyrics
by the legendary Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil). Mask is just the latest step in a
career which has taken Ethan from Georgia to Germany to New York to London
and points in between. Having recently come to national attention via his
starring role in the long-awaited film version of the international hit Naked Boys
Singing, Ethan is poised to make yet another splash on the Pasadena Playhouse
stage opposite Ovation winner Michelle Duffy. We caught up with Ethan
recently. Here’s what he had to say about traveling the world as a musical
theater performer, appearing naked on the big screen, and working with some
of the biggest names in the biz in Mask.
Ethan, for someone who must still get carded all the time, you have an
impressive resume, beginning with a bunch of shows in Georgia while you
were still in middle and high school. First of all, how did someone born in Viet
Nam end up living in Georgia?
My father’s job transferred him down to Atlanta from Chicago so I got the
privilege of attending a new high school, Duluth. When we first got the news
that we were moving, I remembered asking him to find an arts high school but
instead he picked the school with the highest SAT scores. Asian parents!
 
I don't suppose your parents were "in the biz,” right?
Actually, my family is very talented and had great success in the “biz.” When
we lived in Chicago, my dad managed a Vietnamese band called the
Heartbeat where my mom was one of the lead singers. I have aunts who are
all singers. Besides being the manager of the band, my dad was also a well-
known lyricist back in Vietnam. My sister is also a singer and my brother can
literarily pick up any instrument and know how to play it within minutes. Both
are killer hip-hop dancer—something I wish I can do as naturally as they do.
Obviously, talent runs in your family! Still, as you say, you come from pretty
traditional Asian parents. How did they feel about their son singing and
dancing on stage?
My parents always advised me to see it as a hobby and go into engineering,
but I always thought outside the box and took a chance on pursuing my
passion. They are very supportive parents and they wish me the best but if I
told them I wanted to start a new career and start all over in college, they
would be right there with me.
During your college years, you did more musical theater in Daytona Beach,
including the lead in Crazy for You, right? Had you already decided to pursue
a career in musical theater at that time?
Actually, Crazy for You was a college production, but to have the chance to
play a lead role gave me a head start on what to expect in the real world. I
spent a summer down at Seaside Music Theater with 42nd Street and Tommy
where I was among some of New York’s best and I took it as a master class for
my career. At first I went into college training to be an opera singer but by the
next year, I knew for sure I had to continue my dancing and pursue musical
theater. I knew I was going to be a performer in some way. I just never knew it
would have leaded me here.
In 1999, you joined the National Tour of Miss Saigon, which must have been a
big step forward in your career. How did the role in Miss Saigon come about?
Can I first just let you know how honored I am right now to be working with
Richard Maltby, Jr! (Editor’s note: Maltby wrote lyrics and additional material
for Miss Saigon and is directing Mask.) Who knew when I was first introduced to
Miss Saigon back when I was a sophomore in high school that I would come full
circle by meeting and working for one of the members of the creative team in
MASK! Crazy!
The world of show business is small indeed! So tell me about Miss Saigon.
My first offer for the show happened when I was a junior in college. It was a
dream come true, so I dropped out and packed my bags for Germany. Not
only was I going to be part of a show that I dreamed of doing but doing it in
another country and language.
I had no idea you were doing the show in German!
While I was there, Peter Lawrence, the artistic director for the US production,
saw the show and invited all of the Americans to contact him when we were
ready to come back to the States. Needless to say, I took that opportunity
head on. I decided not to renew my contract to stay another year in Germany
but to make the big move to New York. Once there, I contacted Peter
Lawrence and he gave me an audition as promised and within three months, I
was offered a spot on the tour.
How long did you spend touring the country?
When I first joined the tour, I was only contracted for four months as a sub. It
was a great experience traveling the States. One of the greatest moments
from the tour was when Peter paid us a visit. It was a month prior to the end of
my contract. We were all in the quick changing area getting ready for the
show and Peter walks up to me and asks me what I was doing once my
contract was up. I told him I was just going back to New York and start
auditioning. So in front of the cast, he offers me Broadway Saigon if I am
interested. Of course I said yes. Another dream comes true! So that fall, I was
living the dream any actor would kill for!
How fantastic for you, Ethan!
So the following year, I somehow managed to hop back and forth between
the tour and Broadway. Unbeknownst to me when I joined the show, I made
history in all three productions by being the first Vietnamese actor to have
been in the show. I think that was pretty cool. Plus, it wasn’t until I joined the
show that I learned about my own family’s history and our ties to the Vietnam
War and how we escaped. I love my parents for their strength back then and
how they struggled to give us this privileged life.
Now comes what seems to me must have been an exciting, life-changing
experience for you, appearing in The King and I in the West End in London.
How amazing was that?
I know. Working in London was the last thing EVER on my mind, but when a
friend of mine thought of me for the King and I, I threw all caution to the wind
and went in for the audition. I always thought that one day I was going to be
in a production of The King and I, but I never thought my first one would be in
London. I got to live five minutes from Buckingham Palace for my first year
there. How many actors get to say that?
I’m so jealous! In fact, you ended up spending several years in London,
including roles in South Pacific, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Jerry Springer
the Opera. I know that a number of British actors have had a tough time
with Actors' Equity appearing on Broadway. Is it easier for Americans
appearing on the London Stage?
I think you have to prove yourself twice as hard because they have to believe
you are the best for the part to take a position away from a British actor so I
made sure to respect everyone I came across and did my job to the best of my
abilities. I wanted to prove myself as not just another Asian actor hired to do
an Asian show, so I made a commitment to get another show before I left
London. I walked away with a couple more than two.
Awesome! Tell me what the best part was about living in England?
I think the best part about living in England was creating the long-lasting
friendships I have now, so when I get to go back, I’ll always have a place to
stay.
And that brings us to your return to the States. What made you finally decide
to return to the U.S.? You seem to be West Coast based now. Were you just
getting tired of the weather in England? (chuckle)
I needed a break from theater. Knock on wood, I was able to work non-stop
since leaving school but I never took a break between shows and I started
becoming jaded, and being home-sick for the States took its toll on me, so
that’s what made me return home. I needed a change of scenery and course
in my career, and the West coast was a place I always wanted to take a
swing at and yeah, the weather in London can get pretty gray at best.
Before we get to Naked Boys Singing and Mask, I notice that you did a "return
engagement" in Thoroughly Modern Millie last year in Maine of all places?
What was it like returning to the show that you'd appeared in several years
before in England?
It was a chance to revisit a role with a new vision and to make different
choices that you didn’t get to try in the first place. I had a great time up in
Maine. The lobster was cheap and plenty, and to step away from the LA heat
was great. The last time I was in summer stock was when I was in college. So
any chance to work somewhere you have never worked before that had a
great reputation is an opportunity to work with other artists that you can learn
from.
 
MichaelHiggensPhoto.com
It’s wonderful that professional theater exists in every state of the U.S., though
not every state has had a production of Naked Boys Singing, I’d guess. Now,
with the release of the DVD, people all across the country are getting to see
the show and you in it. And I'd guess that for the rest of your career, people are
going to remember you singing naked on the silver screen. Did you have any
second thoughts about appearing in your birthday suit in a film that would
become part of, who knows, tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of people's
DVD collections?
You know, I just thought I better get this body preserved on film before it all goes
away but yes, I was extremely nervous about taking on the project. I was so
nervous about taking off my clothes that I had to create this persona who
didn’t give a care in the world and was willing to take off his clothes. I named
him Leland Way. I, myself, am very shy!
That is so funny! You actually developed a split personality to play the role! ?
How did your family react to your baring all?
My family knows that I did it. Have they seen it? I doubt it, but they are proud
that I was working. My mom did ask if I really have to take off my clothes. My
dad just laughed.
Your performance of Window to Window opposite Vincent Zamora is really
exquisite, as a singer, dancer, and actor. What was it like doing that sequence
with Vincent, the only member of the original cast, and especially being the
most physically "intimate" scene in the film?
Thanks. Vincent was a pro! He gave me a lot of insight into when he used to do it
when it was on stage and its history and I am grateful for it. He’s an excellent
dance partner.
Were there any special challenges?
Rehearsing with clothes was one thing but when the clothes came off, we were
pretty concerned with where our “other member” would fall and land on each
other. Once the giggles went away, it was back to business and we were so in
tune with each other, it made for a great performance. It was like we were just
dancing for each other and I hope that came across on the screen. It was great
when the writer of the song, Rayme Sciaroni, told me that it was great to finally
see and hear his song done the way he originally envisioned it. Now that’s an
honor in itself.
You must get recognized a lot these days. I know, I recognized you right away
when I saw you in the audience of Town Without Pity. What does it feel like to
be a celebrity on the rise?
Oh, I don’t think myself as being a celebrity but it’s nice to be recognized for my
“talent.” But yes, it’s a little surreal to say the least.
And now you're about to make your Pasadena Playhouse debut in Mask,
working with the gorgeous and gorgeously talented Michelle Duffy, whom I
love, and bringing the Cher/Eric Stoltz movie to new life as a musical.
I’m in love with Michelle Diva Duffy!
Who isn’t! So Ethan, what role, or roles, do you play?
I play various parts in the show but the one I most enjoy is Scott, a high school
student. We have a great uplifting number in the first act called “Do It for
Love” and it is my favorite to sing.
What do you think people will take away from the show?
Mask will take you on an emotional journey about the relationship of a mother
and her son and their challenges through life. I hope that what the audience
will take away with them after seeing the show is the positive message of how
important family is to you. Family in the most non-traditional way can be
stronger and more powerful. That love is blind and should never be taken for
granted. Live each day to its fullest and find beauty in everything and
everyone. If people don’t walk out wanting to call their mothers and tell her
they love them, we didn’t do our job.
Thank you so much Ethan! After talking with you, I’m even more looking
forward to Mask than before!
--Steven Stanley
March 2008
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