This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Ben Rimalower: Broadway Podcast Network presents Giants in the Sky, How Sondheim and Lapine Went Into the Woods.

[0:06] Ben Rimalower: With me, Ben Rimalower.

[0:07] Ben Rimalower: Today's guest, Tom Galantich, Replacement Prince on Broadway.

[0:11] Ben Rimalower: Once upon a time.

[0:15] Tom Galantich: I was a replacement understudy to the roles of Cinderella's Prince, The Wolf, Rapunzel's Prince, Jack, and The Steward, in the original Broadway production of Into the Woods, eventually taking over as Cinderella's Prince and The Wolf.

[0:28] Tom Galantich: My other Broadway credits include City of Angels, Mamma Mia, The Boys from Syracuse, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Boeing Boeing, Don't Dress for Dinner, War Paint, The Lehman Trilogy, and most recently, Funny Girl.

[0:40] Tom Galantich: I have toured in Elf, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, and as Bobby in the 1999 tour of Company.

[0:47] Tom Galantich: Among my regional credits, I can count playing Young Ben in the 1988 Michigan Opera Theater production of Follies.

[1:04] Tom Galantich: And I did hear about it. And because I lived here, I saw commercials too. They were running TV commercials. And I remember thinking, how odd that show seems. Because the commercial ended with Cinderella, you know, falling on her knees, which was one of the bits during the show. I don't mean bits, but one of the running themes of the show. And so I remember thinking, gosh, I wonder what that's about. And so, you know, quickly became obvious that it was sort of a fractured fairy tale type thing, or at least a new take on sort of the standard fairy tale thing. So yeah, I was aware of it pretty early after it opened.

[1:47] Ben Rimalower: And were you like a Sondheim fan already at that point? Or, you know, what was your background in that?

[1:53] Tom Galantich: I was terrified of Sondheim. I was, as a musical performer, I just thought, I don't know how I could ever learn his music. I was not a trained musician, I was not a trained singer. I just happened to find my way into musicals. And I do remember thinking it terrified me to think of learning Sondheim's music. It was so complex and so amazing. And I always knew that the Sondheim shows that I saw, I learned very quickly that it was always better to listen to the album first before you go to the show, which is not typically what I would recommend for anybody, but I found for his music and his lyrics it was so important because they come at you at a breakneck pace sometimes.

[2:39] Tom Galantich: Yeah, I feel that way maybe in general with all shows, actually. I think that I enjoy them more when I know the music. It's, well, there's no doubt he had a lasting effect on all composers. So yeah, that's true. Fifty, sixty years, yeah. You can really divide musical theater into pre-Sondheim and post-Sondheim.

[3:02] Tom Galantich: I do, I really do think you can, yeah. So when did it come up for you to, I assume you auditioned?

[3:09] Tom Galantich: I did. I'll tell you, I had the perfect actor's nightmare experience with this show in a good way. In a good way. I think I auditioned for the show on a Thursday, and it would have been opened about a year.

[3:29] Ben Rimalower: Oh wow. Had you seen it?

[3:32] Tom Galantich: I had not seen it. I'd been out of town working and stuff like that. And so I got the call to audition for it, and it was to understudy both princes and the princess steward, and as I like to say, if hell froze over, Jack. And so I auditioned for it, and they said, "Well, come see the show tonight." And so I went and I saw the show that night, and then things would work out the next day. I got cast miraculously. So it was a Friday, I believe. And so I went and I watched the show.

[4:06] Tom Galantich: And who was in it at that point?

[4:08] Tom Galantich: It was pretty much the original cast was still there. Nancy Dussault had joined as the witch, and Cynthia Sykes was there as the baker's wife. And I think only for a little while after I got there. But otherwise, Chip was still there, Tom Aldridge, Bob, and it was still there. So it was great.

[4:30] Ben Rimalower: And were you taking over for, who were you replacing as the understudy, do you know?

[4:36] Tom Galantich: I'm not sure. I think it was, I want to say it was Jeff Blumenkrantz, but I think he distributed the understudy assignments at that point.

[4:44] Ben Rimalower: Yeah.

[4:45] Tom Galantich: So I could be wrong about that, but that's the recollection I have. So I got there and I'll finish this crazy story.

[4:53] Ben Rimalower: Sorry, go ahead.

[4:54] Tom Galantich: No, no, it's all good. Please interrupt anytime long. And so I watched the show over the weekend and had my day off on Monday, and Tuesday I got a call from our production stage manager saying they needed me to go on that night. And I laughed and said, sure. What time do you want me at the theater? And he said, "No, no, no, no. We need you to play the Prince Stewart. Don't worry about it, it'll be fine. Just come to the theater about five o'clock."

[5:21] Tom Galantich: So I got to the theater about five o'clock and went to hair and makeup. They proceeded to put a hair net on me and a funny mustache, wardrobe who put me in a padded suit. And then I believe it was Marianne Kane, our assistant stage manager, or I forget her exact stage manager position at the time. But she said, "Don't worry about it, I'll be with you the whole show."

[5:48] Tom Galantich: And so I remember walking on the steps. Kate McClellan had been on vacation the week before, and I passed her on the steps because I had never met her, and here I am in full Mrs. Stewart garb. And she said, "Oh, hello, I'm sorry, who are you?" And that happened with a couple of cast people who I hadn't quite had the chance to meet. But yeah, so Marianne was with me the whole show.

[6:11] Tom Galantich: And pretty much said, "Don't worry, this is in this scene, these are, you know, he didn't fortunately didn't have a lot of lines." And she said, "So these are your lines, let's rehearse them." And then she said, "Okay, when you go on this scene, just follow Bob Weissenberg as Cinderella's friend. Just follow him out there. You're gonna hear a big giant footstep. When that happens, you can sort of lose your back or fall to the ground if you want, your choice. And then follow Bob off the other way. Oh, and by the way, the ramp that's there on the other side, that's gonna be stairs, just so you know, and just follow him off, and I'll meet you on the other side."

[6:45] Tom Galantich: And so that's how my Broadway debut happened.

[6:50] Tom Galantich: With that, yeah. And the whole show was like that. Unfortunately, the cast was amazing. The cast was just the top of the second act was that where's that moving sidewalk? And we all had to jump on and jump off of it and stuff. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. So people just kind of grabbed me and Dosy Dode and pulled me this way, pulled me that way. And that was pretty much the whole show. Any kind of group thing people just kind of grabbed my hand and said come with me, so it was pretty brilliant. It was a lot of fun.

[7:13] Tom Galantich: And people asked me, they think you must have been terrified, and I said quite frankly I couldn't be. It was so crazy that I didn't really have time to be terrified. I figured if they thought it was okay, it must be okay. So my lasting vision is the finale because the Prince Stewart sort of is upstage and just seeing all these amazing people in the roles and in their costumes and looking out of the Martin Beck Theater and thinking, holy cow, this is amazing. Just the silhouettes of everybody and the darkness of the audience, it was really pretty cool.

[7:13] Ben Rimalower: It sounds actually kind of like an ideal understudy situation because of the limited scope of that role you were able to be thrown into it almost cold really and then sort of pop your cherry. And I'm sure the next when you eventually went on as a prince you'd had rehearsal and had a lot of time sitting around and waiting and you know and that had seemed not traumatic so you were ready to roll.

[7:13] Tom Galantich: Correct, except I had to sing "Mr. Sun's High" sometimes music, but that would still terrify me.

[8:37] Tom Galantich: Yeah, but yeah, so I mean I of course I was just, you know, I was clutch cargo, I was moving my mouth, I had no idea what the lyrics were, I had no idea where I was supposed to be when I went on. But you're right. It did kind of loosen everything up for the rest of my time there. And like I said, the cast couldn't have been more amazing. Chip and Bob and Tom and everybody. And I had known Nancy. So I had done a show with Nancy as I think you covered that in one of the, which show was that? We did Follies together at Michigan Opera.

[9:08] Ben Rimalower: So this was not your first Sondheim then?

[9:12] Tom Galantich: True.

[9:12] Tom Galantich: That's true, yeah.

[9:13] Ben Rimalower: Were you one like one of the young people I assume?

[9:15] Tom Galantich: I was young then.

[9:16] Ben Rimalower: Young then.

[9:17] Tom Galantich: Oh, so you were really there with Nancy.

[9:20] Tom Galantich: I was there with Nancy and Ron and yeah, Juliet, everybody was great.

[9:25] Ben Rimalower: How wonderful. Juliet Prowse, she was Phyllis, right?

[9:25] Tom Galantich: Yeah, um, God, could do a podcast about that for sure. It was amazing.

[9:34] Tom Galantich: So I've always been intrigued by that Michigan Opera production of Follies. Was it 1988?

[9:41] Tom Galantich: Yeah, I guess, yeah, I guess it was the summer thing. Was that fast? Maybe it was the spring of '80, but yeah, probably with Fairley. And it was Nancy and Juliet, Ron Rains, and was Karen Morrow Carlotta, is that right? No, it was Edie, um, forgive me, Edie Adams.

[9:41] Tom Galantich: Oh, wonderful, right? Yeah, I think she was Carlotta. I could be wrong, but I should be researching this, but Into the Woods.

[9:41] Ben Rimalower: So we have heard from a lot of people about the understudy rehearsal process for Into the Woods on Broadway. And, you know, I have a strong sense I think of what those might have been like as far as the understudies and stage management coming together in the theater. I think it was twice a week maybe and doing stretches of the show and at least some sort of talking through the backstage business and costume changes, if not actually doing them all. And then I know those were an integral part of the rehearsal process for replacement cast members. You know, for example, when Nancy took over as the witch, she had spent a good deal of time going through her scenes with understudies and stage management, you know, understudy rehearsals.

[10:58] Ben Rimalower: But one thing we have not heard about that I'd be curious to hear about from you, particularly in light of your anxieties about singing Sondheim at the time, is what was the music rehearsal process for the understudies? When did you learn "Agony"?

[11:13] Tom Galantich: Yeah, I mean, well, I had to learn it in the good old days. We actually were given music back then and oftentimes given about a week to learn it. So because I auditioned with "Agony," and I think I had to learn "Giants" too at the time, just to audition for the show. So I had a sense of that, but it's the group stuff that for me is the most challenging.

[11:38] Ben Rimalower: Yes, understandably.

[11:40] Tom Galantich: You know, because people, you're interjecting lines here or there, and you have your own count in your head regardless of what the other people are singing. So that was the hard part. But yeah, I mean, you sit down and Paul Ford was our, he pretty much ran all the musical rehearsals at that point. And so we just go in and just plunk it out and go song by song and number by number. And because I had four, I mean, Prince Stewart just sang in group numbers, so he didn't learn anything individual. And the other guys pretty much shared "Agony," although they did a couple other things too.

[12:16] Tom Galantich: So yeah, so we just kind of did it one by one. And then, you know, when you're rehearsing with the group, you find your place to fit in and watch other people might be singing the same part to give you a little bit of help. But yeah, it's challenging. It's challenging. And but typically what will happen is, yeah, the understudies will put actors in the show up until, you know, a put in or maybe a few rehearsals before put in when if you're going into a principal role.

[12:45] Ben Rimalower: Yeah.

[12:46] Tom Galantich: And then, but the great thing about them is they tended to move people up. For instance, I ended up taking over both princes for a little while, you know, at different times. They were great, the company was great about doing that and sort of, you know, rewarding the work of the understudies and the rest of the cast members. So I was grateful for that.

[13:09] Ben Rimalower: And how was that for you? You know, did you feel a different sense of ease when you would take over in the role and actually get some consecutive performances? You know, was that?

[13:09] Tom Galantich: Yeah, of course it tends to relax you and you tend to, you know, I've always felt that a good starting point for the understudy is to try and get as close to the performance of the person you are replacing as possible because there's comedic timing and there's things like that that, you know, the other actors rely on and are used to. Sometimes other actors who will say, "Hey, whatever you bring to me, great, I'd love to play off of it and don't worry about anything." But, you know, you try it first to sort of, you know, make sure that those laughs are there and then you can start finding other things that sort of fit better for you and work better for you and the relationship you have with the other actor.

[14:05] Tom Galantich: You never deviate too far from the original intention, but you know, every actor brings their own set of skills and interpretations to things, so it's gonna vary no matter how much you rehearse and try and be the same. So yeah, that's the challenge, I think, as an understudy. And then once you do it and once you've gone on and once the cast is comfortable with you and you're comfortable with them, then yeah, that's when it gets relaxed and enjoyable and quite fun.

[14:05] Ben Rimalower: And as far as like if you were coaching actors playing the princes in Into the Woods, like how, I mean, how has someone who plays both of those princes, how do you distinguish their personalities? Or, you know, are there glaringly obvious things I'm sort of not thinking of that sort of distinguish them as what kind of type they are? Did that really just vary from actor to actor? What, you know, what was that about?

[15:11] Tom Galantich: Yeah, but I think the for me the separation between the two is one's an older brother and one's a younger brother. And if you go in with that mindset then it helps define the differences between the two, you know, between the C Prince and the R Prince.

[15:28] Tom Galantich: Yeah, I guess especially when one is heir to a throne that really amplifies the older brother, younger brother dynamic.

[15:36] Tom Galantich: It does, yeah. And how about playing the wolf? I mean, that's really a whole other back of bones. Talk to me about that.

[15:46] Tom Galantich: Yeah, it was so interesting. You know, when I watched the show and realized that, you know, that Bob who played C Prince also played the wolf, and I thought, you know, I wonder why, I wonder how that worked itself out. But then when you do it, it kind of makes sense. And it was fun, but the costume, you know, was its own thing. I actually still have the wolf mask.

[16:13] Tom Galantich: Oh yeah, yeah, it was a two-piece mask. One part covered the nose and the upper mouth and then a chin piece. I occasionally will put it on for Halloween for the kids when they're trick-or-treating. So yeah, you have to get used to that. Of course, you were giant, you know, bushy head, and then, you know, there was an anatomical issue that you had to deal with also as the wolf.

[16:43] Tom Galantich: So yeah, that sounds like that was really quite a stumbling block in the process of developing the costume scheme for the show.

[16:53] Tom Galantich: Yeah, I'm sure somebody, I'm sure that's been hashed.

[16:57] Tom Galantich: Yes, yes, hashed and rehashed. So yeah, that's it, you know, there were things you had to get used to.

[17:03] Ben Rimalower: Well, was that still getting kind of like on-site laughs by the time you were doing it?

[17:08] Tom Galantich: Oh yeah. Oh gosh, yeah. Yeah. Oh gosh, yeah. People would, there'd be giggles and, you know, some sort of the chortles of recognition and stuff like that, you know, at least with the first couple of rows, and it was, you know, whenever he turned profile, it was, you know.

[17:25] Tom Galantich: So, but yeah, no, that never ended. And so playing all these parts, did you wind up having any interaction with Sondheim or Lapine as the run went on?

[17:39] Tom Galantich: Yeah, I did. Not a ton because, you know, the show was a year into it. And Steven Sondheim would come by once in a while, but usually it was just for some sort of, you know, group thing that was happening, some sort of like, you know, he came back for when they did the taping for PBS and Lincoln Center.

[18:02] Tom Galantich: And, you know, so I got to meet him, you know, then and certainly at the end of the show. But no, I did not, I didn't have the opportunity to work with him or for him to be, at least that I was aware of. For all I know, he could have been in the house watching the show when I was on, I had no idea. I wasn't privy to that. But um, so no, I didn't get to work with him a lot.

[18:22] Ben Rimalower: Um, and then did you stay for the entire run?

[18:26] Tom Galantich: I did, I stayed till the end.

[18:27] Ben Rimalower: Yeah.

[18:28] Tom Galantich: And then you and Kay both went into City of Angels kind of like almost immediately, right?

[18:33] Tom Galantich: Yeah, I think we had, I think we, he was either a week or two weeks. We had all, you knew you had a job when that was your final performance.

[18:41] Ben Rimalower: Yeah. What came first? The job or the closing notice?

[18:47] Tom Galantich: That's a good question. I don't remember. That's a good question. I think probably, I don't know. Because I think if I, I think it was probably closing notice, because I think if I, because at that time, I don't know if I was playing, I can't remember if I was playing Sea Prince or Prince, but I probably would have stayed with it if you were playing Cinderella's Prince for the club.

[19:13] Ben Rimalower: Yeah, yeah.

[19:14] Tom Galantich: Yeah. So I, I, if I was still running, I probably would have stayed. I just loved it. I loved it so much.

[19:22] Ben Rimalower: Yeah.

[19:22] Tom Galantich: But then looking back, I mean, City of Angels is another show that's dear to my heart in every way. So it worked out well for me.

[19:33] Ben Rimalower: Yeah, yes, for sure. Did you ever wind up doing any other productions of Into the Woods later on?

[19:39] Tom Galantich: I did not. That's not so many of the cast members wound up doing it, you know, a different regional production. I mean, because there's just been so many.

[19:49] Ben Rimalower: Right.

[19:50] Tom Galantich: I would love to like, you know, now I'm probably, you know, I'm just right for the narrator role, you know, pretty much now. But I would still, I would do it in a minute. I don't know if anybody does it anymore, but I would do that. I would do that in a heartbeat. I love the show.

[20:05] Tom Galantich: I actually was working and did not see either, I was out of town for most of the second revival that was done and the first revival I was working, so I wasn't able to see that one either.

[20:18] Ben Rimalower: Um, but uh, yeah, I'd love to. Have you seen it at all over the years?

[20:24] Tom Galantich: No, I don't think I've seen, have I seen a production? I take it back. I may have seen a production in Chicago, one of the regional theaters in Chicago. I think I did it, yeah. I think I did there.

[20:33] Ben Rimalower: And how about the movie?

[20:36] Tom Galantich: Back in the 90s.

[20:37] Ben Rimalower: Say again.

[20:37] Tom Galantich: Did you watch the movie?

[20:40] Tom Galantich: No, I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to watch it.

[20:42] Ben Rimalower: Oh, yeah. Are you, do you have that general feeling about other projects or, you know, where you wouldn't want to see something like that?

[20:51] Tom Galantich: Yeah, because I find the movies don't, especially if I've been in it, the movies can do it justice for me. And yeah, it's me. It's not worth the feeling I get afterward, you know. Regardless, it might be good, it might be bad, but it's not the experience that I had.

[21:05] Ben Rimalower: Yeah.

[21:06] Tom Galantich: I don't know if you can, if that makes sense to anybody out there, but you know, of course, yeah. I mean, I'm sure that's a very common way for performers to feel, you know, especially a show that you stayed with for a long time and, you know, that was your Broadway debut. And for me, the show is, you know, it's all those people, it's Tom, it's Chip, it's, you know, it's Nancy. I didn't see, you know, I saw Bernadette when she did the taping, of course, and Joanne I got to work with later on on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

[21:11] Tom Galantich: And so I did watch her performance, and so it just, it was like you say, because it was especially because it was my Broadway debut, it's just such a special place, and so I didn't, I guess I don't want to pollute it in any way.

[21:52] Ben Rimalower: No, of course not. Listen, that theater is all about these memories and, you know, what they mean in our hearts and minds.

[22:01] Ben Rimalower: What have you taken from Into the Woods that stays with you, you know, over the years? I mean, boy, you know, it certainly in our industry, you know, that we all get adversity, right? Adversity hits everybody and tough times and bad times mixed in with the good times, and you know, we have no choice but to deal with it and to go on. I mean, well, you know, it's, and so how you deal with that is really a question.

[22:01] Tom Galantich: It's interesting where when I knew he was going to do this, I went back and just watched a couple pieces, and it was so touching to watch the end again, to watch, you know, Chip and with Cinderella, you know, the baker with Cinderella and the baby and Jack and Red, and it's just, it was just so beautiful to watch again. And I think that's its biggest, well for me, that the message is we go on, right? We go on, we deal with whatever giant comes our way, and we find a way to slay the giant and go on.

[22:01] Ben Rimalower: Yeah, so certainly seems like relevant in the world today.

[22:01] Tom Galantich: Oh yeah.

[22:01] Ben Rimalower: What about other Sondheim shows? Was there anything else that you, I think you did Company at some point?

[22:01] Tom Galantich: I did, yeah. I did a tour of Company, yeah, playing Bobby.

[22:01] Ben Rimalower: Oh, wow.

[22:01] Tom Galantich: Yeah, just loved every second of it, loved every second of it. And at that point, I kind of had a little more confidence with my Sondheim, and I would hope, I mean, that's quite the role.

[22:01] Ben Rimalower: Yeah, but did you have with that production or anything else any other interactions with him?

[22:01] Tom Galantich: He came to see a show that I did. I did a little musical called Clinton the Musical, and he came to see the show, and I had a lovely chat with him afterward, which was back in 20, I want to say 2015. And it was lovely because I, you know, I hadn't had the chance to interact with him, and it was only brief during the, you know, the original Into the Woods. So, you know, we spent about 10 minutes chatting with him there at the theater, and so I'll always remember that, of course.

[22:01] Ben Rimalower: Yeah, of course. How cool. And he was very nice. I remember Clinton the Musical, you were Bill Clinton, right?

[22:01] Tom Galantich: I was, yeah.

[22:01] Ben Rimalower: And who was Hillary?

[22:01] Tom Galantich: Kerry Butler.

[22:01] Ben Rimalower: Oh, how fantastic.

[22:01] Tom Galantich: Yeah, love that. We had fun. Gosh, we had so much fun. It was a great little production of a silly little musical, but it was campaign season. It was, you know, the spring of 2015, I guess when, you know, when she announced her candidacy.

[22:01] Tom Galantich: And yeah, it was a silly production. We kind of skewered and spoofed everybody in that, yeah, Republicans and Democrats alike, and so I think everybody got mad at us and nobody came to see it.

[25:24] Ben Rimalower: Well, if only they knew how much worse everything was gonna get. I mean, they would have appreciated that simpler time.

[25:32] Tom Galantich: You're here, yeah, right. I mean, wow. Well, that's so cool. I'm glad you got to have that moment with him, you know, nearer to the end of the time.

[25:37] Tom Galantich: Yeah, you know, so you think these giants are gonna last forever and, you know, the giants in our business, and I'm so grateful for the ones I got to work with, you know, in a time when I was still able to work with some of the greats, Comden and Green and, you know, Cy Coleman and, you know, people like that, Mary Gelbart.

[25:37] Tom Galantich: And of course, you know, I know you did, you're talking about when you did On the 20th Century.

[26:07] Ben Rimalower: Oh no, of course. You just commented were also on City of Angels, but um, but yeah, 2017.

[26:14] Tom Galantich: But you did On the 20th Century also as well.

[26:16] Ben Rimalower: Um, and were they around for that?

[26:19] Tom Galantich: They were.

[26:20] Ben Rimalower: Oh, how cool.

[26:21] Tom Galantich: Oh, that's what I mean about being able to work with giants.

[26:25] Tom Galantich: Yeah, I do, you know, Cy was both of those, um, City of Angels and 20th Century, but um, Mr. Comden and Ms. Green, uh, no, vice versa. Ms. Comden, Mr. Green. They were around a lot during, and it was just, they are everything you thought they were, everything you saw in the movie and Follies in concert, yeah.

[26:48] Tom Galantich: They were larger than life.

[26:50] Ben Rimalower: Oh, they were so much fun.

[26:52] Tom Galantich: Wow.

[26:56] Ben Rimalower: Yeah, that generation, it's almost all gone. That's really one of the things I'm most grateful for in my career is that I did get to work with so many of those folks, you know.

[27:08] Tom Galantich: And even, you know, James Lapine. I've, you know, I don't, we haven't worked together since, but we've seen each other at various places, and he's come to see things I've done. And, you know, so I appreciate seeing him whenever I can as well.

[27:24] Ben Rimalower: So yeah, yeah. It's amazing. I appreciate you talking to me for this so much, Tom. It's so wonderful to have your contribution.

[27:33] Tom Galantich: Thank you for reaching out. I, like I said, it means a lot to me, the show, so I'm just happy to share what little or whatever I could.

[27:39] Ben Rimalower: No, it's wonderful. It's wonderful, and it's part of the legacy. Have a great rest of your day, and see, I'll see you hopefully in the next one.

[27:52] Ben Rimalower: Thank you for listening to Giants in the Sky, how Sondheim and Lapine went Into the Woods on the Broadway Podcast Network. Look out for episode 59 with Patti LuPone, Broadway legend slash rejected Cinderella.