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03/28/2017 07:00 AMFirst he was an on-the-lam Jean Valjean in Les Miserables at Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Nutmeg Summer Series. Last year he played everybody’s-pal Billy Crocker in Goodspeed’s Anything Goes. Now David Harris is checking off his third Connecticut gig in three years in TheaterWorks’s production of the musical Next to Normal, running through Sunday, May 7 at the Hartford theater, in an extended run prompted by the popularity of the production.
This time out, Harris is taking on a role of a more mature and contemporary nature—that of the husband and father dealing with a wife with a bi-polar disorder, all the while trying to keep his family intact. Harris stars opposite Christiane Noll in the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical staged by producing Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero.
“It’s the kind of role and a score I’ve not had the opportunity to tackle until now,” says Harris, who began his musical theater career in his native Australia in award winning roles in Miss Saigon, Wicked, and Legally Blonde.
“Prior to the rock-pop score Next to Normal, I was most comfortable with croony songs or big legit Les Miz songs. But I’m living where it’s able to sit in my voice really well and loving what I’m able to do and interested in exploring. Actually a lot of things you’re told not to do with your voice, like back-phrasing and pop-licks. So there’s a lot of freedom in the singing that I naturally want to do vocally.”
It’s all a leap of faith, he says, but certainly not his first.
After a solid career in Australia, Harris decided to move to New York to pursue work in the U.S. and so far Connecticut has been a frequent stop. But trying to establish a foothold in a new country is not an easy task.
“Sometimes you’re scared and anxious, but I always go back to the same reasons why I did it. I needed and wanted to grow more and out of the comfort zone. And being out of your comfort zone is very uncomfortable. That’s the whole point. But I am absolutely glad I did it.”
He returns to Australia every so often for work “so I feel I have the best of both worlds.”
He says there are many more regional theaters in the U.S. which present greater opportunities for actors compared to Australia.
Harris grew up in a rural part of New South Wales, where his father worked for the coal company and his mother was a secretary.
“So performing was not in the cards,” he says of that rural environment.
When a teacher asked for volunteers for the school musical, few students, especially boys, raised their hands. Harris was one.
“But it was a struggle. There was nothing like Glee or American Idol to make singing cool and admirable,” he says, “and there were some tough times in the playground. But luckily I stuck it out.”
After a very brief stint at the university to study architecture—about 2 ½ days, Harris headed to Sydney where he pursued a theatrical career.
“At the time it didn’t seem like such a massive decision. I just knew that’s what I wanted to do. My parents were always supportive and that’s the greatest gift parents can do: Give their children freedom to choose.”
His big break came with his starring role as Chris in Miss Saigon, but that role took its toll on Harris with its vocal and emotional demands.
“There were some dark moments in that show—as well as personally for me.
With Next to Normal, an older and wiser Harris—he’s in his early 40s—says he’s in a different place.
“I’m more savvy technically and vocally and now I’m more emotionally grounded,” he sayss. “I can separate between the work and David Harris.”
Still, there’s a lot of David Harris in the role as he dips into the deep and raw emotions of the role. “But now I feel very much in control and find it all thrilling, especially with this cast.”
He adds that he can always escape to “trash things out at the gym” or “surround myself in comedies like The Veep to find my happy-go-lucky silliness” or “just having a drink and some laughs with fellow cast members to balance things out. Those things are important to me.”
Next to Normal runs through Sunday, May 7. For more information, visit www.theaterworkshartford.org.
Frank Rizzo is a freelance journalist who lives in New Haven and New York City. He has been writing about theater and the arts in Connecticut for nearly 40 years.