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| Left to Right:Tennille Rivera and Tawny Audi; Andrew and Naya Dell; Ryan Malikowski and Nick Gearing |
by Gil Benbrook
(This is the second of a two part series of interviews with the cast of The Hunchback of Notre Dame at TheaterWorks)
With over 50 theatre companies in town who collectively present several hundred productions each year, the theatre community in Phoenix is thriving, even after stages were dark for most of 2020.
This community of theatres is just that, a community of individuals coming together to put on a show. For TheaterWorks' production of the musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the cast include several pairs of family members which highlights the joy of community theater.
In this production, Andrew and Naya Dell are married. Tennille Rivera and Tawny Audi are mother and daughter, and Nick Gearing and Ryan Malikowski are also married.
The stage adaptation of the Walt Disney animated 1996 hit The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is based on Victor Hugo's classic 1831 gothic, dark thriller is the story of Quasimodo, a deformed man who falls in love with the gypsy girl Esmerelda.
Paul Pederson, choreographer for this show and the Director of Patron Services for TheaterWorks added, "This show revolves so much around the themes of family and relationships that I find it wildly appropriate that we have two mother/daughter duos and two married couples in the cast. All of them are superbly talented and getting to watch them work together in the rehearsal room and on stage is pure joy. It's definitely one of the great perks of being a community theater."
These pairs of family members sat down in between final rehearsals of the show to answer some questions about this musical and what it's like working on the show with their spouse, parent, or child.
Tell us about the roles you play in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Naya Dell: “I’m in the choir! Soprano section. We really help to fill out the texture and create a musical backdrop for many of the actions on stage.”
Have you worked on a show with your husband before? If you have, what shows did you appear in together and if you haven’t, why did you choose to audition for this production together?
Naya: “Andrew and I have performed together in numerous concerts with different choirs, but this is only our second musical together. Our first musical together was in college.”
What has your experience been like working on this show with your husband?
Naya: “Well firstly, it's nice to carpool with my favourite person! It's not too different from our day to day life, albeit more exciting. In the past we have worked as choir directors together on different projects, and have even worked at the same school together for many years. In addition to being my life partner, Andrew is also my creative partner."
This musical touches upon the issues that many parent/children, siblings, and significant others face. What themes in the show have resonated with you?
Naya: “I think what really resonated with me is the idea of community. Although not related or romantically involved, Clopin comes through for Esmeralda time after time. When the time comes for their community to find a new hideout, even though he and Esmeralda have had their differences, Clopin wouldn't dream of leaving her behind. In a way, they become like family. Finding meaningful connections with people who support you can extend far beyond family.
Choir has been the reason I have made many of my closest friends, including my husband! It can be so difficult to find "your people," especially in a sprawling city like Phoenix but I am so fortunate to be a part of our artists community here and to have the support of my friends and colleagues. Actors, musicians, dancers, writers, composers: our community. And I am so grateful to continue to foster relationships within our ever-growing network of artists."
What do you wish audience members will take away from seeing The Hunchback of Notre Dame at TheaterWorks?
Naya: “This show deals with some intense subjects. We see how someone in a position of power distorts the truth for his own purposes and treats people in different social classes terribly, even when they do share similar beliefs. I hope that audiences will be challenged to face their own prejudices and treat others with more understanding and kindness. That, and also how incredible the music is."
Tell us about the roles you play in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Andrew Dell: "I am in the congregation, so my role changes throughout the story to serve the narrative. As a civilian I am a “haughty gentleman”, I play the Official in the search for Esmeralda, and a gargoyle in the bell tower. "
Have you worked on a show with your wife before? If you have, what shows did you appear in together and if you haven’t, why did you choose to audition for this production together?
Andrew: "This is the second theatrical performance that I’ve been in with Naya as we were both in Of Thee I Sing at GCU. However, we’ve performed in multiple concerts with different choral groups including Solis Camerata and The Phoenix Symphony Chorus."
What has your experience been like working on this show with your wife?
Andrew: "Although our day to day rehearsal schedules on this particular project don’t always align, it’s been amazing getting to work with my partner on this show. We do a lot of creative work together already, especially in the realm of music, so getting to expand that experience to include theater has been very exciting."
This musical touches upon the issues that many parent/children, siblings, and significant others face. What themes in the show have resonated with you?
Andrew: "The idea of people of different upbringings and cultures coming together is something that resonates with me. Naya and I grew up in very different ways, had different values emphasized, and even celebrated the same holidays in different ways. To see something like that represented in such a prominent musical is awesome."
What do you wish audience members will take away from seeing The Hunchback of Notre Dame at TheaterWorks?
Andrew: "I truly believe that Frollo is the most terrifying Disney villain because he believes himself to be the hero in the story, yet we see him do some despicable things. I see this as an opportunity and reminder to look inward and consider how our actions, opinions of others, and self-righteousness affect those around us. "
Tell us about the roles you play in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Tawny Audi: "I play the role of Florika/congregant in Hunchback of Notre Dame!"
Have you worked on a show with your mom before and why did you choose to audition for this production together?
Tawny: "This is my first time ever performing on stage with my mom! My mom hasn’t been onstage in 25 years and when she found out I was auditioning for this beautiful production she decided to come of out her hiatus and join me. Theaterworks has always been a second home to me, and we truly couldn’t think of a better production to audition for together. "
What has your experience been like working on this show with your mom?
Tawny: "It’s been wonderful. Getting to see my mom’s love for the stage after she inspired me for so many years has been rewarding in so many ways. Being raised as an only child by a single Mom, you grow up with you guys against the world. No matter what we had each other and we had theater, getting to see it come to life in this production is a memory I will always cherish. "
This musical touches upon the issues that many parents/children, siblings, and significant others face. What themes in the show have resonated with you?
Tawny: "I truly think the biggest thing that has resonated with both me and my mom is being ridiculed and judged for things we can’t change, unfortunately most of it being in a religious setting. My mom and I are Middle Eastern so we’ve faced much disdain regarding that aspect, with several judgments pushed on us over the course of many years. Not only that, being a single Mom was very frowned upon in our old church. This show really does resonate with my mom and me in many ways. "
What do you wish audience members will take away from seeing The Hunchback of Notre Dame at TheaterWorks?
Tawny: "I really hope audience members take away the message of the story, and it’s that you never what someone is going through or what their story is, and at the end of the day no one is perfect. Think of that before you pass judgement on them, of any kind. "
Tell us about the roles you play in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Tennille Rivera: "I am a congregant in this beautiful show. I’m a reveled, gypsy, prostitute…yes…mama still got it..lol and a statue that is one of Quasi’s best friends and probably my favorite part. "
Have you worked on a show with your daughter before? Why did you choose to audition for this production together?
Tennille: "This is the very first time my daughter, Tawny and I will share the stage together in a production. I have missed performing so much but I have also enjoyed watching my daughter grow and fall in love with the theatre. When this production had auditions, the universe told us both that it was time. "
What has your experience been like working on this show with your daughter?
Tennille: "This entire cast and production team is unbelievable. Plus getting to share the stage with Tawny, it’s like a dream come true. I cried after callbacks. I cried when I got cast and I cried through most of the first month of rehearsals. We have had so much fun together. We drive together and it really has made us even closer than we already were and we have always been extremely close. "
This musical touches upon the issues that many parent/children, siblings, and significant others face. What themes in the show have resonated with you?
Tennille: "There have been so many issues that are close to me. First of all, being ethnic, I always got made fun of or bullied as a kid. Children just don’t understand or are raised to not understand to accept and love everyone no matter their skin color or how they may look.
Second, I raised Tawny as a single mother for 13 years until I met my husband. When Tawny was little, I would take her to a non denominational Christian church. I’ll never forget sitting in service one day when our pastor started preaching on single mothers and their children being born out of wedlock. That we were going to hell and so were our children. I just sat there thinking, was I supposed to stay in a situation with a man who physically beat me and emotionally abused me and who would eventually do that to my daughter? So I’m going to hell for taking the both of us to a safer place? I cried and cried thinking, why would any God or higher power punish an innocent child? Religion has never been the same for either of us and we now consider ourselves more spiritual than religious.
Last, I see so much of Tawny in Esmeralda. When Tawny was in kindergarten, she befriended a little boy who was picked on and severely bullied. I will never forget being on a field trip to a fire station and these kids had this poor little boy backed in a corner and I watched my little 5 year old in pigtails walk right through them and she said stop!! She held her hand out to the boy, and said, you can come eat lunch with my mom and I. I don’t want to use his name because they are still friends till this day, but this little boy would bring Tawny a small gift for every holiday all the way up until they went to different high schools. I honestly have never been more proud of her and she has carried that kindness until this day. In life, I wish more people could be more like Esmeralda."
What do you wish audience members will take away from seeing Hunchback of Notre Dame at TheaterWorks?
Tennille: "I want our audience to see the importance of loving each and every person for their hearts. God Help The Outcasts is so beautiful and meaningful. I want people to see others with disabilities and/or people of different beliefs and people of different ethnicities as one equal. I guess I sound cliche but I wish we could all just be accepting and loving towards one another. "
Tell us about the role(s) you play in Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Ryan Malikowski: “I play one of the congregants, which is essentially this show's version of the ensemble. I get to be a gargoyle, congregant, statue, and King Louis XI
Have you worked on a show with your husband before? If you have, what shows did you appear in together and why did you choose to audition for this production together?
Ryan: "Since meeting Nicholas back during Stray Cat Theatre's 2016 AZ premier of American Idiot: The Musical we have yet to perform in any shows apart from each other. We have been in upwards of 20 shows/productions with each other over the past six and a half years and it has been nothing short of amazing. I realize how truly unique this is and I wouldn't trade it for the world. We have worked with Theater Works before back in their 2017 production of Once Upon a Mattress and we jumped at the opportunity to be back working with Chris, Paul, Courtney, and the rest of their amazing team. "
What has your experience been like working on this show with your husband?
Ryan: "It is always a joy to work on a show with Nicholas. This show has been somewhat unique in the sense that we don't share too many scenes. That has given me the opportunity to do a lot more observing than I am typically able to, which is kind of cool. He added depth and arc to a charcter that doesn't have much built-in and he also gets to be in the kickass sword fight scene (spoiler alert) and it has been awesome getting to watch him expand on his fight choreo and it is an insanely fun scene to watch!"
This musical touches upon the issues that many parent/children, siblings, and significant others face. What themes in the show have resonated with you?
Ryan: "This is a really tough question to answer. Honestly, it mostly makes me REALLY happy that Nick is a great guy. I have always been most fond of his heart and his humanity. This show has made me fall in love with those traits of his even more."
What do you wish audience members will take away from seeing Hunchback of Notre Dame at TheaterWorks?
Ryan: "Chris, Paul, and Lincoln have assembled a hell of a cast for this show. Watching this group work over the past several weeks has been an incredibly emotional and rewarding experience. There are moments that will tug at your heart-strings...both from resentment and from hope. I think that's where a lot of the power lies in this production. It is beautiful in so many ways and I really hope that people will flock out to Peoria in droves for this one."
Tell us about the roles you play in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Nicholas Gearing: "I play Frederic Charlus, a Lieutenant in the Cathedral guard and am a member of the congregation who act as the narrators of this powerful piece. He is driven, focused, and committed to his work, but who also has his eyes opened before the story ends. I get to sword fight as well, which makes this role really fun."
Have you worked on a show with your husband before? And why did you choose to audition for this production together?
Nicholas: "I have made it a point to work with him every single time I have had the chance. In fact, we’ve been incredibly lucky to share the stage roughly 20 or so times since we first met doing American Idiot with Stray Cat Theatre in 2016. We also worked with at Theater Works on their production of Once Upon a Mattress years back and we fell in love with the team there. It’s so great getting to be back again. "
What has your experience been like working on this show with your husbandc?
Nicholas: "I have really enjoyed this time together, doing this thing we both love doing. Car rides, inside jokes, listening to and watching him do this, it’s just been a blast. I picked well for myself and it pays off every day. "
This musical touches upon the issues that many parents/children, siblings, and significant others face. What themes in the show have resonated with you?
Nicholas: "My character has an arc that spans from themes of Obedience and Tradition toward those of Tolerance and Acceptance. As a member of the LGBT+ community, the themes of Otherness, and how people are vilified for being different really hit home for me."
What do you wish audience members will take away from seeing Hunchback of Notre Dame at TheaterWorks?
Nicholas: "I hope audiences will have their breath taken away a few times and leave with a new or renewed sense of inclusion and acceptance that will be extended to others moving forward. "
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