Seattlest Interview: Clarke Thorell
If there's anything we learned studying literature in college, it's that everything either comes from Shakespeare, Greek mythology or the Bible. Seattlest used to entertain herself by playing "From Whence Did That Allusion Come?" Yeah, we only had two friends in college.
The result of our education is an absolute delight for anything that successfully adapts some brilliant Shakespearean masterpiece into a slightly more ribald, contemporary spectacle. And so it is that we perked up our ears at first mention of a Broadway-bound play that's having a run at the 5th Avenue Theater these days, called Lone Star Love. The original title was, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas (after Shakespeare's play of the same title, sans the "Texas" reference), and the star is Randy Quaid (Days of Thunder, the National Lampoons movies, Of Mice and Men).
We had a little chat with co-star Clarke Thorell (Hairspray, Tommy, Titanic: the Musical). And this is what we learned:
Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you came to Lone Star Love.
Well, I’m originally from San Diego. I went to UCLA and was in L.A. for a couple years before making the move to New York. When I moved to New York, I was doing a Broadway show called Tommy—the Who’s Tommy. The producers were Dodger Theatricals, and one of the people involved with that was John Haber. We became friends and discovered similarities, things in common aside from theatrics, quirky little things – baking, tennis. He mentioned a reading for this play called The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas, and asked if I wanted to be involved. So I came aboard playing a character named Rugby, a very minimal ensemble character. He was very politically incorrect at the time, a Native American character. I just saw a lot of promise in the project and became interested in the character of Fenton, the yodeling cowboy. So I mentioned it to them in the next reading, which was a workshop production in 1996. That was the beginning of my involvement. This show has grown over the years into various adaptations.
Did you yodel before?
There’s no easy answer to that. [laughs] I’ve always been a mimic. I’ve always been able to mimic what I hear and recreate it. I’m always whistling and doing sound effects, so I didn’t question it. It just started coming out.
So how has this show changed since you came on board?
Well, it was developed by good ol’ boys from North Carolina that wanted to keep things down and dirty. I guess there have been some significant changes in this version to highlight the presence of the character John Falstaff. He’s this sort of larger-than-life character that wants to exploit the money and perhaps the sexual longings of the first two wives he meets. Whereas the original Merry Wives had more of the outside storylines playing a factor in the end result, in the two couples reconciling and becoming aware that we’re all after...freedom, happiness, love, acceptance. [In this version, all that is] facilitated more through Falstaff. But I think they’re still hoping to keep the Shakespearean references and some of the textual holds from Shakespeare that lend very well to the Southern dialect.
I was just going to ask how much of the original language from Shakespeare had been retained, if at all. It’s a completely updated book, right?
Yes, well there are still a couple of references from the original play. What the original creator brought was a lot more specific references and textual pulls [from Shakespeare]. Something along the lines of, "How now good woman, how dost thou?" and she’s holding a feather duster.
Was your Rugby character written out of the play? Or how has that character changed? You said he was politically incorrect.
Rugby exists in a different way now, as a result of trying to adjust characters and their involvements from the original Shakespeare text. Before, he was a Native American assistant, now he’s a cowhand. We’re already bordering on making offensive references to every stereotype that exists, keeping him [the way he was] may have been too much. But it’s done, obviously, with the same intention as Hairspray and that sort of satire. We’re basically slapping people in the face with what we really don’t believe.
So do you think the evolution of the Falstaff character and this version focusing more on him could be seen as analogous to current events?
[laughs] Well, obviously all of our instincts are to never play any direct reference or metaphor. Obviously we want to play against those things; but hopefully that’s what makes them work. I don’t know If there are references to sociopolitical things in our country right now. But there are definitely some similarities.
Fair enough. Changing the subject, is there anyone in this cast you’ve worked with before, or anyone specifically that you were looking forward to working with?
No they’re pretty much all jerks. [laughs] I’m kidding. There is one other guy who’s been with it since I have. His name is Nick Sullivan, and he plays Sheriff Bob. There are a couple other people who have been in some subsequent productions. Overall, I think it’s a great cast, very well balanced.
Have you done anything else on Broadway?
Yeah, I was in Titanic in 1997. I also originated the role of Corny Collins in Hairspray in Seattle.
What do you think it is about Seattle that feeds such a great theater community?
I think people that end up gravitating toward Seattle are people who have an understanding of things outside themselves, greater than their own self-awareness. You’re kind of forced to take all that into perspective when you’re surrounded by the beauty and diversity you have here. I find there’s a very artistic sensibility. People are smart. The audiences that came to see Hairspray, it was a more educated audience. They were looking for something a little different than what we’re spoon-fed through other forms of media. But that’s something great about theater in general. There’s a similar feeling and energy in San Diego. People tend to look at San Diego as a very scrubbed, controlled, Republican base. But it’s very much the antithesis [of that] in the artistic community. People forget that two of the greatest regional theaters in the country live there. And it’s the same thing here with Seattle Repertory and Intiman Theater.
Anything else you want the world to know?
Yeah, I’m really grateful to be back at the 5th Avenue Theater. We feel taken care of. You know, this period of development is always a little rough. We’re all realizing what needs to be adjusted and cut. This production is trying to find legs that it’s never really had before, without sacrificing what’s made it so promising in the first place. It started out as a fun, charming, gentle little two-hour romp. It was just silly fun, and it’s come through all sorts of phases in the last several years.
Going back to your other question, though, I have to say something about the Red Clay Ramblers—I’m really excited about working with them. In this stage, they’re comprised of Jack Herrick (composer of the score), Chris Frank, Emily Mike. They’re just insanely talented multi-instrumentalists. They play characters in the play, too. They’re Falstaff’s cronies, his henchmen. So I just get to sit back there and play guitar and jam with them, yodel away.
Lone Star Love runs at the 5th Avenue Theater now through Sep. 30. Tickets are available at the 5th Ave Theater box office and online at their website.
