Photo credit: Pasadena Playhouse
by Cris Franco
This year’s passing of one of the American theater’s most impactful and beloved composer/lyricists, Stephen Sondheim, has prompted theater companies worldwide to mount an unprecedented number of his groundbreaking works that include the iconic West Side Story, Gypsy, Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd.
Los Angeles’s premier regional theater, The Pasadena Playhouse, is opening their six-month Sondheim Celebration with perhaps his most ingenious musical, Sunday in the Park with George. Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, “Sunday” (as nicknamed by aficionados) is an unexpected story about an unorthodox love triangle between a man, a woman and a painting: pointillist Georges Seurat’s spellbinding A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte.
Recognized as a masterpiece of unbridled invention, Sunday’s emotionally complex plot relies heavily on its two lead actors: the male role who portrays both the French impressionist painter Georges Seurat and his American grandson (George). And the female role who plays Georges’s love interest (Dot) and her and Georges’s granddaughter (Marie). Both leading parts require singer/actors of the highest caliber to transport us into the time-traveling duality of Sunday in the Park with George. Decades ago, as a young New York actor/writer, this journalist had the good fortune to have seen the original Broadway production. At show’s end I recall exiting the theater walking on air, knowing I’d just witnessed a challenging (and highly entertaining) thesis on the price of artistic expression. If this sounds like heady stuff – it is. And just as Sunday poses some profound questions about life, art and a life in art, I was able to ask some of these same questions of the extremely talented Ms. Krystina Alabado, who portrays the characters of Dot/Marie in Pasadena Playhouse’s full mainstage production from Tuesday February 14, 2023 to Sunday March 19, 2023.
CRIS FRANCO (CF):
Congratulations on landing the part that every musical comedy ingénue in Los Angeles wanted. As a veteran of Broadway (American Psycho, American Idiot), national tours (Evita, Spring Awakening) and countless other productions — what in your childhood inspired you to pursue performing?
KRYSTINA ALABADO (KA):
I started out singing in Phoenix, Arizona where my father was a singer. My love for the arts began at age eight when I began gigging with him and his band. Once I got into junior high I joined the drama club, I performed in all the musicals and plays and never stopped since then. I always had a love for the arts and expressing myself through music and imagination, so theatre was the best outlet for me as a kid. I totally fell in love with everything about it!
CF:
What was your most memorable early acting job and how did you come to land the plumb role in Sunday in the Park with George?
KA:
I have so many memorable acting jobs. Most recently I’d have to say it would be Mean Girls on Broadway playing the iconic Gretchen Wieners which is probably the most fun I have ever had on or off stage. I mean it’s written by Tina Fey! It was utterly hilarious, and people love the movie, so our audiences were always ready for fun. But I love all the shows I have done, they are all so different. As for Sunday, I auditioned back in December. I had never worked on this role before and I had to sing Dot’s very complicated opening song. It took a ton of work for me to learn it for the audition. But it was such fun working on Sondheim and it teaches you a lot. Then at the final callback, I worked with our director Sarna Lapine and that was that!
CF:
Sondheim’s material stretches an actor-singer’s capabilities. What’s the most challenging aspect of playing the youthful Dot and nonagenarian Marie in Sunday?
KA:
Sondheim is a beast. This is the most thrilling and challenging musical I’ve had the honor of working on. He is a genius, and the craft and detail that he builds into his musicals is unmatched. It is everything you could ever want as an actor. The language is dense and each word matters. Though the music is insanely difficult it’s some of the most beautiful music I have ever sung. The lyrics are witty and boy are there a lot of them! I also think this role is unique because my first character Dot exists in the 1800’s. Then, in the second act, we fast forward to the 1980’s where I play Dots daughter, Marie, who is 98! I mean, there are few roles in musical theatre that require that big of an age range. That has been a great deal of fun for me, and so hard (in a good way).
CF:
Dot and George share most of the stage time in Sunday. How do you and your co-star Graham Phillips (series regular on The Good Wife) get along?
KA:
I love Graham! I feel so lucky that we get to play opposite each other. We had a fast connection, and that is a gift. We both enjoy the challenge and trying new approaches. We don’t let our egos get in the way. Working to serve the piece is very important to us both. We have each other’s backs on stage and off which makes doing this musical together very special.
CF:
I understand you are of both middle-eastern and Latinx heritage. Do you feel your cultural background has affected your artistic path?
KA:
Yes! I am a proud a first generation kid! My father came to the U.S. from Mexico, and my mother came here from Lebanon. I feel so proud of my heritage and background and it is incredibly important to me, as it is who I am. I think that artistically, much has changed in our industry since I started in 2008. There is way more opportunity for my type, and I am getting to do things I would have never been considered for in the past — like Dot my character in Sunday for instance. I wonder if I am the one of the first BIPOC Dots in a major production of Sunday? And that is insanely cool and special. I hope it inspires other kids that look like me to believe that they can do it, too!
CF:
Sunday is such a multifaceted exploration of the creative process that any number of valid conclusions can be drawn from its story. What do you hope audiences take away from the musical?
KA:
I hope that audiences walk away thinking about who they are, and finding inspiration in all of the incredibly deep messages that this piece poses to us as artists and humans. I feel like I learn a new lesson with every performance and it makes me want to create more, and live. My favorite quote of the show is “the choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not. You keep moving on”.
CF:
Along with the joy of creation, every actor experiences the feeling of rejection at not getting a part they truly wanted to portray. How do you handle those disappointments?
KA:
Rejection is such a huge part of being an actor, if not the biggest part. We are constantly auditioning, and constantly getting no’s and rejected. Constantly. That is just part of it, and there is a sort of acceptance of that that comes with doing this professionally because no matter at what level you are, the rejection does not go away. The rejection often increases because you are competing with more accomplished actors the longer you continue. So, it just gets more intense. But that is how it works — and it is never personal. Every film or stage production has a specific casting criteria. My job is to simply present my version, and then from there it is out of my hands.
CF:
Where did you study and along with your formal education what personal qualities have helped you succeed at the acting profession?
KA:
I studied acting at Arizona State University for a year before I was plucked out of college to do the first national tour of the musical Spring Awakening in 2008. That was a very special time and a huge opportunity for me at so young an age. Two years later, after the tour ended, I moved to NYC and have been working since. I think my drive and passion for this field is a huge part of why I am working and why I am happy. I absolutely love what I do, and I love that it is hard and takes immense discipline and focus but that you emerge having created something beautiful.
CF:
Is anyone in your family in the arts and how do your parents and family feel about your career choice?
KA:
Like I said, my dad was a singer when I was growing up in Phoenix, so music has always been an important part of my life. Both my parents were immensely supportive of my dreams to pursue acting. They encouraged me every step of the way and have always thought what I wanted and what I do is brave and exhilarating. I feel so lucky to have had that support. I wouldn’t be where I am at without them!
CF:
Do you have any advice for aspiring young actors?
KA:
Be yourself! I know that sounds cheesy and cliche, but the most important thing you can do as a young performer is find out who you are and really love and cultivate that. Don’t try to be like anyone else as your uniqueness is what people want!
To see the uniquely talented Ms. Krystina Alabado in Sondheim’s masterpiece Sunday in the Park with George CLICK HERE
