Actor/playwright James Gardiner and his brother Matthew, a Helen Hayes Award-winning director, once made a pact toavoid nepotism by going their separate ways in the theater.
If you go
“[title of show]”
Where: Signature’s ARK Theatre
When: Through June 27, see Web site for performance times.
Info: $52 to $76; 703-573-7328; signature-theatre.org
Then “[title of show]” was snatched up by Signature Theatre and fate decreed the winner of three Obie Awards and a Tony nomination deserved Matthew’s deft hand. At the same time, James was the fitting interpreter of Hunter, the character based on the real-life playwright of the rollicking musical comedy. “There are certain aspects of Hunter’s character and experiences that parallel mine,” James said. “We both were book writers and learned that the collaboration between two people is like a marriage. You get to the point where you become very angry about the way things are going. Then a few minutes later things work out and it’s OK.”
Two years ago, James and his friend Nick Blaemire presented to Eric Schaeffer, Signature’s artistic director, a musical they had written about the reunion of former high school friends. “Glory Days” premiered at Signature in February 2008 and was so well received that it headed to Broadway directed by Schaeffer and staged by Matthew Gardiner. Sadly, it closed after 17 previews and one official Broadway performance at New York’s Circle in the Square Theatre.
Despite the initial disappointment, James is grateful for the experience and the valuable lessons he learned writing the show and seeing it through to Broadway.
“We had opportunities to compromise along the way, but we wanted to stay true to ourselves,” he said. “I would have been disappointed in myself if I’d lowered my standards. Rather than do that, I preferred to see it crash and burn. Now I’m staying open to all opportunities, but I’m currently focusing on acting. After a short summer break when ‘[title of show]’ closes, I’ll be back at Signature for the opening of ‘Chess’ in August.”
James and Matthew Gardiner are identical twins who trace their theater heritage to their father’s father, a vaudeville performer whose act included walking on a giant ball. Growing up in the area, they attended musicals with their parents and took advantage of all the local opportunities for performing. Matthew was only 6 when he began acting at the Shakespeare Theatre and by high school both were acting out shows in their basement. Matthew trained at Carnegie Mellon University and James graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor of arts degree in theater.
While performing at Signature in “The Witches of Eastwick,” James played opposite Erin Driscoll, just as he does in “[title of show].” They recently became engaged and will be married in October following the run of “Chess” at Signature.
“The audience will love ‘[title of show]’ because it’s just fun,” James said. “It’s deceptively simple; at the same time, it’s deceptively hard, a real challenge. It’s close to me so it’s easy to sit back and let it happen. Instead, I have to dive in to find the blurred line between Hunter and myself. Although the characters mention some musical moments that only real theater dorks will latch onto, everyone will leave laughing and humming some of the catchy numbers Jeff Brown wrote.”
