When you’re a theater actor, there are some things that just never fade. Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton) learned that first hand when he took up the role of Billy Flynn in Chicago which opens tonight at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The actor came to the production straight from a True Blood night shooting schedule. And with only 10 days to learn the show, Stephen, who has a self-professed bad memory has slipped back into his theater training without missing a step and has managed to retain a ton of dialog. He admitted to LA Times’ David Ng that there hasn’t been much time to learn lines which was why he was jumping up to rehearse with Drew Carey who plays Amos Hart any chance he could:
“We haven’t had much time to rehearse actual dialog. It’s been a lot of running though the show. I like working on actual scenes.
Long before True Blood came calling, Moyer had a long career in the theatre, performing in over 60 productions by the age of 18. A 1995 touring production of Romeo and Juliet with Stephen in the title role tested his resolve however when he completely blanked on his character’s soliloquy:
“I was in the middle of my favorite speech and I just blanked,” he recalled. He ended up skipping most of the soliloquy by calling out to an offstage character who barely had time to get dressed. ”I needed a bit of a break [from the stage]. But I never intended it to be 18 years.”
But funnily enough it was True Blood that had Rob Fisher, Chicago’s conductor thinking of Stephen for a part in the show. He saw a clip of Moyer singing “Hard Hearted Hannah” during season 2:
“I thought his skill level was perfect for the role, and it was auspicious that he was singing ‘Hard Hearted Hannah,’ which is from the same time period as ‘Chicago.’
Castmate Samantha Barks praised Moyer’s talent and his down to earth nature. He brought his kids to rehearsals while his wife and True Blood co-star Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse) traveled for work:
“I didn’t know that he could sing. I mean, I’d heard it through the grapevine, but I had no idea how good he is,” said Barks during a rehearsal break.The 22-year-old British actress, who has performed on the London stage and played Eponine in last year’s movie version of “Les Misérables,” described Moyer as a down-to-earth performer and doting father. “He’s brought his kids to rehearsals. It was quite charming, actually.”
Chicago runs just this weekend and after it is over, Moyer plans on going to London for vacation and to catch some theater. Of the art, he says that his dream job would be repertory productions of Sweeney Todd and La Cage Aux Follies. He’d love to play the cross-dressing performer named Albin but better known by Zaza. That however, he says he might be a bit young for:
“You really have to be 50, I think, to play him properly. And I’m not quite there yet.”
Source: LA Times.com- “Stephen Moyer, appearing in ‘Chicago,’ has theater in his blood”
Image Credit: Francine Orr, Los Angeles Times