All good, no evil in 'Sound of Music' role
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Lisa Howard rehearses as Mother Abbess for Pittsburgh CLO.
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Variety is too weak a word for Lisa Howard's recent roles.
The actor best known for originating the role of Rona Lisa Peretti in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" on Broadway will play Mother Abbess in "The Sound of Music" at the Pittsburgh CLO Tuesday through July 31.
She last played Paulette in "Legally Blonde" at the Muny in St. Louis.
Before that, she wrapped up filming as sexy vampire Siobhan in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn," the eagerly anticipated next installment of the hit series.
So how does it feel to go from Gothic to girly-girl and monster to mother superior?
Where: Benedum Center, Downtown.
When: Tuesday through July 31. 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; also 1 p.m. July 21.
Tickets: $21-$70.75. 412-456-6666 or www.pittsburghclo.org.
"You take one character at a time and start from scratch with each character," Ms. Howard said, laughing. The shift from Siobhan to Paulette, she said, "was night and day."
Evil is fun, but Ms. Howard especially enjoys the role of Mother Abbess, the character who sings such hits as "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" This musical has been one of her favorites since childhood.
"I am a tad young for people who could typically play this role," she quipped. Ms. Howard is in her mid-30s and looks younger. "But you're in a nun's habit, so it doesn't really matter."
Besides, she could play the role forever. "Until I can't sing it anymore."
The show also will feature Jennifer Hope Wills, who last starred in the CLO's production of "Carousel" (2005), as Maria and Robert Cuccioli as Capt. Von Trapp -- a role he reprises from the last time the CLO staged "The Sound of Music" in 2005.
This is Ms. Howard's CLO debut and her first time in Pittsburgh.
"It feels like a really neat town," she said. An Akron, Ohio, native, she plans to travel home to see her parents on a day off -- when she has a day off. The CLO's crowded summer schedule gives actors one intense week of rehearsal time to pull each show together.
"We're pretty engrossed in what we're doing," she said.
It's a far different experience from the world of film, where scenes are shot in many takes. "The pace is a lot slower," Ms. Howard said of film. "It's a different world. It's an exciting world."
First Published July 18, 2011 12:00 am
