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Butler native Michele Pawk keeps the wigs handy for new City Theatre production "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead."
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Broadway veteran and Butler native Michele Pawk plays all the roles in the City Theatre production of Robert Hewett's "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead." -
Broadway veteran and Butler native Michele Pawk plays all the roles in the City Theatre production of Robert Hewett's "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead."
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From sexy rich bitch ("Crazy for You") to glamorous owner of a Greek taverna ("Mamma Mia"), from witchy jail matron ("Chicago") to glamorous Mayze LaBird ("Seussical"), from tyrannical beauty contest boss ("Hairspray") to Carol Burnett's unglamorous mother ("Hollywood Arms") ...
Those are some roles that have kept Butler native Michele Pawk busy on Broadway -- she won a Tony Award for the last one. Oh, and from surly prostitute ("Cabaret") to unglamorous philosopher ("Triumph of Love"), as well.
Ms. Pawk is a chameleon of the stage. Sure, there's a lot of bitchy on her resume, and glamorous, too. But her roles have been a zoo of variety. And she has done plays and musicals -- Broadway normally types performers as one or the other.
Where: City Theatre, 13th and Bingham, South Side.
When: Through May 30; Tues. 7 p.m., Wed.-Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 5:30 and 9 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m.; also 1 p.m. May 19 and 26 (no 8 p.m. May 26).
Tickets: $23-$48 (seniors and students $19, student rush $10); www.citytheatercompany.org or 412-431-CITY.
So her current task at City Theatre should be a piece of cake, playing seven roles in Robert Hewett's "The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead," starting with a blond Russian, redhead suburban housewife and brunette neighbor. The transformations include a fat suit, accents and wildly different ages.
Variety is the epitome of her career.
"Those are all hair colors I've been!" she points out.
But this time there's a higher degree of difficulty: she's playing the different characters alone on stage.
"What was I thinking?" she exclaims over supper at the Gypsy Cafe on Bingham Street. "I'm insane! I'm so bored of myself, I just want some other people to talk to!"
She took it on because she really liked the script.
"I had to respond to it. I was sort of terrified tackling such a huge vehicle, all by myself up there, but for me, being a little terrified of a project is good, especially if I'm leaving home to do it. I challenge myself as an artist.
"And I fell in love with the protagonist, who bookends the piece. I also hit it off with Lou [director Lou Jacobs]. Before I signed off on it, we had coffee, because it's just the two of us."
In a way, she was auditioning him. That Ms. Pawk took the job is a compliment to the role and to City Theatre, because she doesn't travel much any more from outside New York, where she lives with husband John Dossett, also an actor busy on Broadway, and their 10 year-old son.
"He keeps me younger -- and more tired," she says. "Even for jobs in New York, I ask, 'Is it worth leaving my house?' "
City Theatre's Tracy Brigden approached her through Brad Rouse, Hal Prince's assistant on "Bounce" and "Hollywood Arms." "I really admire her, the sort of plays she does here," Ms. Pawk says of Ms. Brigden.
City made it a bit easier by arranging for rehearsals to begin in New York, then coming here for the final 10 days. "I haven't been to the South Side since I was a kid," she says. She likes the busy street life, and she loves the running path by the river -- so far, mainly to sit by and read.
Coming back here was an attraction, of course. In New York, she claims Pittsburgh as home, for simplicity. But here, it's Butler; and there, it's actually Renfrew, where her family ran the Lyndora Hotel. "I tended bar there for years. I opened it at 6 a.m. and guys came in right off their night shift."
So there's Western Pennsylvania grit under that glamour. As she says, "at a certain age, we're all character actors." Sometimes, characters come by the half-dozen.
First Published May 13, 2010 12:00 am
