Interview: Natascia Diaz of WEST SIDE STORY at Signature Theatre

I've known Natascia Diaz for 13 years now. In 2003, I was producing a concert version of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden as a benefit for the National AIDS Fund. Natascia stepped in to play Aphra, joining a cast that included Julia Murney, Norm Lewis, Laura Benanti, Darius deHaas, and Max von Essen. By that time, Natascia had already appeared on Broadway in The Capeman, Carousel, Seussical, and Man of La Mancha.

As Children of Eden was the first large-scale concert I'd ever organized, there was a "let's put on a show" feel that I'd never experienced. Everyone was in it to have a good time and raise money for an important charity. Egos were left at the door and we had a wonderful time. Natascia even jumped in to help choreograph one of the songs.

I became fast friends with Natascia and we'd grab coffee every once in a while to catch up on life, discuss our artistic endeavors, and on several occasions, she would volunteer her ridiculous talents to take part in different benefit concerts I was producing. Every once in a great while, I decided to sing a little something in one of the concerts. And in one of the last concerts I produced, in my "Broadway Loves the 80s" series, Natascia agreed to come do a little duet with me - doing our best Linda Ronstadt/James Ingraham impression covering "Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail. Long story short, I have a great deal of respect for the artist that is Natascia Diaz.

Ups and downs continued - I sat and listened while she told me about her devastation at being let go from the Broadway-bound production of Sweet Charity. It was a dream role for her, and the word from the road was excellent. She was wowing crowds out of town and suddenly, she had been replaced. But no one keeps Natascia down for long. If there's one word I could pick to describe her, it would be "fighter."

From there, she began working regionally quite a bit, and had her auditions for the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line documented for the film, Every Little Step. While she didn't wind up landing the role, the film displayed quite clearly that Natascia was a true triple threat and one of the most talented leading ladies in the industry.

Flash forward 7 years and we've both found ourselves completely outside New York, but in the same city. Natascia has built an award-winning career for herself in the nation's capital, at one point vying for and tying with her role model, Chita Rivera for a Helen Hayes award.

"Coming here from New York with the recession, everything happening here was so organic." Having appeared in the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Festival was a game changer following her years in New York. "I came here and my work started to stick, because the recession was hitting so hard in New York, it derailed a lot of the trajectories that were out there for me. I couldn't ignore a lot of the doors that were opening for me in a new city."

And the doors continued to open. From the title role in Kiss of the Spiderwoman at the Signature to Velma in St. Louis MUNY's Chicago and back to DC with a Helen Hayes-nominated performance in Threepenny Opera. Now, Natascia is playing her dream role - Anita in Signature Theatre's West Side Story. "This is the role that made me understand why I was born," she told me recently while we chatted about her journey.

She'd played the role before, and from all accounts, she was incredible in it. "I had understood the role at a deeper level then, than I was ever prepared for or was ready to do. The spirit was willing..." she continued: "There was so much that was great about my last experience with it, but now I'm a better dancer, much stronger, more technically aware of my body in space." Natascia went on to stress the importance of continuing your education as a dancer, "I've been going to class non-stop. For no other reason than the fact it's a discipline I enjoy, something I love doing. Other people like to hike, or knit, I like to spend as much time as possible dancing."

Natascia hasn't always been known as a dancer. Having frequently been cast in character roles, many have seen her as the comic relief. She appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Jacques Brel... in 2006, and reprised her role in DC a few years ago (winning another Helen Hayes Award). Primarily a role known for it's vocals, again, many were seeing another side of her that didn't include much in the way of dance. Through it all though, she was in class, and kept dancing. "I never wanted to sing this much," she said. "I always wanted to be doing theatre, always thought I'd be doing Chekhov and wearing a corset." She continued: "I never danced except in West Side and A Chorus Line. I was doing slapstick in Zorro and even Sweet Charity was mostly fun, silly dancing. Being funny and crass is a blast, but it's not the same as this."

Though taking dance class continuously for years was a sort of meditation for her, it can also be a challenge with days, weeks and months of work that no one sees. "It's finally paying off. When they came to me and asked me to do it [West Side Story], I thought 'Why not use this thing you've built?' Taking hip-hop, learning a new art form - it's hard as hell and I can't believe the things I'm making my body do. All of a sudden, you look back and think 'This is why I've put in the work.' It's a point of pride."

Immediately following West Side Story, Natascia will be appearing in Shakespeare Theatre Company's Othello. A common discussion among actors primarily involved in musical theatre is the fear of being pigeonholed. Being in DC, Natascia has been able to avoid that. "Here, I get to do Shakespeare, and dance in West Side Story. I've even been able to play roles that aren't historically Spanish or Latina. I'm grateful to be here and for the people who see me as who they want in the little universe they're creating."

Catch Natascia in Signature's West Side Story through January 31, 2015 at Signature Theatre - 4200 Campbell Avenue, in Arlington, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 820-9771, or purchase them online.