Interview: Leslie Jackson of RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA on Tour

With ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA playing to sold-out audiences on their current North American Tour, it's no wonder so many have been singing the praises of the fantastic cast who is working hard to entertain. As the tour continues, it will soon be making a stop in Austin, Texas to thrill theater goers at Bass Concert Hall. Leslie Jackson currently plays the role of Marie and is excited to return to the state of Texas where she was raised to perform in this iconic musical that has been loved by so many. BWW caught up with Leslie as she continues to enjoy the part and share her talents with so many.

Why don't you tell us a little about yourself and how you got interested in performing?

I always enjoyed singing and acting as children do and playing pretend. In elementary school, I joined our little honor choir that all the students were in and that was really fun. I had a couple of solos that I performed at Christmas recitals. I also joined our church's children's choir. In middle school, I continued doing choir through school and church. I started taking private voice lessons in middle school as well. My teacher, at the Texas Music Institute got me more interested in music theater and some pop things. I started doing competition through her which was a lot of fun. I got bit by the acting bug and had terrible stage fright so I started doing summer programs and music theater. One summer, I did "Theater Under the Stars," their holiday school so I got really interested in that and then in high school, I auditioned for our musical. We had one a year. I was so surprised when I got cast in it and I loved it. Then I started singing more classical music with a private teacher during high school. Graduates from our high school had gone to college and everything came back and it just was so beautiful and it was great. I love singing that kind of music and with choir. When I went to college, I was going for a bachelor's degree in opera and a degree in geology. Then sophomore year, I ended up auditioning for my university's musical theater certificate program and I got into that then I ended up dropping geology and sticking with opera and musical theater.

What are some roles you've played that have stuck out for you?

I always loved "Secret Garden." I would do any role in that show because it's beautiful and I'm obsessed with the movie, the story, all of it. "Ragtime" was amazing to get to do because I had recently been introduced to that in my senior year of college. In high school, I found out about Audra McDonald and she's my idol, she's amazing. I felt like I could relate to her in how we came up musically in classical training but also music theater. She has a beautiful voice. So, getting to do "Ragtime" and play Sarah was amazing, a dream role that luckily I got to play a couple of times and I would do it again and again. I love that show, the score, it's amazing. Obviously, "Hamilton" is very good so I would love to play in that.

Do you enjoy performing classical music or being involved in musical theater more?

I do love both but I think music theater, I have a bit more of range to do and you have more legit and more classic sound in music theater so I can use my training as well. It's so much more immersive for me. It's a little more acting heavy then opera. Opera is acting heavy at times because the shows aren't even in English it is a little harder to make that connection as well.

How did you get the role of Marie in CINDERELLA?

I saw the audition posting last February. I was actually on a tour already then with the "Ragtime" National Tour. We had a little bit of a break but I needed to go home and recharge. I was also a little sick at the time. And I thought I can't go back to New York and the open call for this but they were accepting video submissions. So I submitted a video and then received an email to send a callback video. Then towards March, they contacted me to see if I could come in for a live callback. And I didn't know if I would be able to do it because we didn't have any breaks left in the show I was already doing. There was a travel day where we were stopping at the Newark Airport and we were changing planes. We were flying in from California and then changing planes in Newark to Utica. I told them that was the only day I could come in. They said, "Yes, please. If you can make that work, we would love for you to come in." So I ended up not getting on our plane change in Newark and instead going to the callback. I did the callback there and a few hours later, got a train to the airport, took a flight that evening to go to Syracuse. Waited at the airport for a few hours and got the Greyhound to Utica and slept for a couple of hours before we had to do our soundcheck and our show. Luckily it worked out and a little bit later, I got contacted and I heard that I was going to be an offer and I was happy.

What advice do you have for anyone who is thinking about getting into show business?

If you really want to do it and you love it, you have to invest the time and energy into it. It's very beneficial to stay on top of things like practicing and looking at material that others have done. Going to classes, I try to go to dance classes because I'm not the best dancer but I'm trying to get better at it. Voice lessons and being very on top of going to auditions, getting used to auditioning in front of other people because it can be very intimating, but the more you do it, the more comfortable you are with it and that comes through in a positive way. Having perseverance to keep on going. You will hear no a lot in this business but you have to brush it off your shoulder because you don't know what reason they have; you may not have the look they were looking for and doesn't necessarily mean you're not good enough.

Don't miss this magical show at Bass Concert Hall from December 6-11, 2016. Tickets can be purchased by going to the Texas Performing Arts website.

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