BWW Interviews: Flores Finds Common Thread with ANYTHING GOES Character

The more he plays Luke, the Chinese convert and reformed gambler in the musical ANYTHING GOES, the more Roy Flores discovers how much he and his character have in common.

Flores and the cast of outlandish characters in the Cole Porter musical sail into Columbus for a six-night stay Feb. 3-8 at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St). He joins Emma Stratton, who stars as Reno Sweeney and Brian Krinsky as Billy Crocker.

The show, which features such classics as "I Get a Kick out of You," "You're the Top," and the title song, "Anything Goes," also features Tracy Bidleman as Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt, Anthony Chan as John, Rachelle Rose Clark as Hope Harcourt, Michael R. Douglass as Elisha Whitney, Kenny Francoeur as Purser, Richard Lindenfelzer as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, Drew Martin as Captain, Mychal Phillips as Erma, and Dennis Setteducati as Moonface Martin.

"Luke's very charismatic and very cunning and, quite honestly, he might be the smartest person on the ship," Flores says in a phone interview from Lincoln, Neb. "Sometimes people underestimate him but he adapts very quickly and in the end, he ends up being at the top.

"He's from a different country and a different culture but at the end of it all, he's just trying to find a better life from himself. I can relate to being from a different place in a different culture with a different language."

Flores was 14 when his family moved from the Philippines to San Diego. Moving from one place to another as a teenager can be difficult. Moving from one country to another, however, can be a terrifying experience.

Flores says being fluent in English and having an understanding of American culture helped him made the transition a little bit smoother. In the Philippines, 50 percent of the classes are taught in English, so the actor arrived in San Diego being able to communicate with his classmates.

"I definitely remember having a hard time adjusting to school (at first)," Flores says. "That's when I started doing theater actually. I needed to be a part of something and to find a group that would accept me."

While theater was something that Flores enjoyed in high school, he never thought it'd be something he would do professionally. After high school, he studied accounting at Southwestern College in San Diego.

As a part of his studies, Flores had to take a performing arts class. During an audition for a show, he sang "Something's Coming" from WESTSIDE STORY in front of his class and realized he made a horrible mistake.

"When I was up there, I just saw my professor's eyes," Flores says. "He was so engaged with the performance. I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, I'm pursuing the wrong career."

Shortly thereafter, Flores dropped out of accounting, auditioned for the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and moved to New York City.

Not everyone was thrilled with the decision.

"My mom (Imelda Darjal) wasn't 100 percent happy about it, but she has been very supportive," he said with a laugh. "She wanted me to be a doctor when I was a little kid and she wanted me to be a lawyer.

"But I performed a lot in church and in elementary school. She saw what I could do. She knew I'm just trying to follow my heart, so she let me go."

ANYTHING GOES is Flores' first national tour. Currently, he is a little midway through the eight month tour. While the show is taxing both mentally and physically, he's enjoying the experience.

"It's been great so far. I definitely love being in the different cities and different states and seeing what they have to offer," Flores says. "Being in a different theater (at every stop) keeps us from getting stuck in autopilot."

Flores says he's looking forward to performing at the historical Ohio Theatre.

"I was reading an article about Thomas Lamb the architect who designed the Ohio Theatre," he says. "(Lamb) designed it to create a theatrical atmosphere inside. ANYTHING GOES will be a perfect match for it.

"ANYTHING GOES features the glitz and glamour of the 1930s and Ohio Theatre is such a beautiful theater. People will get transported out of their day to day troubles and just enjoy a couple of hours of music and dance and lighthearted comedy."

ANYTHING GOES will be performed 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3-5, 8 p.m. Feb. 6-7 and 6:30 on Feb. 8 with matinees 2 p.m. Feb. 7 and 1 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Ohio Theatre in downtown Columbus (39 E. State Street). Tickets start at $28 at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000.