Interview: Eric Seppala, Star of FRUIT CAKE FOLLIES! at the Hollywood Catalina Jazz Club

Eric Seppala has been a staple in the LA Cabaret scene for nearly three decades and going stronger, but busier than ever. He has played the cabaret gamut from Streisand to Sondheim, with a perfect mixture of camp and expert musical execution.  Mr. Cabaret took ten minutes to answer ten questions about his continued success at filling up popular venues with satisfied audiences all across the city of angels. 

Eric, which constellation were you born under and where was it hovering over on earth? 

I'm a delightfully delusionsal Pisces who made his earthly entrance at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek, California a long time ago.

When was your earliest recollection of live theater and where? 

 My parents were avid theater enthusiasts and I believe my first live show was likely The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker. I, of course, was enamoured of the lady with the gigantic skirt that all the little kid ballet dancers came running out from under. I also remember touring companies of The Wiz and Annie permanently affecting me. I wrote a fan letter to Patricia Ann Patts who played Annie in the tour and she wrote back to me! I was determined to convince my local community theatre to mount a new version starring me as...Andy!

Who was the performer who gave you the mindfulness this is what you wanted to do in your life?

I had been singing and dancing from a very early age and my parents always made sure I saw all the touring productions that came to San Francisco. I remember Lilias D. White (as she was known then) as Dorothy in The Wiz and how obsessed I was with her and that show. And then, a short time later, she returned as Effie White in Dreamgirls, and the range this woman had blew my little mind. I couldn't believe it was the same person and it made me want to play a million different people to such a degree that I now consider myself a character actress. I want to play everyone - regardless of sex. And the delusional Pisces in me sees nothing wrong with that. Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd is at the top of my current bucket list. 

Are you classically trained in live performance or did you pick it up observing professionals? 

I did a lot of theater as a kid and learned "on the job" but also took drama, dance and voice throughout school, eventually earning my Bachelor of Arts in Theater from the University of California at Irvine where I learned all aspects of theatre from acting to production design to stage combat. Sondheim and Shakespeare were my early passions. My parents took me to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival yearly when I was young and it was a magical world I wanted to live in. Recently I have had the opportunity to do some Shakespeare in the recent Hollywood Fringe Festival and it's been so much fun. My friend Colleen Hammond Whitmore does these wonderful one hour versions of these classics through her CHW Productions at The Hobgoblin Playhouse, giving actors of all ages an opportunity to come together, build a community and do Shakespeare in Hollywood!!!   

 Did your tribe encourage you to follow your passion or did you have to perform for strangers in the audience?

Nobody ever discouraged me from my passions and I'm not sure it would have changed a thing. The people around me probably sensed that. I was creating shows on the elevated hearth of our fireplace in my family's living room since I can remember. I mostly got exasperated eyerolls when I demanded my family sit down to watch my latest theatrical concoctions. 

What was your first paid gig in Los Angeles as a live performer? 

After a college summer gig as a singing waiter at Tibbie's Music Hall in Huntingon Beach, I moved to Los Angeles and began working with the L.A. Jazz Choir.  My first gig with that group was performing in Rosemary Clooney's annual Singer's Salute to the Songwriters at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. We were treated like stars and shared the bill with everyone from Bob Hope to Barry Manilow to Bea Arthur to Bernadette Peters. I met so many of my idols doing those shows over the years.

When did you know you could support yourself as a professional live performer?

I've never been confident of that! Sometimes I am making a living, sometimes I'm not. I think that's being an artist. Historically, artists are...well...starving! You do it because you love it and you love being in that creative process zone. When I am invited to colloborate in other people's work, it is a great honor and I commit 100%.  Luckily, I come from a long line of artists - woodworkers, musicians, painters, weavers (I'm even told an ancient relative was the jester to the King of Sweden) - all of whom were incredibly prolific whether their art sold or not. The goal was to produce and express. It's a need rather than a desire. 

 How did your collaboration evolve with Olivia Newton-John to allow you to do her tribute show?

I'm not sure it ever officially was (!) Due to my pandemic passion project of Olivia Newton-John is a Doll (on Facebook and Instagram) where I recrafted over 70 of Olivia's looks into Barbie-sized creations purely for my own enjoyment, I had lovely ineractions with Olivia in 2021 and she was as gracious and kind as you would expect. She requested multiple copies of the book of photos of the dolls I created for her and she gave them to friends and even ended up auctioning off copies she signed in her annual Julien's auction to benefit her Cancer Wellnees Institute. When this year's concert with my talented friend Lisa Donahey was being conceived, I reached out to Olivia's people to let her know. We didn't get a response but we weren't told to stop either! It was such a passionate project for us, we were like kids creating it and doing it. I just hope we conveyed how much we love and were influenced by beautiful Olivia Newton-John. It was part of a fantastic weekend built around the (completely sanctioned) 45th anniversary screening of the film Xanadu at The Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo. 

When and how did FRUIT CAKE FOLLIES! evolve and take flight for so many years?

The Follies was conceived and created by my friend James Gray. It was originally his Christmas cabaret show 27 years ago and he invited his friends to participate. It grew and grew and became Hollywood's longest running Christmas show. Every year I'm allowed to come up with crazy numbers and wacky characters to play and write parody lyrics and numbers and create vocal arrangements. This year we are at the Catalina Jazz Club with our original music director - Michael Orland. It's my favorite part of the year as these castmates have become a family and we have laughed, cried and grown up together. 

You have played at so many iconic LA live performance venues from the jewel in the crown, Cinegrill at  The Roosevelt Hotel, the classic cabaret venue at The Dresden, and The Cavern Club below Casita Del Campo in Silver Lake, The New Colony Theater in Burbank, The Write-off Room (Oil Can Harry's) and Vitello's in Studio City.  Is there a live performance venue in Los Angeles which calls out your name? 

All have really special memories - my four-hour gig at the age of 22 with the legendary Marty and Elaine at The Dresden where all of my songs were played as sambas! The debut of my own cabaret act at the legendary Cinegrill where my name was on top of the marquee looming over Hollywood Boulevard. But the Cavern Club at Casita Del Campos, run by masterful Mr. Dan, is probably the playground where I have created my most memorable theatrical moments. Many crazy things have happened in that basement. In addition to the Fruit Cake Follies, I've been involved with some incredibly creative people there in some really innovative, fun projects.  

One Los Angeles stage that I would love to perform on is the Mark Taper Forum. The history of that wonderful theatre and the diverse uses of the venue have always fascinated me. And yet, it also feels incredibly familiar as my high school's theatre in Walnut Creek was the same type of space on a much smaller scale. 

Eric is headlining Fruit Cake Follies! with Michael Orland on the piano December 19, 20, 21 to close out 2025 but if you miss this great yearly favorite you can program you phone calendars earlier for Skippy 'n' Bitsy's All Star Christmas TV Extravaganza - December 9-17 - Palm Springs Cultural Center - tickets at thebent.org.  Eyes of Love Connie with Love Connie - February - The Cavern Club at Casita Del Campos Our Name is Barbra - April - The Cavern Club at Casita Del Campos. Just Added as Featured Performer in Cabaret L'Amour at The Velvet Rope 7:pm in Palm Springs thevelvetropeps.com