Interview: Holland Vavra of BROADWAY AND BEYOND: CELEBRATING 30 SHOWS at Stages

Holland Vavra is a Houston-based performer who is marking her 30th production at Stages with her own cabaret show. To celebrate the milestone, the show's gonna run July 9th through the 26th. Holland has been seen on many Houston stages, not just Stages, and most folks would know her from her musical incarnations. She was most recently Carole King's mom in Beautiful. She appeared in Honky Tonk Laundry, Das Barbecü, Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, Sideshow, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Big Fish, and Honky Tonk Angels. And a lot of folks know her from Always Patsy Cline. BROADWAY WORLD writer Brett Cullum got a chance to sit down and talk with Holland about celebrating 30 shows at STAGES! 

Brett Cullum: I feel like I just associate you with STAGES. But, I mean, I know you do perform in other places, but how did you come up with the idea of this cabaret there?

Holland Vavra: To be fair, I didn't. That's the honor in this. Let me back up a little bit. I have recently been given the opportunity to headline on Celebrity Cruises. I'm a guest entertainer for them, and I've built my own shows. My main show is called Old Time Rock and Roll, and it is just that, and it's all men's stuff! I've turned everything upside down to make it my spin on those old 70s and 80s songs, and it's fabulous! But I knew I was going to be home this summer, and so I jokingly said, “Can I do my show?” to Derek [Livingston, artistic director] at Stages. And he actually was really into it, because they want to make the black box at Stages into a cabaret setting. So he came back to me later and was like, "I have an idea." And originally, it was supposed to be my ship show, I think. That was… that was the idea at first. And then he had an even better idea, and he's like, "Why don't we produce your 30th show?” Because Honky Tonk Laundry was my 29th. And I remember getting a little emotional about that, because this place is my whole heart. And I find that Stages has been… well, Stages has been in my life for over half of my life. 

Brett Cullum: Derek told me you even have a Stages tattoo! That is so gangster and hardcore! How did that come about? 

Holland Vavra: So, we were saying goodbye to the building at 3201 Allen Parkway. They had invited some people. Ted Swindley was there; he was speaking, and I think at this point I had done 20-something shows there, so they invited me. They knew I was a thief, too, so I was probably going to steal things, which I did. Including George Lancaster's A1 chair from the thrust, which is currently in my studio, where my guinea pigs live. So I did take that, but then also looking around, I knew exactly what I was gonna get tattooed. And it was the Art Deco address that used to be there, so I have 3201 on my rib cage. 

Brett Cullum: That's amazing! Okay, so… How did you decide on the songs for this cabaret?

Holland Vavra: He wanted me to do some songs that I really like, and things that are just from regular musicals, and so that's kind of the first part of the show, but not much, because there is so much to sing from my time at Stages. I'm starting backward. So, I'm doing Honky Tonk Laundry with Brooke; she's gonna sing with me. We're gonna sing from Honky Tonk Laundry and from Trailer Park. And then, I'm going back in time. I picked the shows that are most meaningful to me and to the people who are going to end up seeing this, like Wonderettes, Trailer Park, Honky Tonk Angels, Honky Tonk Laundry, and Big Fish. What else is there? Xanadu!

Brett Cullum: Oh, it has to be. That is my favorite role you've ever done, Kira. You were the muse! I would charge the stage if it wasn't included!  

Holland Vavra: I don't think you'd be the only one! I think I'd get tomatoes thrown at me, honestly, if I didn't include Xanadu. But my very first show ever, when I was 21 years old, at stages, was The Spitfire Grill, and I'm singing from that, which holds a story in itself as well. So I'm telling stories in between each song, but I'm going backward. From, like, the most successful ones, and the most fun ones, and the ones that have the reputation that Stages had, even moving over from 3201 to 800 ROSINE. I guess I've got to get an 800 Rosine tattoo now. Oh my god! 

Brett Cullum: The other rib, maybe?

Holland Vavra: But it can't just be 800, because that's THEATRE UNDER THE STAR's address, so people would get confused! 

Brett Cullum: Then it's good! If you're auditioning for a show at Stages, you can say it's theirs. If you're auditioning for a show at TUTS, it's like, “Hey, Dan Knechtges, I got this, just for you!”  One of the things that I thought was really dangerous, I saw you on social media saying that it's not even scripted, that you're just gonna kinda shoot from the hip.

Holland Vavra: You know Mitchell Greco, he's directed me in pretty much more shows than anyone has, and the joke is, you can give Holland a script, but… she may or may not read it, so it's… That, that is, and that there is something really correct in that. The joke I say is, “Thank you for the outline, I'll take it from here.” Because I never want to be scripted. I want to see the audience, I want to talk to them, and especially if they remember some of the same things that I remember. I want to talk directly to them. There is absolutely nothing written down. I don't want to be bogged down with having to stay on some kind of script, especially when these are my own stories.

Brett Cullum: But let me take you back to, like, little Holland. How did you start in this?

Holland Vavra: Both of my parents were in the theater. My mom performed professionally, and my dad worked backstage, and they met. I was in utero when my mother did Pippin. Had I wanted to go into anything else, especially in college, they probably would have disowned me. Musical theater's always been a part of my life, and we went to everything. I have very vivid memories of going to Six Flags Over Texas. I'm originally from Dallas. Not riding the rides, watching the shows. And I ended up working there when I was 15, singing, but it's just… I've leaned more into being a vocalist overall, even though my degree's in musical theater and all that, and I'm a dancer, but yeah, I think singing, I jokingly say, I need it. from my soul to survive. I… I need to be singing all the time. 

For me, it's extremely cathartic, especially when I've got someone on stage like Brooke in Honky Tonk Laundry or Trailer Park. Anytime I have another person that I just adore singing with me, there's nothing that could hurt us in that moment. And that's kind of how I feel about being on stage on the ships as well. It's just me out there in front of 1,200 people, floating around! It's my medicine to be on stage singing!

Brett Cullum: Well, what are you hoping that people take away from this? 

Holland Vavra: I hope that they're happy with the trip down memory lane, if they came to see any of these shows. I hope they're like, "Oh, I totally forgot about that one show, and that one song that we came to see 20 years ago!” I want them to remember that, and then be reminded that I've been here for so long, and I've been with you this entire time. And just reminding people who have come to see Spitfire Grill, which was back in 2004. I want to have that time with them where I'm like, yeah, if you were there to see this, so was I. Let me sing it. Let me remind you of this. But also just how much I love. I love the place.

Brett Cullum: We'll remind everybody one more time, July 9th through the 26th, with bottle service, from what I'm hearing. 

Holland Vavra: Yes. It was a really funny day when Derek said, “Do you want bottle service?” And I did not even take a breath. I looked at him like, “Are you crazy? That's not a question.”

Brett Cullum: Don't threaten me with a good time, Holland Vavra, and alcohol! 

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