Interview: Embracing the Unexpected: Kate Fahrner Debuts at MSMT

"When I called to do this job, I was shocked and terrified at first. It's such an iconic part," confides actress Kate Fahrner, who makes a double debut in Evita at Maine State Music Theatre on June 29, 2016. The three-week run marks the young and talented Broadway star's role debut as the mesmerizing Eva Peron, as well as her first MSMT appearance. And if this weren't enough of a challenge, she adds, she has a number of other exciting things happening in her life right now as well - foremost among them a one-year old daughter, who (with the help of family) has accompanied her to Maine for rehearsals.

"There is a lot of pressure, but it is all very exciting. The role is so monumental that at first I was a little daunted by the prospect." Fahrner tells how she began to learn the part two months before the audition that brought her to Maine. "Then I backed away from it. I didn't feel ready. But I love working with Marc [Robin] and when he approached me for this production, I decided I would audition for him. I came into it thinking 'I will just go for it and have fun and do this for myself.' So I sang "You Don't Know This Man" from Parade, which did show my dark side a bit." And here she is, some months later totally immersed in the role of the glamorous, mercurial Evita.

"She has an amazing arc," Fahrher says of the title role in the Andrew Lloyd- Webber-Tim Rice musical, a role which has been played by such legends as Elaine Paige, Patti LuPone, and Madonna. "In the show everyone recounts a different story about Eva, and you have to decide who is telling the truth. Is she what Eva says she is or what Che describes or what Peron sees in her? I don't think anyone really knows." Fahrner goes on to share a story from her historical research: "When Eva was getting married to Peron, she made some men go back to her village and alter her birth certificate so no one would ever know her age or the details of her birth."

It is these contrasts and ambiguities which fascinate the actress. "Throughout the musical you see different sides of her - her own ambition and her attachment to the common people, for example. I think she is both of those things and more. She wanted more than she had, and when she got it, she wanted everyone else to have more too. She was certainly doing for others, but she was also doing for herself." Fahrner sees the musical, which dates from 1976-78 as remarkably relevant today. "No matter which candidate you might support this election year, there is so much polarization going on. Some see Hillary or Trump as demons and others as saints. It's pretty crazy what we are going through," she opines.

This will be the third time Fahrner has worked with director/choreographer Marc Robin, having done Cats and Elf with him before. She finds, as do so many others who admire the work of this protean, talented artist, Robin's vision and rehearsal process "thrilling." She tells how he marshaled the forty-six-member Evita cast to "putting the show completely on its feet in a few days" so that they would then have time to concentrate on finding the depth of the story. "It's real storytelling that Marc pulls out of all of us," she says. "I like the quickness of the process because you can get the show on its feet and then take time to worry about the character and narrative. And it is easier to memorize together with the blocking and easier to connect with your scene partners. Marc really cares about acting, not just standing there and belting out songs, and I find that ever so exciting!"

Born and raised in Michigan, Kate Fahrner first dreamed of becoming a ballerina. "I began lessons at three and took everything from ballet to jazz and tap. But after a while I realized I hadn't been prepared sufficiently to perform at higher levels outside my Detroit area. When I went to another studio, I found myself put in classes with ten year-olds, who could dance circles around me. It was humbling, but I decided to work harder." It was in high school, when she joined the choir at her parents' insistence she continue with some musical pursuit, that she first performed in musicals. "I enjoyed being in the ensemble, dancing and singing, but until my junior year when I had to think of my college plans, I didn't even consider a career in musical theatre. In fact," she laughs, "for a while, I really wanted to become a shamu trainer at Sea World!"

Fahrner did, however, opt for musical theatre rather than marine biology, and she was accepted to the musical theatre program at University of Michigan Ann Arbor. She remembers having to work hard to catch up to the other students. "I felt a bit behind because I had never really done any community theatre or all those things you would do to prepare." She studied for several years at university before moving to New York to take the plunge into the theatre world.

"At first I went only to dance auditions," she explains, "but then I realized I could sing well, and then I began to think, 'Wow, this acting thing is everything!'" In rapid succession Fahrner began to win roles in regional theatre, off-Broadway, and finally on Broadway itself. She recalls how she came to make her debut on the Great White Way as Glinda in Wicked. "Up until that point I had been playing animals and kids," she laughs, referring to her performances as Jovie in Elf and Demeter in Cats, 'but then I got to play Glinda in Chicago for two years. Back in New York, Fahrner became the Broadway standby for Carmen Cusack as Glinda and then ultimately realized her dream, making her debut in the role in 2010. "When I had to go into the show, I had eight hours of rehearsal, so there was a great deal of pressure, but it was also thrilling. There I was making my entrance in the bubble, and as it came down, I broke into tears, thinking 'Oh, my gosh, this is really my Broadway debut!' It was crazy and awesome!"

Fahrner's success in New York brought her to the attention of director Bartlett Sher who cast her as Carmen Cusack's first cover for the leading lady in South Pacific, Nellie Forbush. As in Wicked, Fahrner did get to play the part on national tour. "Working with Bart was amazing! He is such a brilliant man who can bring such thoughtfulness to stories. I had never been interested in South Pacific before. I thought it was a bit fluffy, but it is also a dark show. Sometimes people gloss over that part, but he didn't shy away from it. The whole experience was a big growing up moment for me." The South Pacific tour proved to be a very special experience for Fahrner in a number of other ways, as well. Not only did she learn so much from observing Cusack in the role, but she also met her dancer/choreographer husband during the run.

Fahrner says she enjoys the entire gamut of theatrical experiences. " Working in New York allows you to breathe a little and lead a basically 'normal' life. But touring can be fun, too, and I love regional theatre because when you enter a show, everyone starts and ends at the same time. They go on a journey together, and that makes it special." What she cherishes the most, however, is to change gears. "There is nothing better - more challenging - than doing Evita here and then soon after starting South Pacific at the Walnut Theatre. I love the struggle and the excitement of finding something new each time and discovering it with new people."

This unbridled joy in discovery marks Fahrner's creative life. As a singer, she regards her voice as less of a separate entity and more of an extension of her being. "I feel my voice is a vessel for the feeling I am trying to convey and for the essence of the character," she says simply. Already known for her musical theatre work, she hopes to be able to explore more straight plays in the future. "In a drama with no music there is nothing other than yourself with which to work. You have to rely on the spoken word, your stillness, your silence, your breath." Fahrner, who just recently played the manipulative Mrs. Chevely in Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband at the Walnut Theatre, says her secret ambition is to sink her teeth into all the Tennessee Williams women. And she enjoys learning at many other levels as well. She talks about a goal she set for herself some years ago (when standing by in Wicked) to read all one hundred books on the BBC Great Books list. "It has been one of the best decisions I have ever made," she says. "Not only does it fill in gaps from my school days, (because I must confess I never read most of the works in A.P. Literature), but it has been a great opportunity to revisit some books I did know. Coming back to something at a different point in your life can open all kinds of new horizons and forcing yourself to understand a work whether you love it or not - these are all important tools. I have learned so much about writing, about characters, and about myself!"

Exploring uncharted waters is plainly a priority for Kate Fahrner. She talks about her "eclectic resume - no rhyme or reason really in the roles I've played. I love making seemingly strange transitions from one role to another. It keeps everything fresh. As an actress, I want to do what I love, not what people expect from me. Because if you don't love what you are doing, it simply will not work."

It is clear from talking with Kate Fahrner and watching her bring the complex character of Eva Peron to life, that it is her risk-taking, her openness, her adventuresome spirit, in addition to her wealth of artistic talent that contribute to the charisma of her performance. For Kate Fahrner, acting is a labor of love and an opportunity to immerse herself and engage the audience in a search for the truth.

Photos Couresty MSMT, Roger S. Duncan, photographer

Evita runs at MSMT from June 29-July 16, 2016 at the Pickard theater, 1 Bath Road, Brunswick, ME 207-725-8769 ww