The Prom at Axelrod Performing Arts Center

RICHARD E. WAITS, WHO ONCE WORKED WITH GINGER ROGERS, IS CAST IN “THE PROM” AT AXELROD PAC

DEAL PARK, NJ – Richard E. Waits got his first professional acting role at age 18 opposite Hollywood icon Ginger Rogers. Waits, dressed in a tuxedo, danced arm in arm down a grand staircase along with Rogers in her glorious dress. They sashayed down, then up a few steps, then down again, ala Fred and Ginger, while filming a commercial for Shea’s Buffalo Theatre, a performing arts center in Waits’ hometown of Buffalo, N.Y.

When the cameras stopped rolling, the former movie star, who was now in her later years, began shouting directions to the crew about how she wanted the shoot to be done.

“She did the lighting, editing, directing and even yelled CUT!” said Waits. “She was sharp as a tack. I still aspire to that.”

That was more than 40 years ago, and Waits has built an impressive resume since then. His latest role is Mr. Hawkins, a high school principal in a small Indiana town, at the center of a controversy when a student wants to bring her girlfriend to the prom. The musical comedy, The Prom, is at Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park, N.J. through May 21. The show features Vicki Lewis, best known for NBC’sNewsRadio and Broadway’s Damn Yankees and Chicago, along with John Scherer from Broadway’sBy Jeeves and Sunset Boulevard.

“The Prom reflects what America is if we could calm down the rhetoric and just talk to each other,” said Waits.

Aside from a short time when Waits aspired to be a professional bowler, his heart has been the theater since high school. He headed to New York City and garnered roles in a Chess concert alongside Josh Groban, Adam Pascal and Sutton Foster, and a Dreamgirls concert that featured Lillias White, Audra McDonald, Heather Headley and Norm Lewis. He appeared in the I Am Harvey Milk concert at Avery Fisher Hall with Kristin Chenoweth and Andrew Lippa and was featured in The Black Stars of Broadway concert at Carnegie Hall.

He performed in La Cage Aux Folles in Paris, Ain’t Misbehavin’ in Amsterdam, performed for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the U.S. Embassy in Holland and sang for President Jimmy Carter at the NAACP Convention and Kofi Annan at the United Nations 50th Anniversary Celebration.

It was a strange twist of fate that he nabbed the role in The Prom at Axelrod PAC. Waits had auditioned for the same role at a theater in Salt Lake City. He had performed there previously, so he was confident in getting the role. Waits was disappointed that he lost out, but he said something wouldn’t let him erase the performance dates from his calendar. As it turned out, the actor who was cast in the role at Axelrod left to accept the same role in Salt Lake City, and the dates were practically the same.

"We pretty much swapped roles,” said Waits. “I guess the universe was telling me something.”

Over the past 40+ years, Waits has gained experience as a playwright, a composer and a show business consultant, and he recently became an ordained minister. He aims to pass his wealth of knowledge down to the next generation of actors, as he learned from actress Kathleen Freeman, whose 50-year career spanned from Vaudeville to Jerry Lewis movies to her iconic role in The Blues Brothers.

“She was a great mentor, a real show business broad,” said Waits. “She taught me about stagecraft and really owning your stuff.”

In 2001, although she was battling lung cancer, Freeman was performing in the Broadway production of The Full Monty and was nominated for a Tony Award. But she took a turn for the worse and died just days after her final performance.

“That’s the way to do it, right to the freakin’ end,” said Waits. “That’s show business to me.”

The Axelrod Performing Arts Center is located at 100 Grant Ave., Deal Park, (Monmouth County) with plenty of free parking. For tickets and more information, visit www.axelrodartscenter.com.

Mary Ann Bourbeau
Axelrod Performing Arts Center

100 Grant Ave.
Deal Park, N.J. 07723
www.axelrodartscenter.com