INTERVIEW: Toby on Her Dinner Theatres and Edward Norton

            Perhaps one of the biggest theatre-related news stories in Baltimore this year was the opening of a brand new venue by acclaimed director and Helen Hayes Award Winner Toby Orenstein.  Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore opened with Disney's Beauty and the Beast, had Footloose: The Musical over the summer, and is now celebrating fall with the epic, award-winning musical, Ragtime.  A few weeks ago, in the midst of opening two huge musicals in one week (the other being the lavish classic Kiss Me, Kate at the Columbia location), Toby and I sat down for an interview.  I found Toby to be very candid, funny and passionate about her art, her business and life.

            In this first of two parts, Toby discusses her upbringing and career in theatre, the state of Baltimore dinner theatre, and working with many now-celebrities who got their start trodding the boards in Columbia, including Academy Award nominee, Edward Norton.

 

James Howard (JH):  Who or what influenced you to devote your life to the theatre?

Toby Orenstein (TO):  I've been involved in theatre since before kindergarten.  When I was 2 or 3, I used to twirl two shoelaces and talk to them, making up stories and little plays with them.  When I was in kindergarten, I played a puritan, and kept pushing the kids around the stage!  And my mother always played the piano, so I grew up with the arts.  Then, when I was in the 7^th grade, I auditioned for, and was accepted for the High School of the Performing Arts in New York City.  But I left in my junior year – I hated all the pressure – and wound up at the state teacher's college.  Then I went to Columbia and got degrees in Education and a BFA in Theatre.  Around that time, Eleanor Roosevelt started a program, the ADNS, in Harlem, and I was one of ten teachers selected to teach all subjects through the arts.  I believe in education and the arts.

JH: How long has Toby's been in business?  To what do you attribute its long-term success?

TO: 27 years in Columbia, 28 on December 4^th.  The reason for its success is simple: the quality of the shows and the food.  Buddy, which you did not like [laughs], was a huge success for us this past summer.  I've never seen an audience react like that!  At one show, the kids in the audience got on stage during the finale and did a mosh pit!  The quality is what keeps audiences coming back.  We might have to bring back Buddy! [laughs]

JH: In an issue of Baltimore Magazine earlier this year, Edward Norton mentioned that he worked and performed at Toby's when he was young.  What was he in?  Did you think he'd go on to such acclaim?

TO: Ed started with me when he was 5!  Let's see… he played a toy in Mary Poppins, and he was in Peter Pan in my children's theatre program.  At Toby's Columbia, he was in Pippin and Annie Get You Gun.  In that he was one of Annie's kids – I think he was 9 or 10.  He was like a sponge.  He took everything in, and he was such an actor.  We teach them to think about what they are doing in each scene.  Well, at one point, in rehearsals [for Annie Get Your Gun], he asked, "What's my objective?"  And we discussed it – the boy needs to be busy and involved.  "Can I play cards?"  I said, sure.  Well, as the performances went on, I noticed during that particular scene, the audience was laughing and watching him, not the rest of the scene.  Well, Ed was REALLY playing cards, and decided the character wanted to win.  So why was the audience laughing? "I need to cheat to win!"  I told him not to steal focus!  So he was good even then.  [She smiles proudly]  Of course he has also directed now, too – that movie Keeping Faith.

JH: Have you had others go on to professional careers?

TO:  Oh, yes!  Besides Ed, let's see… Megan Lawrence, who was just nominated for a Tony for Pajama Game worked for me, Harolyn Blackwell has gone on to some acclaim… Mark Waldrop, who was a writer on When Pigs Fly off-Broadway… Robin Baxter.  Gosh… many people [who have worked with me] have gone on in Les Miz.

JH: When I have interviewed young actors who have worked for you, they mention two things: a strong work ethic and a strong feeling of family.  What do you do/expect that creates the professional AND familial atmosphere?

TO:  That's good to hear.  First, it's giving them permission to explore their talents.  I'll let them try anything.  Second, they know it will be good.  We try to maintain a respectful atmosphere, and I try to have a sense of humor.  But included with all of that is that we must work together to tell the story.

JH: What advice do you give to aspiring actors, etc.

TO: You have to be prepared NOT to work.  You can be a star one day, but unless you are a BIG Name, you never really make it.  You are always looking for and working toward that next job.  You must follow your passion, no matter what it is.  And above all, RISK.

JH: Years ago, there were several dinner theatres in the area, and now there are many fewer.  What do you see as the state of dinner theater in Baltimore?

TO: In the 70's, dinner theatre was such a phenomenon.  Everyone jumped into it to make big money.  But it is very hard, because it is like two businesses at once.  Some people had decent shows and terrible food service, and others had the opposite.  A lot of it was not good at all.  Audiences go for quality – they know it when they see it.  Dinner theatre is very hard.  Fortunately, I am in partnership with restaurant people.  They know what they are doing in that area.  And I refuse to do less than the highest quality shows.  You can't get away with inferior product.  Now, there seems to be a resurgence of dinner theatre all over.  In Arizona, there are three new ones, and I think dinner theatre will make a comeback.  Parents are looking for things to do with the whole family.  Broadway shows are expensive for a family of four.  Our top price is $48.00 for dinner AND a show.  That is less than half the price for a good seat to a Broadway musical, and that is just the show!

In part two of this interview, which will post next Thursday, Toby talks about opening a new theatre in Baltimore, some of her greatest successes, and her dream shows.

 

For information on both acclaimed productions now showing at Toby's in Baltimore and Columbia, see the monthly Charm City Calendar.

PHOTOS: Top: Beauty and the Beast, Winter 2006; MIDDLE: Footloose: The Musical, Fall 2006; BOTTOM: Ragtime, Fall 2006.  All photos courtesy of Toby's Dinner Theatres.