From the big turkey to the candied sweet potatoes, the Thanksgiving menu for cast members of “Rent” was pure tradition–with one exception: Dinner was held on Monday.
It may not have been exactly what the Pilgrims had in mind when they dropped anchor at Plymouth Rock, but if you’re an actor in a blockbuster production during one of the largest-grossing weekends of the year, you grab a home-cooked drumstick when and where you can.
“Would I prefer to be home? Of course,” said John Eric Parker of New York, who was the host of the potluck feast at his temporary address in a downtown high-rise. “But since I can’t be with my parents, cooking the foods I grew up with is one way of bringing my folks to other people.”
So the 29-year-old actor turned out a golden 22-pound bird, along with a 15-pound honey-glazed ham, giant pans of dressing, collard greens and macaroni and cheese–just as he did a year ago, when the company was in Boston. And the fact that it was three days early, on the only night of the week that the cast is off, didn’t seem to matter a bit.
On the surface, it would seem that the rarefied world of theater and opera would have little in common with police officers, firefighters and hospital staff. But when it comes to holidays, these performing artists often have to punch in, just like their blue-collar brethren. And in the cutthroat world of the performing arts, many are just thankful to have work, even on Thanksgiving.
The cast of “Rent” has a show Thursday night at the Shubert, perhaps an escape hatch from lingering holiday conviviality for some ticket holders. So for the “Rent” troupe, getting out of town is impossible. But even those productions that are dark on Thanksgiving–such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Christmas Carol”–play on Wednesday and Friday, making it a logistical challenge to be with loved ones.
Instead, they create a little bit of home on the road, bringing long-held holiday rituals to their surrogate families.
“It’s strange, but you get used to it,” said Parker, who is spending his seventh Thanksgiving away from home. “I would love to be sitting around my parents’ table with my nephews and godchildren, but it is a blessing to work with people I care about. . . . They become my immediate extended family during the holidays, and I find cooking for them to be very nurturing. In this business, you really can’t expect to be off, so you have to make your own new traditions.”
At Parker’s apartment, that meant 25 talented “orphans” joining hands in a circle, each one expressing gratitude for what they have.
For one man, it was “Martha Stewart and her recipe for pumpkin mousse pie.” For another, it was finessing an invitation without a culinary assignment. For all, it was the camaraderie that hung in the air as surely as the aroma of garlic and onions.
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“This is the first time I’ve ever been away at the holidays, and it’s just hitting me,” said Kamilah Martin of Buena Park, Calif. “I thought, `Oh, my God, I don’t get to have my Mom’s potato salad? . . . I am just thankful to have my family on the road.”
Sometimes, you don’t even need to be in the same production to qualify. Michael James Leslie joined the “Rent” feast, despite the fact that he’s performing in “Beauty and the Beast” at the Chicago Theatre.
In the insular world of the performing arts, news of a home-cooked meal travels fast. Besides, log enough time in the theater and chances are good that eventually you’ll work with just about everyone.
“I just ran into John Eric, whom I’ve known for eight years,” said Leslie, who plays an eggbeater in the Disney production. The veteran actor estimates that he’s been on the road for 13 of the last 20 Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays.
The casts of both “Rent” and “Beauty” will have a holiday dinner on Thursday the Palmer House Hilton, but it isn’t quite the same as the Norman Rockwell image that even the most jaded performers yearn for at this time of year.
“You get used to being away from family, although sometimes you do get a little sentimental,” said Leslie, whose late mother’s birthday anniversary is on Thanksgiving. This year, the loneliness will be eased by dinner with his sister, who lives in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.
Some people anticipate the emotional minefield and are willing to move heaven and earth just to make sure that they are surrounded by family for the big day.
Take Anthony Davis, who is unveiling a world premiere of “Amistad” at the Lyric Opera Saturday night. The composer knew that there would be no way he could get back home to New York for a proper celebration, so friends and relatives from around the country are converging in Chicago just in time to carve the bird.
For mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar, being in Chicago will be a vast improvement over last Thanksgiving, which was spent on tour in Japan. In keeping with her Yankee roots, she swallowed the $80 tab and ordered a turkey dinner.
Swallowing the turkey, however, was a different story. “I’m still trying to figure out what it was,” Quivar said.
At the Goodman Theatre, where “A Christmas Carol” is a holiday fixture, most of the cast and crew come from the Chicago area. Still, the home-grown company will break bread together at a potluck supper before Christmas.
“It engenders a great sense of community,” said Cindy Bandle, spokesman for the Goodman. “And when a company feels that way about one another, it comes across the stage, and the audience takes it home with them.”
Scott Ellis, company manager for “Rent”, agrees that the audience is paramount and the personal sacrifices are part of the package.
“There are times when it is as glamorous as everyone thinks it is,” said Ellis, who has not been home to Oklahoma City for Thanksgiving since 1992. “And then there are times that you wish you could just be in one place all the time having a home-cooked meal.”