Working in theater, Naperville resident Peter Sipla figured at some point he would perform in the musical stage classic, “The King and I.”
He just didn’t think it would be at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
“It’s one of those shows, being half Chinese in descent, that I figured I would get to eventually,” Sipla said. “And it just kind of worked out that this is the first production.”
Sipla plays Phra Alack, the King of Siam’s secretary, in the company’s grand-scale production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I.”
“In our production, both (Phra Alack) and the prime minister, also known as the Kralahome, kind of represent the old ways and traditions of Siam at the time when Anna comes in and tries to shake things up – in my character’s eyes,” he said.
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“You have the king, who is trying to bring his country into the present day while still preserving elements of the culture. We represent that opposite side from Anna, the school teacher who is representing the Western ways, in our eyes.”
The Lyric Opera’s production, which runs Friday through May 22, features Broadway stars Kate Baldwin as Anna and Paolo Montalban as The King of Siam.
The musical also marks Sipla’s debut at the Lyric Opera.
“I’ve been working around Chicago for about eight years, and this is my first show with the Lyric, which I’m excited about,” he said. “They’ve been a lovely company to work for, from the administration, creative team on down.”
After auditioning and getting a call back for the Lyric’s last production, he was invited to audition for “The King and I.”
“It was very easy to work in their audition room, which is always a blessing as an actor. You put all this work into it, and it’s very nice to go into a room that’s very safe and inviting, with casting people that want you to do your best work,” he said.
“I had a great experience with them earlier last year, and in the fall, they called me back for this production.”
Growing up in Warrenville (his father’s family has been there since 1861), 32-year-old Sipla began doing theater at age 14 in Naperville when he and his sister, Bequita Dempsey, performed with the now shuttered Only a Stage. Throughout high school and college, he performed with Dempsey and his father, Tom Sipla, in productions, including those at his alma mater, North Central College in Naperville.
“The three of us did shows together and my mom was there as our biggest fan, supporting us in all the endeavors,” Sipla said.
He moved to Naperville while attending North Central, where he double-majored in theater performance and music performance. After graduation, he lived in Chicago’s Edgewater community for a while and performed with several theaters, including Chicago Shakespeare and Victory Gardens. For the last four years, Sipla has been living in downtown Naperville.
“I liked Edgewater a lot when I was in downtown Chicago, but there’s something about the ease of being right here in downtown Naperville. It’s a nice area I know, I know a lot of people around town, and family is here. I’m a block and a half from the train station, which is nice,” he said. “So it’s not much different than when I lived on the North Side. Because I just hop an express train, and I’m down there sometimes sooner than it would have taken me if I took the El into the Loop.”
Sipla has also performed at various theaters throughout the suburbs, including BrightSide Theatre in Naperville, Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles and First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook. Among his recent performances are roles in “City of Angels” at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and “Miss Saigon” at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.
Before that, he performed onboard a cruise ship for Disney Cruise Line as one of the main stage performers.
“I was, as they say, ‘friends with the Genie,’ for a couple shows. That took me up to Toronto to rehearse, and then on Family Caribbean for about seven, seven and a half months. So that was an awesome experience,” he said. “It was a great gig. Just another good company to work for that takes care of their people. It doesn’t hurt that the sun was shining and you could just sit up on deck and read a book in the Caribbean sunshine in between shows.”
Those who don’t attend the theater might recognize Sipla’s baritone voice, as he also does quite a bit of voiceover work for television, radio commercials and corporate training videos.
“Currently I have a few campaigns running for XFINITY and Comcast,” he said.
The ads run on national TV and radio, as well as online in places such Pandora and YouTube, he said.
“It’s become my bread and butter, if you will,” Sipla said of the voiceover work.
In the past he did the “Got Milk?” campaign for the 2012 Olympics and Babies ‘R Us and Toys ‘R Us.
Rehearsals for “The King and I” are intense – but in a good way, Sipla said.
“Outside of Anna and the King, it’s a such an ensemble-based show for the group scenes. We’re in a palace for the majority of the show… You have a lot of bodies moving around the stage. It’s been a very involved process. I wouldn’t say intense in a bad way, it’s been a very enjoyable experience, actually,” he said.
When the cast first started its quick rehearsal process, it was about 45 minutes in when they split off into dancers, principles and children to begin working on their separate parts in different rooms.
“And then over the last week, we’ve been working on bringing those pieces together,” he said.
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As opening night at the Lyric Opera approaches, Sipla said his family members are excited and making plans to be in the audience.
“It’s nice to have it in town, too, because they can’t always make it out to my gig,” he said. “Especially in the Caribbean, (it) was a little tough to get them out there.”
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.