Hamilton dishes on charmed life, Hub stage role
Aside from his omnipresent suntan and iconic turn as Zorro, George Hamilton might be best known for the sheer force of his personality. The 72-year-old actor has enjoyed a long and diverse career in film, television and on the stage. In the past few years alone, he’s been featured on two reality shows (“I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” and “Dancing With the Stars”) and wrote a memoir (“Don’t Mind if I Do”). His childhood on the road with his showbiz parents was the inspiration for 2009 movie “My One and Only.”
Now Hamilton is starring as Georges in the Tony-winning revival of “La Cage Aux Folles,” Harvey Fierstein’s 1983 musical comedy about a drag nightclub on the French Riviera. The tour hits Boston’s Shubert Theatre starting Tuesday. The Herald caught up with the ever-charming Hamilton on the show’s stop in Cleveland.
Herald: How’s the tour going so far?
Hamilton: I had to get ready rather quickly, and it was an enormously fatiguing process. For me to come in at my age and to do this show was a real challenge. I tore an Achilles tendon in my ankle right at the beginning of the run, and they had to look at the staging a bit differently. But now that I’ve done that and put it behind me, I really enjoy it. The show is terrific and I’m working with wonderful actors. And I have a two-week vacation coming up, so I’ll try to put my ankle up on a barstool. But it’s intense on the road. You really never have a day off.
You’re no stranger to life on the road.
Yeah, I don’t mind it because I kind of grew up that way. I remember just like yesterday that I was 5 or 6 years old and constantly traveling with my family, going from city to city during the Second World War. So I’m used to it. As a performer, you have to go on the road to get your timing. The people from little towns are the ones that give you that.
What’s your take on “La Cage Aux Folles?”
It has wonderfully funny Borscht Belt kind of yuks but at the same time enormously deep meaning. It became, I think, an anthem of its era. Now it’s accepted for something totally different — it’s accepted for values. Something that was so cutting edge in the ’80s is now more of a family thing. It’s about being true to yourself and who you are. It’s something that audiences can embrace in middle America, which never would have happened in the past.
You’ve had a really diverse career in film, TV and theater. Do you have one medium where you feel the most at home?
I haven’t found it yet. I’d love to sit down on a stage and just speak to an audience. That kind of communication without a script is where you peel away a lot of layers and get to the essence of who you are. You can play other people, but to be yourself? That’s a very hard thing to do. Most actors I think would agree with me. I remember talking to Cary Grant about it at the end of his life. And he was the shyest person, and that was his greatest challenge.
You seem to have enormous staying power as an entertainer.
I’m always looking for ways to sharpen my game. If I don’t do something every two or three years that’s a little bit above my head, I rust out. And even accepting things like “Dancing With the Stars” — people said, “What are you doing that for?” and I said, “Well, tell me where else 20 million people watch you in one night.” Whatever medium reaches the masses is one you’d better be on. To grow, you really have to take on all sorts of things. At some point, it’s your take on life that makes people gravitate to you or not.
“La Cage Aux Folles,” presented by Broadway in Boston at the Shubert Theatre, Dec. 6-18. Tickets: $33-$93; 866-348-9738.
Now Hamilton is starring as Georges in the Tony-winning revival of “La Cage Aux Folles,” Harvey Fierstein’s 1983 musical comedy about a drag nightclub on the French Riviera. The tour hits Boston’s Shubert Theatre starting Tuesday. The Herald caught up with the ever-charming Hamilton on the show’s stop in Cleveland.
Herald: How’s the tour going so far?
Hamilton: I had to get ready rather quickly, and it was an enormously fatiguing process. For me to come in at my age and to do this show was a real challenge. I tore an Achilles tendon in my ankle right at the beginning of the run, and they had to look at the staging a bit differently. But now that I’ve done that and put it behind me, I really enjoy it. The show is terrific and I’m working with wonderful actors. And I have a two-week vacation coming up, so I’ll try to put my ankle up on a barstool. But it’s intense on the road. You really never have a day off.
You’re no stranger to life on the road.
Yeah, I don’t mind it because I kind of grew up that way. I remember just like yesterday that I was 5 or 6 years old and constantly traveling with my family, going from city to city during the Second World War. So I’m used to it. As a performer, you have to go on the road to get your timing. The people from little towns are the ones that give you that.
What’s your take on “La Cage Aux Folles?”
It has wonderfully funny Borscht Belt kind of yuks but at the same time enormously deep meaning. It became, I think, an anthem of its era. Now it’s accepted for something totally different — it’s accepted for values. Something that was so cutting edge in the ’80s is now more of a family thing. It’s about being true to yourself and who you are. It’s something that audiences can embrace in middle America, which never would have happened in the past.
You’ve had a really diverse career in film, TV and theater. Do you have one medium where you feel the most at home?
I haven’t found it yet. I’d love to sit down on a stage and just speak to an audience. That kind of communication without a script is where you peel away a lot of layers and get to the essence of who you are. You can play other people, but to be yourself? That’s a very hard thing to do. Most actors I think would agree with me. I remember talking to Cary Grant about it at the end of his life. And he was the shyest person, and that was his greatest challenge.
You seem to have enormous staying power as an entertainer.
I’m always looking for ways to sharpen my game. If I don’t do something every two or three years that’s a little bit above my head, I rust out. And even accepting things like “Dancing With the Stars” — people said, “What are you doing that for?” and I said, “Well, tell me where else 20 million people watch you in one night.” Whatever medium reaches the masses is one you’d better be on. To grow, you really have to take on all sorts of things. At some point, it’s your take on life that makes people gravitate to you or not.
“La Cage Aux Folles,” presented by Broadway in Boston at the Shubert Theatre, Dec. 6-18. Tickets: $33-$93; 866-348-9738.
No comments:
Post a Comment