St. Charles actor keeps eye on the prize with Porchlight's 'Merrily'
St. Charles native Jonathan Stombres describes being an understudy as an “out-of-body experience.”
As a member of the ensemble of Porchlight Music Theatre's “Merrily We Roll Along,” he has to focus on his character. But as an understudy, he's also got an eye on the lead - the role he could be called upon to play at any moment.
The Stephen Sondheim musical focuses on the ups and downs of the relationship between three friends. It begins previews Friday, Jan. 26, at Chicago's Ruth Page Center for the Arts.
“I think the biggest hurdle for me right now is memorization,” Stombres said. “Stephen Sondheim has just crammed so many words into this show. So many lyrics sound very similar to the ones previous to it, so it's very much a puzzle trying to figure out how the words all fit together. It takes a lot of repetition.”
Stombres has plenty of experience preparing for multiple roles, having also worked as an understudy for the former Fox Valley Repertory Theater in St. Charles and Chicago's Kokandy Productions. He's not guaranteed to play the lead in his current musical, but he's been thinking a lot about the character of Franklin Shepherd.
“Merrily We Roll Along” opens with Frank working as a powerful Hollywood producer, and the storyline moves backward to show how he got there.
“He seems to have it all, but at the end of the day he's completely unfulfilled artistically, unfulfilled with his friendships,” Stombres said. “He's lost all his meaningful relationships in his life. You watch each scene go backward and little by little you see the relationships he used to have becoming stronger and stronger. At the very end of the show he's a young man just starting out and has the world before him.”
Musical theater is a passion for Stombres, who pursued every opportunity to perform at St. Charles North High School including plays, choir, marching band and vocal jazz. As part of the Porchlight ensemble, he'll be showing off his skill playing the piano, which he learned from his mother.
“I've always just been such a music person,” he said. “Expressing a storyline through song has always been very attractive to me. (Musicals) are a way to reach people that's accessible. They can be fun and touch someone's heart.”
Stombres studied voice and music education at Lawrence University. When he's not on stage, he works as a substitute teacher for Chicago Public Schools - often covering music classes. Working as a substitute allows him to pursue his love of teaching while leaving open opportunities to perform and audition.
Though juggling acting and teaching often leaves Stombres with little spare time and in need of coffee, he said the two parts of his career complement each other by keeping him on his toes.
“I think that the acting and substitute teaching go hand in hand,” he said. “You've got to be willing to try stuff in scenes and you've got to be willing to try stuff in the classroom.”
“Merrily We Roll Along”
<b>Where:</b> Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, (773) 777-9884, porchlightmusictheatre.org
<b>When:</b> Previews are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27; 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28; and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29. Opening night is 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30. See website for regular-run showtimes through March 11.
<b>Tickets:</b> $33-$60