Persistence Pays Off for Diva

 

 

News of Kelly Glyptis’ starring role in London brings back wonderful memories of my six seasons as a local in Prizery Summer Theater musicals.

 

Long before she landed her treasured role as Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera, on Aug. 1, she had been a mainstay in The Prizery’s summer stock productions from 2016 to 2018 while not on tour with opera companies.

 

Her director, Chris Jones, told me: “I first met Kelly when the Virginia Opera came to The Prizery. After the performance, I took the company to Bistro 1888 for a late dinner! We bonded immediately and went on and on about our Summer Theater. Kelly was impressed. So when I called and offered her a job she immediately said yes!”

 

In one production with her, I particularly remember her marvelous rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” in Carousel. One advantage of being in those shows is getting to hear something like that in performance and rehearsal about 20 times.

 

In “Into the Woods,” her song “Last Midnight,” as the witch, was a cue for me to get on stage as the Mysterious Man for my duet “No More,” with the Baker.

 

Kelly wasn’t just a singer and actress. She was licensed as a fight choreographer, though she sure didn’t look like a fighter!  Once she was assigned to help me tumble down a flight of stairs and land on top of Jack in the Beanstalk without getting hurt. After a few tries, I got really grumpy and told her to forget it. I mean, I was 75 years old! The last thing I wanted to do was fall down the stairs! She took it gracefully.

 

There were so many other memories: Katie Holland’s parents showing up at every performance in which she danced. Evan and Lydia Snead blossoming on stage. Jacob Waid’s magnificent “Bring Him Home” solo in Les Miserables, and two Prizery actors, Fergie L. Philippe and Tyler McKenzie, joining Hamilton on Broadway.

 

At The Prizery’s request, I pursued a story about Glyptis’s new role, though I was scooped by the News & Record’s wonderful article by Victoria Thompson! Though five hours away, Glyptis was quite responsive to my inquires over iMessenger, even answering a few questions between acts.

 

What impressed me most was her persistence with her craft. Though Summer Theater may not have advanced her opera career, her six musicals certainly gave her experience in a fairly new field for her. She wasn’t afraid to break loose and try her hand on another continent. In London, she had a great deal of success before joining the theater company of Andrew Lloyd Webber, probably the greatest living musical theater composer.

And in her role as a precocious prima donna, she got to be an opera singer—just what she set out to do in the first place.