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Sept. 28, 2012
Don’t Call Us charts career
Warren Kimmel’s eclectic cabaret returns to the stage.
TOVA G. KORNFELD
Vancouver Sun critic Peter Birnie wasn’t the only one singing high praises when he wrote last fall about Warren Kimmel’s Jessie-nominated performance for best actor in the musical Next to Normal: “I look forward to hearing that every artistic director of every theatre company from here to Newfoundland hears about this guy and wants to work with him.”
The South African-born Kimmel has been appearing on the stage and on the small screen for several years. He received his professional training at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, England. After graduation, he plied his trade for 10 years on West End stages, followed by a two-year stint in his homeland, where he starred in a première run of Cats, before he got the green light to emigrate to Canada.
Suffice it to say that South Africa’s loss was Canada’s gain. Since his arrival, Kimmel has landed several big roles, including three years as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, Che in Evita and Mitch in Tuesdays with Morrie. Other acting credits include television appearances in Stargate and Murdoch Mysteries. Kimmel has also gone behind the scenes, producing shows for the stage and, most recently, he served as writer, co-producer and host of a multi-part HDTV documentary series, What the Future, with business partner Kevin Fox, which aired on CNBC World. The show was described by Kimmel as “a global television series about my quest to find the people shaping our world. People doing incredible things. Things you can’t imagine in places you’d never expect.”
Those who missed his cabaret at this year’s Chutzpah! Festival, Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You!, have another chance to catch this gem during a three-performance remount, Oct. 5 and 6, at Presentation House Theatre in North Vancouver.
Dubbed “a musical journey of life in the theatre,” the revue highlights 20 songs that are near and dear to Kimmel’s heart, woven together with anecdotes from his career. The music spans the spectrum, from the powerful opening song “Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera, to the playful “Shiksa Goddess,” to a moving rendition of the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of mourning. A tenor, Kimmel is joined by soprano Tracey Neff, Phil Belanger on percussion, Alison Dalton on bass, with musical direction by Jewish community member Wendy Bross Stuart.
In an interview with the Independent, Kimmel laughed as he recalled his childhood forays into the world of theatre. “I was the little fat kid who was teased, no good at sports and never picked for teams, and I really think that the reason I went into acting was because I was that kid,” he said. “When you are fat and alone, you explore other things and ways to express yourself.”
Kimmel’s career evolved on more than one continent. “I went to London to train because that is the place to be if you are really serious about acting but, after 10 years, I realized I did not like living there, so I went back to South Africa to visit my family prior to emigrating to Canada.
“Unfortunately, 9-11 happened and the processing of [visa] applications was delayed, so my wife and I got held back for two years. While I was home, the touring production of Cats was in auditions. I had to work, so I auditioned and got one of the leads and worked the whole time I was there. At first, I was reluctant to do the show because my agent told me that I would get pegged as a musical theatre person if I did it. After all, my training had been all classical acting. He was right, as most of the work I do today is musical theatre, but it has worked out because singing is my passion.
“Just putting this revue together was a labor of love,” he continued. “It is a straight 90 minutes of singing. The show at Chutzpah! this year was a one-off and it ended up being on Oscar night so I was a little worried about attendance. But lots of people came and I was thrilled when the artistic director of Presentation House called me up afterwards and asked if I would bring it to the North Shore to kick-off their new season.”
Life as a professional actor has many ups and downs, and Kimmel, like many other actors, has had to throw his all into his craft. “You have to love what you do because it is really hard work and not everything is going to be a success,” he said. “I remember when I was at RADA and a very distinguished actor came to talk to us. They set him up on stage with a table with tea and cake and he sat there and took a big chunk of cake in his hand, threw it on the floor and said, ‘Eighty percent of your work will be like that.’ And then he took the rest of the cake and held it in his hands and said, ‘Twenty percent will be mediocre.’ And then, finally, he held up a few crumbs and said, ‘And this is the part of your work that you will be truly proud of.’ That really resonated with me.”
Even at a young 42, Kimmel has many reasons to feel proud of his work and is extremely pleased to have been recognized for his efforts, particularly for a role in such an emotionally difficult play. “I feel that my finest moments came in Next to Normal, a musical about a forbidden subject, mental illness. I really had to push myself to go to the depths to get the right emotions. I was absolutely drained after every performance, and often in tears. It was a great honor for me when the Vancouver theatre community nominated me for best actor in a large-stage production for that performance.”
Jewish identity “colors everything I do,” Kimmel said of his upbringing. “I grew up in a house filled with music and parents who were very cultured and driven to succeed, and encouraged their children, as well. That is a very Jewish thing. Look at the first show I did for Chutzpah! in 2005, The Hand that Rocks the Kneidel – that’s about as Jewish as you can get! The revue itself is not focused on Jewish topics, but it has a Jewish soul.”
Kimmel hopes that audience members will experience unique takeaways from Don’t Call Us. “I have been very careful putting it together, trying to put in a little bit of everything so as to appeal to as wide an audience as possible – some popular songs, some little-known songs and even an Afrikaans song as a tribute to my South African roots. I hope that no one will leave the theatre disappointed.”
For tickets, $23-$28, visit phtheatre.org or call 604-990-3473.
Tova G. Kornfeld is a Vancouver freelance writer and lawyer.
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