October 28-November 3, 2004

art

Boy Wonder

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Attention, casting agents: Ben Dibble can sing opera and stick 10 quarters up his nose.

I've watched Ben Dibble grow up artistically. Like a doting parent—or at least the critic's equivalent of same—I observed his beginnings as an earnest young musical theater tenor of promise and then as he gained acting stature with every role. In 2003's Bat Boy (which he will reprise for a single December evening for 1812 Productions) and, more recently, in Act II's The Big Bang, he was sublime. This season, the 26-year-old performer gets a double-header that is some indication of his versatility: playing Toad in the children's fantasy A Year with Frog And Toad, and the romantic Anthony in Sweeney Todd. Both are at the Arden Theatre, something of an artistic home to Dibble—especially since he recently married Amy Dugas Brown, the Arden's associate artistic director. Over coffee at La Colombe, Dibble talks about how he got from a tiny town called Wyalusing ("an hour northwest of Scranton … an hour from a mall, a half-hour from fast food") to a promising career in Philadelphia theater.

City Paper: Where did you get the performing bug?

Ben Dibble: My family was always musical. One grandmother directed church choirs. On my dad's side, when my uncle was four, he and my grandmother toured all over the tri-state area. My uncle would stand on top of the upright piano and sing and dance while my grandmother would play. They went all the way to Syracuse doing that, playing lodges and stuff. So I was surrounded by singers, including at the community theater, where I watched people for whom it was just an avocation. Their passion for it was totally untainted by the realities of trying to make a living as a performer. It was a wonderful environment—total passion. But I never thought seriously about it till I was 16, and we did a production of How to Succeed. I played Finch, and I turned to my mom (she does makeup for the high school shows) and said, "You know, I might want to do this."

CP: Did that make choosing a college easy?

BD: I knew I wanted a conservatory, since I hadn't had any real training. Acting, singing, dancing—it was all instinctive. I just sort of did it. I auditioned [at the University of the Arts] during the blizzard of '96. There was hardly anybody there, but some [who were] are still my friends. There were girls doing back-flips across the room. I came from a remote area, I didn't even really know what gay was, and there were these wild, flamboyant guys. I was like, "Wow—this is awesome!"

CP: Where did you start?

BD: Singing came before acting. When I got to UArts, my voice teacher started throwing me challenging material—arias and stuff. He was from opera, and suggested that [as a career] … but I really didn't want to sing in foreign languages. But Amy, my wife, still loves it when I sing opera. Jeff Coon and I both sing "La donna e mobile" in a cabaret show we do.

CP: Does cabaret interest you in general?

BD: Absolutely. Jeff and I would love to do that show here, and I wish there were more available venues. I also have a solo show I did—I called it The World According to Ben. I'm a big history buff, so I tried to link the songs into an historical context.

CP: An example, please?

BD: Well, I did a bit on Bill Clinton and segued into "Fat Bottom Girls" by Queen.

CP: What were your breakthroughs?

BD: In terms of acting, it was in my sophomore year. I was confused, I had a terrible relationship with my [then] girlfriend, I was depressed. My acting teacher had given me a scene from Mamet's Edmond, a scene with a prostitute. This was out of my realm—I had always done funny and charming, and here I was totally intimidated. But something clicked, and I could tell from people's reactions that something different was happening, that there were facets that opened up.

CP: How about career-making opportunities?

BD: When I was in my last year at UArts, I got to sing a song from Floyd Collins at the Barrymores. It was a great moment for me, because theaters started to know who I was.

CP: How did 1812's Bat Boy come about?

BD: [Artistic Director] Jen Childs said to me, "We're doing Bat Boy, and if you aren't available I'll kill you." It just made use of everything I had. It's the best fit so far.

CP: Among other things, Bat Boy showed off your amazing physique and grace. Where does that come from?

BD: Just good genes. I never had dance training before UArts, and when I was in ballet class there—with real dancers—that was a struggle. I did some track in high school, but mostly it's just nature and luck.

CP: Challenges ahead?

BD: I'm thrilled about Frog and Toad. It's a beautiful piece, a kids' show but much more than that. It's about the complexity of a relationship between two guys who love each other so much. It's got this wonderful sweetness.

CP: What shows would you most like to do?

BD: How To Succeed again—another shot at Finch. I just love that show—it's so wry, it has such wit. I'd love to do Tony in West Side Story—I'm not sure how many more years I can do that, and I want to. When I get a little older, I'd love to do George again [in Sunday in the Park with George]. I did it at UArts, and I felt like I'd just started to get it when we were ending the run.

CP: How about nonmusical theater?

BD: Absolutely. What interests me most is doing as wide a range as I can. Like Brian Stokes Mitchell [a Dibble role model], who does premiere musicals and August Wilson plays.

CP: How would you feel about a high-profile movie career?

BD: [Smiling] It certainly wouldn't suck.

CP: If Susan Stroman is reading this interview, what would you want to tell her?

BD: Cast me in The Producers.

CP: Would you do a national tour?

BD: Oh, yes.

CP: Anything about you that people don't know and should?

BD: I can fit $2.50 worth of quarters up my nose.

CP: Really?

BD: Yes. Five quarters in each nostril. I have "quarters trick" on my resume. I've done it at auditions.

Look for Ben Dibble next in Arden Theatre Co.'s A Year With Frog and Toad from Dec. 8 to Jan. 23 and Sweeney Todd from May 19 to June 19. Special one-night-only performance of 1812 Productions' Bat Boy: The Musical on Dec. 13.