Catch Me If You Can The Musical, flies into the Sandler Center April 21st-23rd

InterviewByYiorgo

Virginia Musical Theatre is proud to present Catch Me If

You Can The Musical that is based on the hit film of the same name This high-flying, incredible, true story musical comedy was nominated for four Tony awards, including Best Musical andis about chasingyourdreams while doing yourbestto not getcaught.

For tickets and more info go to https://www.vmtheatre org/?fbclid=IwAR1pq8fL_o-ChDuPk0JeMFIaNXTcCqgp2G5vd-SciGjWb0-G9EiiVol80RE

Yiorgo:WithustodayisRaymondDimaano,oneofthestars ofCatchMeIfYouCan.Raymond,whyshouldpeoplecometo seethismusical?

RaymondDimaano:IthinkpeopleshouldcomeseeCatch MeIfYouCanbecausetheywillbethoroughlyentertainedby all the stellar dancing,singing, and story telling of this show. I alreadylovedthemovieandaddingallthesongsinthemusical justmakesitevenbetter It’sdefinitelyamustsee!

Y:Forthosenotfamiliarwiththestoryorthemovieandwithoutgivingtoomuchaway whatisthisstoryabout?

RD:It’saboutthischarmingyoungmannamedFrankArbangaleJr Heimpersonatedapilot doctor,andlawyerandcashed millionsofdollarsworthofbadchecksandwasontherunfrom theFBI Itisbasedonatruestory.

Y: You mentioned you saw the movie What did you think ofit?

RD: Yes I did I enjoy a lot of Leo DiCaprio’s movies. I think he’s such a talented actor I thought it was a charming movie andit made me tear up a few times.I’m asoftie when it comes tofamilyties

Y:Whodoyouplayinthemusical?Isyourpartintheoriginal movieorwasitcreatedspecificallyforthemusical?

RD:IplayAgentCod,oneoftheFBIagentsontheteamafter FrankJr Nohewasn’tinthemovie,itwascreatedforthemusicaladaptation.

Y: What is your favorite part of this musical that you enjoy watchingyourselfasafan?

RD: My favorite parts in the musical are the scenes that happeninthemovieandarebroughtonstage Ithinktheactors

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Catch Me If You Can

who play the leads really play the scenes so wellthatit’slikeI’mwatchingthemovie Y: So let’s learn a little about you. Tell us about your early life. Where were you born andwhatmadeyoufallinlovewithmusical theatre?

RD: I was born in Manila, Philippines and came to the US when I was three years old.IgrewupinNorfolk VA Growingup I alwayslovedsinginganddancing.Iremember singing ‘I will always love you’ when I was six years old and a lot of Mariah Carey and Celine Dion As I got older I fell in love with dancing I would watch Michael Jackson,BrittanySpears,NSYNC,andBackstreet Boys Theywoulddoallthesedanceroutines andIwouldtrytomimicandcopythem.And then at Maury high school, here in Norfolk a friend of mine made me audition for the high school musical Guys and Dolls and I got towork together and performwith that friend,ConniePantasnowMoody Thatwas somuchfun,thatIthinkthat’swhenIgotbit by the theatre bug because after that I did not want to stop doing it Then I met Hugh Copeland who is the Director and founder oftheHurrahPlayersinNorfolkandIhave been with them for such a long time that theyarelikemyfamily

Y: How did you hear about the Hurrah Players?

RD:SharonDavidsonCook,whobecame my stage momma, and was an English teacheratMauryHighSchoolaswellasthe directorofGuysandDollshadinvitedHugh Copeland to come see the play. I remember as if it was yesterday that after the show, Hugh approached me saying how much he loved the show and my performance I hadnocluewhohewas.Hesaid,“I’mHugh CopelandandI’mwiththeHurrahPlayers.” AndIwaslikewhat’sthat?Andhesaid,“You don’t know Hurrah?” He explained that they are Virginia’s leading family theatre companyandtocomeauditionforthemand I did My first show I did with Hurrah was Disney’sHighSchoolMusicalbackin200809 and I have been with them until 2015. I havetaughtforthem:actingclasses,hiphop classes, summer classes Theatre was definitelymysavingplace

Y:ThisisnotyourfirstshowwithVirginia Musical Theatre. How did you get involved withVMT?

RD: It was all because Executive Director Mark Hudgins was very welcoming and very encouraging He approached me after watching me in Disney’s Tarzan with Hurrah, and asked me if I wanted to be in the show and he loved my performance. So myveryfirstshowforVMTwasJosephand the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat I did BeautyandtheBeastandImakeupdesigned for them too for that production. I was also inMame MamaMia HelloDollyanddidthe makeup for Hello Dolly as well. Recently I wasalsoinSchoolofRockforVMT

Y: The outdoor drama “Lost Colony in NorthCarolina”isalsoonyourrésumé.

RD: Hurrah takes its summer camp students to see the Lost Colony, the longest running outdoor symphonic drama every summer.Ifellinlovewithit Itwasthefirst time I realized that I could perform for a living Ipersonally didnot think thatsomeone could perform for a living I sent in an audition,theyhiredmeandIlivedinNorth Carolina for about five months dancing every night as a Native American. It helped me to pursue performing for a living I said to myself, if I could book this show, then I would push myself to book more professionalshowsandIdid.FromBuschGardens and a Dinner Theatre to more VMT shows that I mentioned earlier. I like to do vision boardswhereIvisualizewhatIwilldonext. I visualized moving to New York and booking a National Tour All that led me to move toNewYorkandeventuallytoTheKingand

I.

Y: What were some of your first gigs in thecity?

RD: I auditioned for three plays Miss SaigonFirstNationalTour Igotcalledback to do a couple of dances and sing that was fun.I auditioned for the USO Show Troupe tosupportourmilitarybecauseIgrewupin NorfolkanditwassomethingIwantedtodo tosupportourmilitary Mybestfriendfrom Hurrah, Brandon Riddle is in it, he told me about it so I auditioned and got it. We went to a lot of bases and we performed for a lot of military events The third audition was for The King and I National Tour and I got thataswell

Y:Whatwasthatauditionprocesslikefor TheKingandI?

RD: A friend of mine sent me the post to audition for The King and I. It was an open call. I sang a song and the casting director wanted me to read for a character I read for Kralahome, the King’s right hand man, the King’s Prime Minister and that’s who

Harborfest from Page 1 musicsceneatitspeak MorrisDayburstontothepublicscenewith the group’s self-titled album, The Time which included “Get It Up,” “Cool,” and “Girl.” Other hitSongsInclude:JungleLove TheBird Wild andLoose andWalk „ Parmalee|PerformingSundayat

4:30pm ACM “New Vocal Duo/Group of the Year nominee Parmalee is one of Country music’s most successful acts: the Platinum-selling band of brothers is one of only four groups since 2001 to earn three consecutive Top 10 singlesfromadebutCountryalbum.Sincetheir debut at Country radio, Parmalee has earned over 1 billion on-demand streams. Heralded as “Country Music’s Breakout Stars” by MSN

I wound up being the understudy for and gotto play thatpart in front ofallmyfamily and friends when we came to the Ferguson Center a few years ago Hearing everyone applaud me at the end of the performance will always be in my heart. It was so exciting I had three callbacks for him. In front of the casting director twice and then the creativeteamandthedirector.Ialsosentin a video singing songs from The King and I. And then I got a call from the casting director one morning saying they were going to castme

I was also the Prince Chulalongkorn understudy, the number one son. In the show I was in an ensemble, but something cool actually happened. My ensemble role does not dance on stage but I love to dance sothereisa16-minutelongballetnumberin theplayandIlearneditbecauseIwantedto havefun.Oneofourcharactersgotsickand theswinghadtogoonbutweweremissing one itwasunevensoItoldtheswingcaptain thatIknewthedanceandsheputmeinthe dance Sowhenevertheyneededsomeone,I wouldbeintheswingballetaswell.

Also when we were teching the show in North Carolina the makeup designer kind of used me as a model and told everyone if you have any questions go to Raymond, he is so good at makeup So on the King And I National Tour I was the “makeup assistant” and when the people had a question about makeup, I was the go to guy Here is a funny little story from that show. In the beginning, there is a scene where the King choosescertainwiveswhoareinroyalfavor. It’s improvised in the sense that the King picks different ones each show so I would dothisthingwhereeveryshowIwillchoose onewifeanddotheirmakeupandwaittosee ifhechoosesherandmostofthetimehedid.

Y: What was that experience like touring nationallywithTheKingandI?

RD:Itwasanamazingexperienceforme travelinganddoingwhatIlovetodo Seeing allthedifferentcitieswasveryempowering aswell.I’vealwaysbeenoneortwoAsiansin acastwheneverIdoashow IntheKingand I, the whole cast is pretty much all Asian I wasn’tusedtoitatall!Itwaswonderfulnot beingtheonlyAsian.

Y: You have not had any formal training as a dancer, yet your dancing skills are amazing What do you attribute that dancing growth to? How did you become such a strongdancer?

RD: As I mentioned, I’ve always loved to dance and sing to music videos since I was a little kid And when I started performing

Entertainment, Parmalee has supported Brad PaisleyandJakeOwenonnationaltourswhile finding time to perform on NBC’s TODAY show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Late Late Show, FOX & Friends All American Summer Concert Series, MLB Central’s Studio 21, The Queen Latifah Show and more Comprised of brothers Matt and Scott Thomas (lead vocals/ guitar and drums, respectively) cousin Barry Knox(bass) andlife-longfriendJoshMcSwain, the North Carolina natives had a legendary returntothetopofthechartswiththeirPLATINUM-certifiedNo 1singlewithBlancoBrown, “JusttheWay, withtheirfollowupsingle,“Take MyName fromtheirnewalbumForYou,then becoming a multi-week No 1 hit at Country radio

„ KendallStreetCompany|Performing Fridayat6:00pm Virginia’s Kendall Street Company are no strangers to having a wild time The genre- with the Hurrah Players, Lisa Wallace, the choreographer really encouraged me and pushed me I always worried when I was younger that I was not good enough but being on my journey after Lost Colony and pushing myself believing in myself and my talents, I guess I grew up And I learned so much just by watching someone do it. Whenever I would see a Broadway show on the Hurrah trips to New York, it would inspiremetodancebetter AlsowheneverI auditionedforshowsandgotcalledbackfor dance,Iwouldtreatitasafreedanceclass.I triedtopickupthechoreographyasquickly as I could and perform it the best I could. That’showIgrewindancehonestly

Y: Speaking of New York, tell us about your incredible Broadway experience with Mrs.DoubtfiretheMusical RD:IwastheAssociateMakeupDesigner for Mrs Doubtfire on Broadway I met Tommy, the head designer of Mrs DoubtfirewhenIwasperformingontheKingand I Broadway tour and we got to know each fluid eclectic rock ensemble has drawn varied comparisonstothedynamicjamsofUmphrey’s McGee and Widespread Panic, songwriting prowess of John Prine, experimental psychedelia of Pink Floyd, progressive jazz-infused rock of Frank Zappa, and off-color humor of Ween and They Might Be Giants. Including elements of crowd participation off-the-cuff comedicbits,haphazardchoreography musical improvisation andsurprisemusicalguests,each Kendall Street Company concert is an experience unlike any other. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. Justremembertostayhydrated „ Erin&TheWildfire|Performing Fridayat3:15pm

Erin & The Wildfire started as four college kids in Charlottesville Virginia making music just for fun, but has grown into a flourishing, decade-long musical relationship among four best friends E&TW, who now call Virginia’s capital city of Richmond home, have evolved otherandIgottoshowhimsomeofmywork as a Makeup Artist. After my tour, I came back to VA and did Guys And Dolls at the Wells Theater and that’s when I got a call fromhimaskingmetobehisAssociateona new show he was working on. Since then I alsoworkedwithhimonMacbethonBroadway,andwhenMrs Doubtfiremovedtothe west end I never wanted to just be solely an actor, or makeup artist. I didn’t want to limit myself and pick one or the other I reallyenjoycreatingsomething Iamsovery thankfulIcanperformanddesigninthearts.

Y:Istherea‘Wow’momentforyou?

RD:Irememberbeingthelittlekidgoing to the national tours that would come to Norfolk, waiting for the actors to sign my playbill,andnowIamthatactorsigningthe playbill That’sjustamazingtome.

Yiorgo is an arts, entertainment and sports writer A stage, TV and movie actor, he is also a sports entertainer, educator, motivational speaker, writer storyteller and columnist their sound over the past ten years to where it currently stands firmly in the soul and indiepop genres, drawing influences from a wide range of artists including Emily King, D’Angelo,YEBBA,Vulfpeck,andDonnyHathaway

The band blends the expressive, powerhouse vocalsoffrontwoman ErinLunsford withthe pop,funk andindiesensibilitiesofbandmates RyanLipps(guitar),NickQuillen(drums),and MattWood(bass) Inadditiontothecorefour, E&TW has recently found a kindred musical soul in keyboardist Stephen Roach, who has playedwiththebandsince2019

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