NewsPHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at the West End's Top Hat With Alex GaumondSpend a day with Olivier Award-nominated West End star Alex Gaumond, currently appearing as "Alberto Beddini" in Top Hat, based on the classic film of the same name. He documents his various pre-show and in-theatre rituals and shares a few secrets to staying healthy and energized during a long day at the office.
By
Matthew Blank
April 18, 2013
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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at the West End's Top Hat With Alex Gaumond
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Two-Show Day at the West End's Top Hat With Alex Gaumond
Spend a day with Olivier Award-nominated West End star Alex Gaumond, currently appearing as "Alberto Beddini" in Top Hat, based on the classic film of the same name. He documents his various pre-show and in-theatre rituals and shares a few secrets to staying healthy and energized during a long day at the office. Read the Playbill.com story.
47 PHOTOS
Breakfast Part 1: Kick-starting the day with a multi-vitamin drink and a cod liver oil capsule.
Alex Gaumond
Breakfast Part 2: Fruit attack!
Alex Gaumond
Breakfast Part 3: Porridge oats with (more!) fruits. If you add some frozen fruits to your porridge before you cook it in the microwave, everything comes out perfectly defrosted and warm. I sometimes add maple syrup just because I'm Canadian.
Alex Gaumond
Walking to my nearest underground station. Nice day but at this time of year you'd think it would be a lot warmer than this!
Alex Gaumond
Daily commute on the underground.
Alex Gaumond
This is where I get off…
Alex Gaumond
…and where I'm greeted by this flower shop everyday, which actually does "lift my spirit" and puts a smile on my face.
Alex Gaumond
As it's a two-show day, quick stop to the supermarket to buy my dinner for later.
Alex Gaumond
Whatever else I buy, this is always a firm favourite and solid contender.
Alex Gaumond
Approaching Covent Garden… I always love walking by Sarastro as their outside decor is so unique. Great restaurant by the way, I've eaten there a few times and can highly recommend it for food and ambience. Walking under green arches now.
Alex Gaumond
Turning left into Drury Lane and reminded that when my girlfriend Jane McMurtrie - currently in rehearsals for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - moves into Theatre Royal Drury Lane in a few weeks, we'll be neighbours! Nice.
Alex Gaumond
Arriving at Stage Door.
Alex Gaumond
Quick hello to Dario Cacioppo who's on Stage Door duties today.
Alex Gaumond
It's very high-tech here at the Aldwych Theatre. No need to actually "sign in."
Alex Gaumond
On my way up to my dressing room, I always pass the office of our Company Manager David Curl, who always greets everyone with a smile.
Alex Gaumond
Occasionally our Resident Choreographer Kylie Anne Cruikshanks will come in for rehearsals or to note the show. This is one of those days so she happened to be in the company office with David. Smile for Playbill!
Alex Gaumond
In order to get to my dressing room I have to go through Clive Hayward's dressing room, and in order for Stephen Boswell (Bates) to get to his, he has to go through both of ours! Weird configuration here at the Aldwych, feels like a train carriage.
Alex Gaumond
Dance Captain Jenny Legg taking the daily physical warm-up on stage.
Alex Gaumond
Company vocal warm-up, lead by our Musical Director Dan Jackson.
Alex Gaumond
David Curl (Company Manager), James Paul Hayden (Stage Manager) and Fenton Gray (Resident Director) go through the list of who is off the show today (due to holidays, injuries or sickness) and the resulting covering situation in terms of understudies.
Alex Gaumond
Dance Captains go through the show in terms of which swings will cover certain scenes or dance tracks in musical numbers. If we are low on cast, sometimes they will cut the odd track or ask ensemble members to adjust their positioning.
Alex Gaumond
Resident Choreographer Kylie Anne Cruikshanks and Dance Captains Martin McCarthy and Jenny Legg are using this time after warm-up to rehearse with our new Swing, Thomas-Lee Kidd, who has recently joined the cast.
Alex Gaumond
One of our Assistant Stage Managers, David Kane, is preparing all the drinks that will be used on stage during the show. No actual alcohol is being used, I promise!
Dresser Ryan Limb is backstage going through all the props that Kristen Beth Williams (Dale Tremont) will need during the show. He seems very happy to see me. Or to be featured on Playbill… one or the other.
Alex Gaumond
Quick catch up with Kristen Beth Williams (Dale Tremont) while rehearsals continue on stage. We're both rarely needed for these as most of her dance numbers are duets with Gavin Lee (Jerry Travers), and I don't even come in contact with a tap shoe!
Alex Gaumond
My dresser Ines Radicke comes in with my bits of costume that were washed overnight. She also looks after Clive Hayward (Horace Hardwick), Stephen Boswell (Bates) and our leading man Gavin Lee (Jerry Travers), so she's a busy lady!
Alex Gaumond
Clive Hayward, who normally plays Horace Hardwick, is on holiday this week, so today is actually the very first time understudy Graham Vick will be playing the role! Very exciting for us all. Plus, he's also Canadian so that's even cooler for me.
Alex Gaumond
Stephen Boswell, who has been playing Bates since the original cast. A real gentleman and a fountain of knowledge. Oh the stories he tells. His choice of pre-show music is also something to behold. We have now lovingly baptised his playlist: Juke Boz.
Alex Gaumond
Post-warm-up snack: Protein shake and monkey food.
Alex Gaumond
The Alberto Beddini Transformation Kit. Available in a shop near you. Or get yours now from our online store for 12 monthly payments of 19.99.
Alex Gaumond
One of our Wigs Assistants, Amanda Rudkin, coming in to do her magic and create the unparalleled Beddini quiff. It's a very complex process.
Alex Gaumond
By pure coincidence (or he knew I was taking shots for Playbill…), our Wardrobe Master Roberto Surace pays me a visit so I can try on a new shirt for Act 2. He's a proper Italian so I always test my accent on him. So far he approves.
Alex Gaumond
The show is just about to start so, as I don't make my first entrance until later, I thought I'd pay the cast a quick visit. Gavin Lee (Jerry Travers) is ready to go!
Alex Gaumond
On stage just before the overture begins, cast members Holly Rostron, Alexandra Waite-Roberts, Alyn Hawke, Debbie Paul and Charlie Bull are just about ready to be "Puttin' On The Ritz."
Alex Gaumond
As the curtain goes up, our new Swing Thomas-Lee Kidd watches the show from the wings backstage and takes notes. I wonder which ensemble member he is focusing on today… I'm always amazed at the kind of brain you need to be a good swing. Very impressive.
Alex Gaumond
Right, went back up to my dressing room, finished getting ready and now I'm going on stage for my first entrance. Here comes Alberto Beddini!
Alex Gaumond
Hanging out backstage in between scenes, here with Lauren Jade and Alexandra Waite-Roberts as hotel guests and Graham Vick (understudy) as Horace Hardwick. His first show is going really well so far, no surprise there, as he's awesome.
Alex Gaumond
Interval (aka intermission). Learning some material for an upcoming audition whilst eating more monkey food.
Alex Gaumond
I was taught this resting position my first year at drama school. Completely flattens your spine and shifts the blood away from your feet and legs. Relaxing in this position for 15/20 mins is apparently equivalent to an hour's sleep.
Alex Gaumond
Dinner.
Alex Gaumond
One of our Sound Operators, Niki Hulme, comes in to change the battery in my microphone transmitter pack before the evening show. They have to change the batteries in all the packs used by the cast before each show. That's a lot of batteries!
Alex Gaumond
Evening show!
Alex Gaumond
Interval of second show. Yes, I used the same photos twice but I did do more of the same, including more monkey food.
Alex Gaumond
Post-show protein.
Alex Gaumond
Once in awhile, some of us will be asked to do a Q&A session with some audience members after the show. Tonight it's the turn of Kristen Beth Williams, Fenton Gray and myself. I love doing these as it gives us a chance to speak directly with theatregoers.
Alex Gaumond
After a commute home and a snack, time to squeeze in a late night recording session before bed.
Alex Gaumond
Finally, 20 mins of steaming on this bad boy (it's awesome for the voice), then bed. Goodnight!
Gaumond was last seen in the West End playing Galileo in We Will Rock You and Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde the Musical (for which he was Olivier Award-nominated). Other musical theatre credits include Desperately Seeking Susan at the Novello Theatre and the UK tour of the Donmar Warehouse production of Guys and Dolls.
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Top Hat, a stage version of the 1935 film of the same name, opened at the West End's Aldwych Theatre May 9, following previews that began April 19 and a previous national tour.
The production, which stars Gavin Lee and Kristen Beth Williams in the roles created in the film by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, respectively, is directed by Matthew White and choreographed by Bill Deamer. They lead a cast of 31 and are accompanied by an orchestra of 15.
It is designed by Hildegarde Bechtler, with costumes by Jon Morrell, lighting by Peter Mumford, musical direction by Daniel Jackson, musical supervision by Richard Balcombe, new orchestrations provided by Chris Walker and sound by Gareth Owen. Top Hat is produced by Kenny Wax, and his partners on the production are Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, Ted Hartley, Flora Suk-Hwa Yoon and Lee Menzies
With music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and based on the RKO motion picture, the screenplay by Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott has been adapted for the stage by Matthew White and Howard Jacques and is presented by arrangement with RKO Pictures LLC, Warner Bros Theatre Ventures Inc. and the Irving Berlin Music Company.
The score features the five Berlin classics from the film, including "Cheek to Cheek," "Isn’t It a Lovely Day to be Caught in the Rain" and "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails," with another ten songs interpolated from elsewhere in the Berlin catalogue, including "Let's Face the Music and Dance," "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" and "Putting on the Ritz."
In the show, Jerry Travers, the famous American tap dancer, arrives in London to appear in his first West End show. Travers meets the irresistible Dale Tremont, the girl of his dreams, and follows her across Europe in an attempt to win her heart.
Director Matthew White's credits include the Menier Chocolate Factory's productions of Sweet Charity and Little Shop of Horrors, both of which transferred to the West End, and Maria Friedman – by Special Arrangement for the Donmar Warehouse.
To book tickets, contact the box office on 0844 847 1712. For further details visit www.tophatonstage.com.
