Dixon has appeared in the original Broadway/Off-Broadway casts of Once on This Island (Daniel); Five Guys Named Moe (Nomax); Bright Lights, Big City (Tad); The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (Lucas) and tick, tick…BOOM! (Michael).
Screen work includes “Law & Order,” “Everwood” and “Peace Maker.”
| Full given name: | Gerald Francis Dixon |
| Where you were born/where you were raised: | Chicago, IL. Raised in Kalamazoo, MI. |
| Zodiac Sign: | Libra |
| What your parents did/do for a living: | Father- Clothing Designer. Mother- worked for an energy company. |
| Siblings: | Carl (brother), Vincent (brother), Windy (sister) |
| Current Audition Song: | I’m not willing to part with these particular trade secrets at this time. |
| Special skills: | Pogo. Ice-skating. Cooking from whatever is in your refrigerator. |
| Something you're REALLY bad at: | Drawing |
| First Broadway show you ever saw: | West Side Story |
| If you could go back in time and catch any show, what would it be? | Show Boat (the five-hour version before they made the cuts) |
| Current or recent show other than your own you have been recommending to friends: | Rocky |
| Favorite showtune(s) of all time: | "Ol’ Man River," "Unusual Way," "Sunday" |
| Some favorite modern musicals: | Dreamgirls, Billy Elliot, Nine, Next To Normal, Once On This Island |
| Some favorite classic musicals: | Fiddler On The Roof, No No Nanette, Carousel, Oliver |
| Broadway or screen stars of the past or present you would most love to perform with: | Lena Horne, Burt Lancaster, Lana Turner, Louis Armstrong, Bruce Lee, Omar Sharif, Barbara Stanwyck |
| Your personal vocal idols, living or dead: | Sarah Vaughan, Michael McDonald, Mel Tormé, Marc Broussard, Pink |
| The one performance – attended - that you will never forget: | This is not fair. But, you did say one... Nicholas Nickleby! |
| Music that makes you cry, any genre: | There’s so much. So I’m only going to list a few songs. Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach- "Painted From Memory"; Tim Miner- "Get On Your Feet"; Judy Garland- "I Happen To Like New York" |
| MAC or PC? | MAC |
| Most played song on your iPod: | "Home" by Marc Broussard |
| Most-visited websites: | eBay, Playbill, Amazon, Netflix |
| Last book you read: | "Lost Broadway Theatres" |
| Must-see TV show(s): | "Game Of Thrones," "Mad Men," "House Of Cards," "New Girl" |
| Last good movie you saw: | "Nymphomaniac" |
| Some films you consider classics: | "Imitation of Life," "Gaslight," "The Birds," "Wild Is the Wind," "Lilies of the Field" |
| Performer you would drop everything to go see: | This will only get me into trouble. So, I will pass. |
| Pop culture guilty pleasure: | "Top Chef" |
| Three favorite cities: | New York, New Orleans, Paris |
| Favorite sport/team/player: | Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson |
| First CD/Tape/LP you owned: | I bought used library copies of Jesus Christ Superstar, A Little Night Music and Say Darling at the same time. |
| First stage kiss: | High school, Anything Goes. I was Billy Crocker. Sarah Combs was Hope Harcourt. |
| Favorite or most memorable onstage role as a child/teenager: | At age fourteen, I played Joe in Show Boat and got standing ovations for singing "Ol’ Man River." |
| Moment you knew you wanted to perform for a living: | I honestly don’t remember the specific moment. I did years of show after show. Before I knew it, it was my profession. |
| How you got your Equity card: | I did a season at Bucks County Playhouse with Rita Gardner, Pat Paulsen, Julius LaRosa and Andrea McArdle. |
| Favorite pre-/post- show meal: | I like to make myself a plate of nachos when I get home at night. |
| Favorite liquid refreshment: | Fresca |
| Pre-show rituals or warm-ups: | Push-ups. And checking in on the pigeons outside my dressing room window, which my Twitter friends named "Adele" and "Dazeem." |
| Most challenging role you have ever played: | Dewain in I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, a wickedly difficult contemporary opera by John Adams. |
| You've been away from the Broadway stage for a good stretch of time. What drew you to this particular project? | It was the mix of old and new that was impossible to resist: an original show, with fresh contemporary ideas, being created by truly talented long-time friends and colleagues. |
| Biggest challenge about this current project: | All of the stairs at the theatre. But, hey, what fine shape we’ll all be in! |
| Most fulfilling or fun aspect about the project: | Working with so many folks I already knew, and then getting to know some fantastic new friends. |
| Any upcoming of side projects you can talk about? | As a director I am helping a few writers develop new pieces. Projects range from a Vietnam reunion musical, to a celebration of baseball legend Roberto Clemente. Yay, new works! |
| Worst flubbed line/missed cue/onstage mishap: | It’s a wonder I continued in this business. Because, my worst happened on opening night of my first musical ever. My first verse of "You’re The Top" (Anything Goes), I was staged to slide from the top of the ship’s staircase, to the bottom. I forgot to rosin my hands – and my opening-night, nervous, sweaty hands locked onto the rail, which made me flipped over and plunge to the stage deck.
My Reno did not miss a beat, while picking me up and carrying on with the show! |
| Worst costume ever: | My “Basic” that I wore in Up With People! I had striped, bell-sleeve, clown shirt, and flared, skin-tight, pimp pants. |
| Worst job you ever had: | I was a daily accountant for a clothing store in Kalamazoo. Spent eight hours, a day, ALONE, in a teeny, tiny office, with no windows, reconciling receipts. ARRRRG! |
| Craziest audition story: | Um… because it involves known and living persons… I'd better not… |
| If you could trade roles/tracks with anyone in the show for a week, who would it be? | Not going there  |
| Leading man role you've been dying to play: | Tevye |
| Leading lady role you wish you could play: | Bess |
| Something about you that surprises people: | I’m a Trekkie. Like, hard core! |
| Something you are incredibly proud of: | My fairness |
| Career you would want if not a performer: | Space explorer |
| Three things you can't live without: | My love for My Love, Music, Friendship. |
| "I'll never understand why…" | … I can’t fly, like in my dreams. It’s very frustrating. |
| Words of advice for aspiring performers: | Learn to re-dream. Because, if you’re as good as you think you are, and you’re tenacious, you’re going to get that ultimate role, in that hit Broadway show. So, then… “What’s next?!” |
