Theater Interview: DANNY GARDNER (Now Appearing Off-Off-Broadway in The Opposite of Love)

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by Gregory Fletcher on June 6, 2024

in Interviews,Theater-New York

AVANT-GARDNER

NewYorkRep is currently presenting the world premiere of The Opposite of Love by Ashley Griffin, which runs through June 15, 2024 at the Royal Family Performing Arts Space at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, the second Episcopal Church on West 46th Street to house and support a dedicated space for live theater — the other being St. Clement’s Episcopal Church just west of Ninth Avenue (you gotta love Bishop Michael Curry!). Unfamiliar with this setting, it was wonderful for me to discover a new Off-Off-Broadway theater in Times Square.

Directed by Rachel Klein, the cast features playwright Griffin and Broadway’s Danny Gardner. You might be wondering how this top-notch song-and-dance man ended up in a two-character drama with no singing or dancing, playing a down-on-his-luck sexworker who forms an unlikely bond with a trust-funded young woman who hires him to help overcome her sexual trauma. I was a bit perplexed myself.   I met with Danny after a recent performance to get the lowdown.

 Richard Riaz Yoder, Mary Michael Patterson and Danny Gardner;
Danny Gardner in Marriott's Singin' in the Rain (Liz Lauren)

First, know that Danny has a highly respected career in musical theater as a triple threat who is a brilliant hoofer. For Singin’ in the Rain at Chicago’s Marriott Theatre, Stage and Cinema said, “the splash-happy waterworks for the title song is performed by Gardner with the happiest feet in six counties.” His jaw-dropping list of credits not only proves his talent, but ensures that Glover has entertained many a viewer.

Danny Gardner in A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder at the John W. Engeman Theater
(photo by Michael DeCristofaro)

His resume includes Flying Over Sunset, A Christmas Carol, and Dames at Sea (Broadway), Lady, Be Good! (City Center Encores!), as George M. Cohan in The NY Spectacular starring the Rockettes (Radio City Music Hall), Irving Berlin’s White Christmas  and 42nd Street  (National Tours) and regionally in Crazy for You (Virginia’s Signature Theatre), Mary Poppins (Houston’s Theatre Under The Stars), and A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder (NY’s John W. Engeman Theater).

Danny Gardner and Mara Davi in Dames at Sea at the Helen Hayes Theater
(photo by Sara Krulwich of The New York Times)

GREGORY FLETCHER/STAGE AND CINEMA: I’ve known and admired you as a warm-hearted, classic song-and-dance man. How in the world did this role come about?

DANNY GARDNER: I met Ashley Griffin, the playwright and also my costar, over ten years ago when she came to a physical comedy show I did with a theater troupe called Parallel Exit. She had been writing for quite a long time. Her first production was, I believe, at the York Theatre when she was still in high school at 17 years old. She has a plethora of plays; plus, she’s written two published books and has a new play in-talks of an upcoming Off-Broadway production. Anyway, she asked me to participate in a few readings of her plays, and a couple years ago, she asked if I wanted to do a two-day workshop of The Opposite of Love at Theater Row. She told me that when she offered my name to the producers, they went to my website and were shocked to see mostly tap-dancing credits. But ultimately, they told her, “We trust you.” This was two years ago. We had two days of rehearsal with a reading for a group of producers and friends at the end of the second day. NewYorkRep was there and very kindly asked me to stay on with the play.

FLETCHER: You’ve been tap-dancing since you were six years old, did you ever anticipate playing a sex-worker in your repertoire of roles?

GARDNER: [laughing] I’ve always loved just acting, so despite the fact that tapping has always been a major part of my life, it’s nice to do a play, especially one like this.

FLETCHER: I guess waiting two years for a project to move forward is just part of this business.

GARDNER: Actually, I think the play was originally supposed to be produced Off-Broadway in 2020, but then we all know what happened next. But it took two years to get the funding together because they applied for a generous grant from New York State’”one to do with making art about sexual trauma.

FLETCHER: So much of your past work has been gracious, convivial and joyous, and this is a very dark and icy play. When you were offered the role for a full production, what was it that convinced you to do it?

GARDNER: Being able to stretch myself as an actor. It’s one thing to do a monologue in an audition or a reading of a play, but to actually get to fully rehearse a play, I couldn’t pass that up. And to perform in New York, which has its own kind of stress and requirements, I immediately wanted to dive in. The other thing that really drew me to the play was how important the play is in itself — just talking about sexual trauma and how it affects a lot more people than expected and expressed. My character Will is tragic, vulnerable, and multi-layered. Underneath it all, he’s a boy, and to bring that light-hearted aspect to the core of his character, and then to add on the multi layers of how he has had to act to survive, I couldn’t turn it down. The trauma he received from his parents, the trauma that’s inflicted on him because of his relationship, or lack thereof, with his younger sister — being able to play such a three-dimensional character in an intense play is something I was looking to delve into.

Danny Gardner in The Opposite of Love (photo by Jeremy Varner)

FLETCHER: Are you grateful it’s only a three-week run?

GARDNER: [laughs] Patrick Stewart once said — on a video, not to me personally — that when the show opens, that’s the beginning of the process for the actor. When you finally get an audience, that’s when you really dive in and start layering and nuancing the work.

FLETCHER: How did you prepare for this role?

GARDNER: I dove into the script, dissecting it and discovering the beats. What was Will trying to get in each moment? Script analysis was very important to me prior to rehearsals. Also, going to the gym because Will has a confident physicality with his work, with how he wants to come across to his clients, and I needed to get to a place where I felt sexy. As a dancer, there’s a specific physicality that I had in mind that I wanted to achieve.

FLETCHER: Since the role is so sexual, did you have to discuss it beforehand with your wife?

GARDNER: Yes, there were many conversations. What happens in the play, and why I felt it was important. I wanted her to be comfortable with my doing it. Her support has been overwhelming and generous, but also, she’s an actor, so she understands.

FLETCHER: With women as director, playwright, stage manager [Kelly Merritt], and producer [NewYorkRep founder and Executive Director Gayle Waxenberg], was it awkward being the only man in the rehearsal room when working such intimate, vulnerable moments?

GARDNER: They were an amazing team to work with, offering endless support. Additionally, our Intimacy Coordinator Christa Marie Jackson. Because it’s such an intense piece, and specifically about a female being assaulted, I think the female team brought in a level of caring and insight that was really important to the rehearsal. I walked into the room and was perfectly at ease with all of them.

Danny Gardner and Ashley Griffin in The Opposite of Love (photo by Jeremy Varner)

FLETCHER: With all the musical theatre you’ve done, have you done partial nudity and simulated sex acts onstage before?

GARDNER: I did appear in swim trunks in Flying Over Sunset at Lincoln Center, when I went on for Tony Yazbeck for six performances. There was a scene where the three male leads went down to the beach, and so I appeared in just swim trunks. Beyond that, I’ve never done this level of intimacy. I’ve kissed people on stage, but this is definitely a new level for me.

FLETCHER: Not to mention, the intimacy is being performed in a very small theater. You don’t have an orchestra pit or several feet to separate you from the audience. I suppose the nerves of the actor could be used as the nerves of the character.

GARDNER: Yeah, I think they feed one another. But thinking about it as choreography is really helpful because I’m used to being consistent with moves and steps. It also takes out the fear of doing anything more. If I’m supposed to do a triple time step, I wouldn’t start doing wings because that’s a different step altogether. Same with the staging given to us.

FLETCHER: What was it that the Intimacy Coordinator brought to the production? Remember when the director used to handle it?

GARDNER: Yes, they’d say, “Okay, now you kiss,” and when you’re running the scene for the first time, you’re kissing a stranger. But with Christa Marie Jackson, she really added a level of comfort that brought forward the conversation of what needs to be done to support the scene. And how can we bring the intimate moments to life in a way we’re comfortable with. Without such prep, it can take a toll on your psyche and on your personal space. And the last thing we wanted to do, especially in a play about sexual trauma, is cause any kind of trauma. But her work isn’t just about making us comfortable with the intimacy, she also staged it. Where I run my hand up Ashley’s leg, it’s choreographed with specific beats, timing, and rhythms. She also brought breath and sound into the kissing and the other intimate parts. Ashley and I are both dancers, so the sense of choreography made sense to us both. As an actor, you know you’re not hurting the other person or crossing a line. And the work is ongoing. For example, at each show, we talk about our red, green, and yellow zones. Today, this part of my body is fine to touch — that’s green. This part, you can touch, but just let me know that you’re going there — that’s yellow. And then the red part, no touching. It allows for daily conversation of where you’re at.

FLETCHER: Does the role require a new kind of warm-up prior to each performance?

GARDNER: I found that I must take at least 20 minutes before the curtain to calm my mind, to get into character and tap into his physicality. Some past shows, I can just walk onstage without any prep. This role really requires that I take time and quiet myself and examine the journey I’m about to go through.

Danny Gardner in Crazy for You at Signature Theatre (photo by C. Stanley Photography)

FLETCHER: What was it like acting opposite the playwright?

GARDNER: It’s funny, the most awkward times was when I was paraphrasing or messing up the lines — looking right in Ashley’s eyes. I would apologize profusely. She’d say, “I wrote it, but I don’t know the lines.” Ashley the writer was completely different than Ashley the actress.

FLETCHER: Did Ashley the playwright make any changes during rehearsals? Or did she just focus only on the acting?

GARDNER: She would do both. She’d say, “As playwright Ashley, I feel this way. But as actress Ashley, I feel this way.” And there were a few times when we didn’t understand a certain line, and she’d say, “Well, as playwright I meant this, but let’s change it.” Or times when she’d say, “Well, let me explain why I wrote that specifically.” She made it very clear when she was speaking as the actress or the playwright, which really put the room at ease.

FLETCHER: What’s very admirable is that both characters in this two-hander have very unexpected journeys — very complete journeys. But yours is the one who, in the end, most touched my heart. With all the female team players on this project, it would’ve been easy to portray the sole guy as simple, disposable, and cancelled. But Will wasn’t left to be one dimensional, cliché, or predictable. You had a three-dimensional human quality that tapped into my heart and compassion.

GARDNER: When you get to play those roles that are three-dimensional, and you get to show layers of the ups and downs, that’s what you fight for as an actor. Isn’t that the job of an actor? To be that vulnerable. It was even said in the rehearsal room, “It’s hard for men sometimes to show vulnerability,” but if you can’t do it in the theater, then where? So, I am so grateful that they let me go to the extent that I have. In the last scene, I got too vulnerable too quickly. There’s only so much sobbing an audience can take. Rachel gave me a great note: “I think you need to fight it.” It’s less interesting to watch an actor cry than it is to watch them fight the tears. Pulling back. And then when he does cry, it’s earned. Rachel was very helpful in finding that journey.

FLETCHER: Speaking of the last moment of the play, without giving away the ending, you’re offered something that most male prostitutes would grab in a hot minute. But after your journey of change, there’s a long moment of consideration and hesitation, followed by the final blackout. The audience doesn’t get to witness your choice. In your view of Will, does he take the offer or walk out?

GARDNER: When we did the reading at Theater Row, Will had two monologues as a prologue and epilogue. You actually got to find out. Personally, I think he does take it. And in the worst way, I think he falls back on a lot of his destructive tendencies for a while before he’s able to recover. But the reason I love the current ending of the play is that it leaves the audience to answer the question.

FLETCHER: Which is exactly what happened to me. I turned to my friend, and we debated what he did next.

GARDNER: With this subject, I think that’s what we need: To talk about this more and further the discussion.

FLETCHER: In my account, he walked out without taking it. I gave your character much more credit than you. Your version is probably more realistic. But after the dark, cynical world, I guess I needed some white light. After this experience, you’ll need a nice musical comedy to embrace you.

GARDNER: I’m doing Anything Goes at the MUNY in St. Louis, August 19th through the 25th!

FLETCHER: Perfect. What a relief. Playing which role?

GARDNER: The Ship’s Purser, the captain’s right-hand man.

FLETCHER: With singing and tap dancing?

GARDNER: Of course. And lots of slapstick and silly things. I’ll be doing my best Paul Lynde impression the entire time.

FLETCHER: How wonderful that you can go from one extreme to the other. Not all performers are so versatile. You’re one of the lucky few who can accomplish that feat.

Danny Gardner with ensemble in Mary Poppins at Theatre Under The Stars
(photo by Christian Brown)

find Gregory Fletcher at Gregory Fletcher, Facebook, Instagram,
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