By Andrew Gans
28 Aug 2009

Diana DeGarmo

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

DIANA DeGARMO
She was the young girl (age 16) with the big voice in the third season of the smash hit TV singing contest "American Idol," narrowly missing the big win by approximately two percent of the vote (former Color Purple star Fantasia took the crown that season), and now Diana DeGarmo is back onstage in the acclaimed Off-Broadway musical The Toxic Avenger at New World Stages. DeGarmo, a Birmingham, AL, native who boasts a powerful, rangy belt, is no stranger to the legitimate stage. She won kudos for her Broadway debut in Hairspray, playing the role of best friend Penny Pingleton in the Tony-winning production, and has since appeared in the national tour of Brooklyn the Musical and a recent staging of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with another former "Idol" contestant, Anthony Fedorov. For the next several months, however, the numerous DeGarmo fans can catch the exuberant performer as Sarah, "the sexy, blind librarian," in the new musical penned by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) and Bon Jovi founding member David Bryan. Last week I had the chance to chat with the delightful, good-spirited DeGarmo, who spoke about her work on stage as well as her "Idol" past; that interview follows:

Question: How did this role in Toxic Avenger come about for you?
Diana DeGarmo: I was sought out by the producers, which was the most flattering thing that has come my way in a long time — because in this industry, everyone's really dying for a job, so everyone's trying so hard to work and to keep going because the economy just sucks. . . .And when the email came, I was like, "What? They…hold on. Huh?" They said they had seen me play Penny, and [spoke with] other people that had worked with me, and lots of really neat things, so I was like, "Okay, this sounds interesting!" So I researched [the show] . . . and I came and saw the show, and I thought it was absolutely hysterical, and my agents and I [felt] this was just going to be such a great move for everybody, and it was kind of a no-brainer from that point on.

Question: What was the rehearsal process like — I know a lot of times when you replace an actor in a show you don't get all that much time.
DeGarmo: Yeah, it was about nine days, which was pretty intense. When you're the first people to do [a show], you get to go do the whole tech-ing experience, and you get to have months of being able to fine-tune things, and pick what's funny and what's not, and just get the rhythm of your show down. This one was kind of like, "Okay, and you're off!" [Laughs.] I've really been fortunate, though, that in both shows where I've replaced people, I've been able to go in after people who were really talented, and who left big shoes [to fill], so I kind of have to step up to the plate, and I'm like, "Okay, alright! I've got my batting hat on! Let's go!" You're kind of forced to just really think quickly on your feet, and I find that that makes me come up with better things, and better ideas, and I have to do it. I don't really have time to marinate. [Laughs.] It was really fast and furious, but not grueling. It wasn't like a 10 to 6 rehearsal, which is what we did for Joseph, which I just came from a couple weeks ago.

	Diana DeGarmo in The Toxic Avenger
	photo by Carol Rosegg

Question: With another "American Idol."
DeGarmo Yes, with Anthony Fedorov! So that was a 10 to 6 [rehearsal schedule], and it felt like the whole day. Here, luckily, because I live fairly close to the theatre, it's just my part [to rehearse], so we're not having to rehearse 40 other people. It's just a few hours, you get in there, and you get your stuff [done]. And the show, by now, they have everything completely written out, and they're like, "Okay, this is what you do. You go here, and here." And because [the character I'm playing is] blind, it's a lot of tracking, which is great. I felt, "Okay, I can handle this." At first, I was a little. I was like, "Oh my gosh, I have to play a blind girl! What am I doing?"

Question: How did your first performance go?
DeGarmo: Great! It was so wonderful. The put-in [rehearsal] was earlier that [same] day, and I thought my head was going to explode, to be honest, because of the rehearsal process. [Laughs.] . . . It was just mainly Nicholas Rodriguez and I, and Keith [Coughlin], our assistant choreographer, and Kelly [Hance], our [production] stage manager. They're trying to play seven different people, and run around, and you can't really get the full feel of everything. And in the first put-in, it was [the addition of] hair, make-up, costume, sound, people! In my head, I literally thought, "Oh my gosh. I'm not going to make it." But I went home, took a nap, didn't stress about it, and just trusted myself, and went back to the theatre a couple hours later, and had a wonderful show. It was a great weekend, and I'm excited to restart this next week, all fresh faced and bushy-tailed! [Laughs.]

Question: How would you describe Sarah?
DeGarmo: Sarah is a very sweet, honest and wholesome girl, but once you get to know her, she's a little freaky, and I like it! She's, like I said, very sweet, and always says what's on her mind with a smile. She's always really nice to people, but she definitely knows what she wants, and she's going to get it!

Question: Do you have a favorite moment in the show for her yet?
DeGarmo: Oh, wow, there are so many. The show is just written so well that you automatically get laughs, and get great moments without even having to really do much, which is wonderful. [Laughs.] It makes the actor's job so much easier. . . . It's so smart. Oh golly, I really love when I have to say "Pootie" because so many people don't expect that word. It's kind of a build-up [to that moment], and the audience is like, "What is she going to…?" And then I say "Pootie," and it just cracks people up. And thank goodness I'm being held by Toxie — my face is in his shoulder — because I'm cracking up because it's so funny every night.

Question: What's it been like working with Nancy Opel?
DeGarmo She is beyond amazing. The first time I saw the show, I remember walking out thinking, "Okay, that show is funny, but damn, that woman is hysterical." She is brilliant! She sings her face off, she's funny, and she always has such a great attitude about everything. . . . She's so nonchalant. She's so wonderful, and she's been so sweet to me. She is learning Chinese during the show, which blows my mind. I'm back there going, "Okay, what am I supposed to say next, what am I putting on, and what am I doing?" and she's back there [practicing Chinese]. She's awesome, and I hope to learn so much from her, because she's had such an amazing career, and she's such a cool lady.

Question:You've done a lot of theatre in the past few years. What has surprised you about the demands of doing a show?
DeGarmo: You know, it's funny because I've had this talk with a few people in different shows. It's mainly what surprises other people who are not in the entertainment industry, let's put it that way. They are the ones who are the most flabbergasted by what we do, and by our lifestyle, per se, and I try to break it down. I'm like, "Okay, most people go to a 9 to 5 job. Now, imagine all the energy you use during that period. Now squish that into about two hours, and that's my job. All of that energy that you use throughout an entire day, I have to create within a two-hour period." [Laughs.] And I think that's the most amazing thing. Sometimes even my mom is like, "Why are you so tired?" When I did Joseph, I'm like, "Oh gosh, I just need to sleep." And she said, "I don't understand why you have to sleep so much." And I'm like, "Mom, I have a show tonight, and it's long and tedious!" [Laughs.] What I love about The Toxic Avenger is that it's a one-act show. There is no intermission, and the show keeps you going the entire time. There is never a lull where you stop and you sit offstage, like at intermission, and you think, "Oh my gosh, I'm so tired" or "Okay, well let's go do the second act," which I've experienced, and I think everyone has at some point when you're doing a show. This show just keeps you going. . . . It happens so quickly.

Question: You were also supposed to be part of the Godspell revival last season. That must've been very disappointing that it didn't come in to New York.
DeGarmo: Yeah, it was.

Question: Do you know what happened with the show?
DeGarmo: I do. Basically, the economy just bit us in the butt. That's the long and short of it. We lost a huge chunk of our funding, and we kind of flailed for a few days, and we were trying to grab anything that anyone would offer us. We got a lot of really great "We wish you luck," and well-wishes. But everyone is really nervous, and everyone is very scared about putting shows up unless it's a guaranteed money [maker] . . . which stinks, because that's part of what makes what we do so fantastic. It's about people taking a chance with something, and then all of the sudden, people realizing, "Wow, we took a chance on something so big, and it's come back ten-fold for us." But when the economy is so wishy-washy and so timid, people are less likely to take that chance. But we all decided, as a cast, that Broadway was just not ready for us! [Laughs.] Ironically, when I went and saw Toxic Avenger, Sara Chase was still in the show, and she and I were scheduled to do Godspell together. I was kind of hiding out, and I couldn't say [I was joining Toxic] because I was trying to respect producers' wishes. So I sat in the audience, and at the very end, I, of course, stood up and gave them a standing ovation because the show is awesome, and she looked out at me and was like, "What are you doing here?" She pointed me out in the audience, and I was just like, "Hi!" [Laughs.] So, it's been funny and it's been really cool just trying to stay connected with that cast. Maybe one day we'll come back around. I mean, the cast was so ridiculously talented, so it's destined to happen again sometime soon. Continued...

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