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Tonys Talk: Gideon Glick Talks Channeling His Inner-Child in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
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Oct 31, 2022
Dill Harris is a character that the world first got to know on the page, either in or outside of the classroom. This season, Broadway favorite Gideon Glick is bringing the boy to life onstage in the nine-time Tony-nominated adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird.
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Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge. I'm sitting in the Tony Awards suite at the Sofitel NYC, which is the official hotel of the 2019 Tony Awards
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And I'm sitting with Gideon Glick, who was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his captivating role, Abdel, in Aaron Sorkin's To Kill a Mockingbird
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Well, first of all, thank you for sitting with me today. Thanks for having me. Now listen, what is it like living in the world of Harper Lee and Aaron Sorkin
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It's a wonderful gift. It is a wonderful gift, isn't it? It's a wonderful gift to do this show. Yeah
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But when you first found out this was happening and you were going to go in for it
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you knew the book very well before you started? I mean, I read the book in seventh grade
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I remembered key characters like Scout and Atticus, Boo and Tom and Calpurnia
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But that's all I really... And then a little bit of gem. I actually didn't, I remember Dill a bit, but not so much
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I knew there was a friend, but that was really it. That was really it
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So when you started working on this, like, your Dill is so brilliant
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Thank you. It's very nice of you to say. I tell you this over and over and over. It's still very nice
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I love watching you make magic on stage. Thank you. So when you started working on this, what kind of conversations did you have with Aaron about Dill and who he was going to be
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Yeah, well, you know, obviously I've said many times, Truman Capote was a really, really large inspiration
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And it was big for Aaron as well in kind of fleshing Dill out because, as I don't know if everybody knows, but Dill is based off of young Truman Capote
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Harper Lee and Truman Capote grew up next door to each other, and they promised each other that they'd put each other in their first books
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So that really was the springboard for me. And talking to Aaron a lot, Aaron was very – Dill is joy
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Dill is optimism through all this cruelty. Dill is seeing the good in everybody
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And he's Atticus's biggest cheerleader too. And so that was really, really important as kind of having that joy
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especially in the first act. Because in the first act, all of Dil's scenes are really
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it's really about Boo. It's about the adventure. It's about kids being kids
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And that was really, really important for this piece because a lot of the book is about that
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But in this adaptation, it's mostly about Atticus and the court. and so it was really important to me
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that it was strong and memorable so did you do read Truman Capote books
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yes, I read two wonderful biographies on Capote I read a couple of his books as well
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actually a lot of his books I went down to Monroeville which is where Maycomb is based off of
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I watched Capote no that didn't, I mean that was just an amazing film
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because it wasn't really about an impersonation in any way. It's mostly an homage
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It's about a spirit. It's about, I would hope maybe, maybe this is what he was like as a child
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I don't know. It's like an essence of. Yes. And actually a really nice little tidbit is
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Capote's memorial was held at the Schubert Theater. Isn't that amazing? That's great
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So I like to think that he's looking down on me. I have a beautiful portrait of him in my dressing room
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that my fiancee Perry gave to me too. So he's really part of the fabric
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So you know the play is sort of different from the book. I love what Aaron has done with this
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I think it's one of the greatest American plays. It's a brilliant adaptation. Yeah. Yeah. So let's
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just talk about I remember reading somewhere where you said during the preview period you had
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conversations with Aaron and your director Bart about where you thought Dil was going. Tell me
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about that conversation. Well I was it was really important to me that though Dil is is levity and
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and he's fun, but it was important to me that it was balanced with the pathos
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and really ensuring that this kind of house of cards is intact
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and what's underneath is also really intact. But that was always there
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It was mostly just an insecurity that it would be there. Yeah. Yeah. Sharing the stage with Celia and Will, what is that experience like
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It's kind of been one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had on stage
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It's almost mystical. It's strange to say. We kind of think of ourselves as one unit, one character
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It doesn't exist without the other. And it a really beautiful thing And there something kind of remarkable that you can just tap in look at each other in each other eyes and it can move you and it can keep you present
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And especially when playing a child, children are really present. They don't have filters. They don't have preconceived notions of who they're going to be and how they're appearing. They're really just there
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and the writing is so rich the writing is so incredible the relationships are there
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but there's also something really magical when three very different people are in a room together
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are sharing a floor together and the love that we have for each other is very, very real
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Let's talk about that floor that dressing room floor. The kids floor is
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It's called the kids floor? Yeah. Yeah. Where is it in the theater? It is the second floor
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We have a lot of candy A lot of Sour Patch Kids
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A lot of Sour Patch Watermelons A lot of cookies A lot of Skittles
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I don't know what happened I think we've regressed as we went to that theater
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And I have not been to the dentist since we started I'm really nervous
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Your teeth are beautiful You're a kind man Who brought all the candy
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Well, it started with ourselves And then our dresser Really just She's an enabler
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and she keeps us well stocked. We also really like, we really do like schmackery cookies
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Those fromfetti cookies are, they really help us. I'm sure all the adults visit your floor
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No, because it's a really, there's a lot of stairs, but Stark, Benga and Fred come down
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and they are stealing from us. But they can, because we need to get rid of this candy
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Okay. Yeah. You're working with one of the finest directors. Yes, I am
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With Barsher. Had you worked with Bart before? I'd never worked with Bart. I had auditioned for Bart
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And I remember really, really, really liking the process. It felt like, it didn't feel like an audition
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It felt like he was working with me. It felt like he was, we were just in a room, really just working on the text
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And I remember thinking, oh, wow, this feels very civilized. And this whole process has been extraordinary
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And it's a lot to do with him. So when you went in, what was your process like for this, your rehearsal process
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I mean, first take me back to the audition process for Bard for this. Well, there wasn't an audition process, so I feel very lucky
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Good for you. They had done two readings of it, and then I came in for their first three-week workshop
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And it was this kind of magical moment. It was a cold read, so I wasn't able to read it before
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and it was in front of Aaron and Bard and Scott in a Southern accent
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Aaron Sorkin dialogue. I've never been that nervous. I remember on the subway, my heart was out of my body, but it was a magical thing
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And when it was over, I knew this is for me. This is where I belong
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It was really, really magical. And then they officially offered it to me about a week later
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It was a three-week workshop, so halfway through. You know when you're reading something or being in the room with a group
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you know when you're like, this is perfection. Oh, yeah. Like, I have to do this
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I mean, the actors in this show, the company, the creative team, it is
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It's amazing. And for how large it is, it's kind of shocking at how seamless it's all been
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And everyone is bringing the top of their game. And everyone's really, really happy to be there
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It's an incredible piece. We've been around, you know. We know that this is a rare thing
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We know the audiences every night. This doesn't happen like this. the way they received the show, the way it's a transformative experience
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And we kind of knew right away. We knew it was an important piece to the nation just because of what it was
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but we also knew how good it was. We did. I also love that you're in the beautiful Schubert Theater
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which is primarily a musical house. But this play and this production is so intimate in that house
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Do you feel that when you're up there? Yeah, I mean you can feel the audience being so taken with it
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But I will say it's intimate, but also Bart has done an extraordinary job of its scale
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in terms of how things go in and out. And I would say this actually it a really good seat in the mezzanine because there are so many people And I think it really remarkable to see how expansive it can be because you don get that that often with a play
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Let's go back to the beginning. Was there a defining moment for you when you said
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I have to be an actor, I have to do this or try to make a living at this
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I mean, it's never been, I've never had any other idea of what I could do
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You know, I started as a singer primarily. Did you? I was doing piano lessons, and I really didn't like the piano, and I started singing instead
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And so I knew, okay, I can do this. And so I started doing musical theater as a way to sing in front of people
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and then all of a sudden acting kind of became what I did primarily
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I thought I was going to be a musical theater actor. I never thought I'd be a play actor. No, I have been
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I mean, I'm still a musical theater actor, but it's been a while. What was that first play you did that wasn't a musical
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The first play I did that wasn't a musical, I was 11 years old, and I did a play called The Three Musketeers
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and I played a young Louis Couture. I was the sun king, and I had this gold costume and glitter on my face
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It was pretty amazing. You're like, boy, they do this in a play
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It doesn't have to be a musical. Yes, yes, yeah. And that was actually my first professional production
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And then I did a production of Peter Pan and Wendy, which was the
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it was like the new Peter Pan that Ted Sperling an incredible conductor
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he directed it in Philadelphia and I did The Snow Queen that Pat Bursch directed
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who directed Grease 2 so one of my favorite movies Michelle Pfeiffer
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Maxwell Confield I'll Be Your Girl Cool Writer thank you yes yes
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alright we're going out one night I know we're gonna do a screening of Grease 2
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alright I'd be into that but you remember like that first performance on stage
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I mean you remember that first time when you were like 11 or whatever when you were on stage
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you remember that feeling? I don't remember exactly with the Three Musketeers
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Yeah. I remember, it was actually, it was mostly singing. I remember I did this musical theater showcase
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and I don't remember when it was in the timeline, but I sang Colors of the Wind
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and I was so nervous that I, because I didn't want to look at the audience
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so I did this the entire time, and my family was like, you cannot do that again
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But that was, I remember the nerves and the thrill of getting to sing a solo
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Because not everyone got to do a solo. I remember, and I was really young for the group
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and it was thrilling and terrifying. But you got through it, and then you're like
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I can relax into this, right? Yeah, but it's always a little terrifying
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Singing. It's always terrifying. And then at the end, you're like, oh, I'm glad I did that. Because I'm always asking people, like
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do you prefer one to the other? Not that one's easier than the other
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What, singing than acting? Yeah, like doing a musical as opposed to a play. I mean, it's been so long since I've done a musical
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so it's hard to say. I mean, plays are... I will say, I've been thinking a lot about..
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I saw Lindsay Mendez last night. She came to see the show, and I was thinking about her last year
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doing all this extra wonderful stuff during the Tony, that whole month
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But the idea of having to sing at the end of all of this, that's hard
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That's really hard. You have these long, long days, and then you have to preserve your voice
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so there's a lot of anxiety that comes with that I don't have to worry about that so much
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so that's nice because I asked Matthew Morrison when he was doing his first play
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and he said it's the same amount of work but he said it's just a little easier
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off my nerves of saying that it's a different kind of mindset
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I think the anxiety with preserving your voice and I'll say I
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and it's just been a long time but I feel a wonderful sense of freedom doing a play
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You have your text, you have your blueprint, but scenes are long and they're and you can go it can go so many different directions
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And that that's something that I really enjoy about about doing plays
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Do you have a favorite scene that you do in Mockingbird or does it change? I think it shifts it shifts
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It's hard to pick a favorite it is it changes every night
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When we're just every night or sometimes you have a week where you're like oh this is really amazing
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And really or it's really in the pocket and you're not overthinking it and everything's kind of balanced and so forth and then
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And then other scenes start to take shape. Yeah. Going back to your director, Bart is a brilliant director
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What was the rehearsal process like? And what makes him such an incredible director for you to work with He not result He takes his time takes his time I think of him as a as a painter or a sketcher or um or a sculptor He just kind of chisels away and he
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not about the end result. So as a, as a result, you, you have this sense of freedom. And, and I
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almost think of it as like, he just kind of has all these pages, um, like of sketches and, and
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just, you just keep going through it and keep going through it. And, and whatever the play is
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today is different than it was two weeks ago and he's very very aware of that and so it has this
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it's fluid and that's kind of the beautiful thing of what this is i mean you can't set it in stone
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in any way the audience is different every night anyway so the show is going to be different and
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he's so smart he's so intellectual and he has such a incredible grasp on on history and and also
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theater history and opera he brings that to his work i mean he's a real artist this plays like a
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musical. I mean, just the tone of how he directs and how you deliver
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And also the scenes, they're short scenes. Some of them are just a page and a half. And then we go to a completely
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different location. And there's a lot of them. And so it does feel like a musical. I think you're right
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Brilliantly cast. I mean, the cast in your show. I mean, I walked by them and I looked at every single name and I was like, this is like the
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best of the best working in this sharing the stage with Jeff Daniels did you know Jeff before this no
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I mean I was a really really big admirer of his work I never knew him personally so what's it like
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working with him I mean Jeff is he's acting with him well he's an actor's actor you know he really
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cares about the craft and yeah he has his own theater company in Michigan where he he writes
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and and he runs the company he's he's about the work and and to see somebody who who is as well
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known as he is. And it's not about the fame. It's about the work
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And that's what everyone has brought to the table. It's about the work
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And I think you see that a lot in the theater. And it's
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amazing, again, to see all these actors of all different ages and being so committed
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Committed to the craft. It's a beautiful thing. You talk about the three of you as the kids. What's the last
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thing you do before you hit the stage for each performance? The last thing we do before we hit the stage
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Well, first of all, when we gather, we all get there about an hour ahead of time
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And we typically do a check-in. I mean, we talk for about 20 to 30 minutes every day
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We check in, talk about our days, talk about our partners, our life, the show
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And we go do our warm-up, and then we reconvene. And we all walk together
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Nobody goes to the stage without the other. We all walk down together
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We all come up together. it's a it's a we're we're one living being it's really how how we see it yeah where does this role
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fit into your career I mean this is such an important role for you isn't it yeah it yeah I
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it's amazing to be part of something that it's old and new all at once it's a it's an important
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piece of the nation it's a really I think an incredible new adaptation I love that I get to
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be a part of it. I love that. I love that. I feel that this, the character of Dill has not been
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you know, this is a, this is a piece about empathy and otherness and, and, and it hasn't
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really been taught about who this queer kid is and, and where he belongs in the book. People don't
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get taught that that often. And so I'm really excited about excavating that and kind of making
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it way more part of the narrative and that and and dill kind of finally um being part of the
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conversation because he's an extraordinary extraordinary character and i think aaron's an extraordinary way of of bringing him bringing him into this piece and so i just feel really
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lucky that i get to play this part finally if you could sum up the best part of the experience
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it's a big question of being a part of mockingbird what is it for you being part of this company
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without a doubt. I thank you. Like I said, I think you make magic
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eight times a week. You're so good at what you do. You're very kind. And I'm looking at you right now
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and I'm watching like the scenes of you in this show, like sitting with Atticus
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and everything else. But it's so great of what you do. Well, thank you
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Thanks for dropping by. Of course
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