Daddy Warbucks: Man of change
Go! feature
Barton was a high school drama teacher and community theater performer in Hendersonville, Tenn., when the opportunity to swtich careers came along.
“We had done a production of ‘Annie’ and one of my students wanted to audition” for the national tour, he said, “but didn’t want to go to New York on her own.”
So Barton accompanied her and on a lark, and having just finished performing the role of Daddy Warbucks, went to the audition, too.
He got the part, and she didn’t.“Everything is bigger and grander,” he said comparing community theater to the national tour. “The talent level is higher.”
One of the biggest thrills, however, is that this revival is directed by lyricist Martin Charnin, who brought “Annie” to the stage for the first time in 1977.
“Working with him has been an experience that I don’t think any of us will ever forget,” Barton said. “His approach was to make the show very real even though it is based on a comic strip.
“The researched the history of the time period and tried to be accurate to the Depression era and to make the characters more dimensional,” he said.
“Daddy Warbucks is the one character who goes through a transformation,” Barton said, from a man who is very closed off and focused on making money in the business world. For the first time in his life he lets someone get close and that opens up new opportunities for him.”
Although Barton said he didn’t have quite a full head of hair going into the role, he was daunted some by the prospect of shaving it for the role.
“Just working up to it was the hardest part,” he said. “Now, I like the look and everyone says I look good, so it’s not as horrible as I thought it would be.”
- WHAT: “Annie” by Charles Strouse, Thomas Meehan and Martin Charnin
- WHERE: Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut, Cincinnati
- WHEN: October 23-28
- COST: $20-$55
- MORE INFO: (513) 241-7469; www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com
photo by Joan Marcus
