NR: How DO you keep all 21 characters straight in your head? How on earth do you do that?

SH: (laughs) I don't do it well sometimes. I've had quite a bit of experience in small TV roles and film things and the best way I can explain it is ....first of all they are all 21 different characters. They are 21 different people and therefore they want 21 different things. If I'm playing Bill Evans (Hastings), that particular character as written and as directed wants very different things than Elton wants. (Note: Stephen uses character names and actors' names interchangeably.)

NR: Which is exactly my point. Are you saying that makes it easier?

SH: They're different persons. Then you have the purely technical things. In "The Rescue," Hastings does this and this and this, and in "The Rescue," Elton does this and this. So, I approach them as if I were doing it for television or a film - this scene is the only thing that I can focus on at this point. And therefore, this is what I will focus on, and I will make my way through that, and then we'll move on to the next one. But, as far as what the character is doing, or is achieving, I think I make decisions before I go on that this is kind of how I think I want to approach the character, and then I have to follow that. And, I've gotten into trouble that way too.

NR: Is it difficult to switch back and forth? Suppose you do one in a matinee and another one at night?

SH: It's only a little...it can cause a little anxiety. For instance, yesterday we rehearsed all afternoon. In that rehearsal, I played Tussaud, I played Farleigh, and I played assorted French people. Last night, on as Hastings, I had to really pay attention because every line that's being said up there is a cue for another line, and if you're not really focused you can start to say someone else's line. Or, as I said, the time that I was doing a split track and there was Ken Land, and he was going to do one thing, and I suddenly did what Ken was going to do, and what I was going to do. I just did everything. (laughs) I went and I got the stool and I just kicked it across the stage to myself. Several cast members have said I'm always good for at least one good laugh.

NR: Do you ever have to switch voice parts?

SH: Well, Ron (Melrose) and I spoke about this a couple of times. I have a comfortable baritone track that I sing in in pretty much all cases. There are a couple of people that I cover, Craig Rubano is one of them for instance, that have other tenor parts, or if we're going to be down too many tenors, in which case then I have a tenor track that I'll follow.

NR: So, your range is big enough that you can do that?

SH: It's big enough but it may be a different kind of voice. It may not be my normal belt chest voice. I may have to do falsetto, but I have a very strong falsetto on top of that. So, yes, sometimes I have to change voice parts too.

NR: How about the choreography? I look at "Creation of Man" and you're in a different spot on different nights.

SH: There are two ways to approach this. It's easier to do "Creation of Man" now than it was before.

NR: Why is that?

SH: We're all doing the same thing.

NR: So, it doesn't matter where you are?

SH: It doesn't matter where I am as long as I get in the right spot, and generally, if I get lost, all I have to do is look for the hole. (laughs) So, in that case, the hard thing is realizing that in "Creation of Man" a couple of times we have to do this, and in "Into the Fire" and in the ball, we mirror each other, so you have to remember which side you're doing, and make sure that you're doing the right hand and the left hand doing this, OR the right hand and the left hand doing this. (indicating opposite gestures)

NR: Now the ball is very, very intricate...

SH: "The Gavotte" is very, very intricate. Well, it depends on who I'm doing.

NR: It seems to me it would be hard for someone to know what they're doing in that even if they always play the same character.

SH: The thing about the swings, and I have to say, this is an amazing group of swings - Jimmy and Drew (Geraci) and Sarah (Knapp) and Jennifer (Smith) are extraordinary. I think we're very fortunate that it's just a good core group of people. You can only know so much. You can't know the intricacies of every part. You can strive for that, but you can't. So, you have to think, "What is it that I have to achieve in this scene?" and you do it and get out of the way. In "The Gavotte," you say, "OK, I know I have to do this part, and I have to find this person." This is my partner, this is my partner, and this is my partner, and hopefully, the steps are ingrained in your body enough so that you only have to worry about the side that you're doing, and then knowing who you have to go to. And the members of our cast are so giving. They will grab you and bring you with them.

NR: What about costumes and props?

SH: I have my own costumes now. I was originally hired because I could fit in almost everybody's costumes. They had minimal problems fitting me into them. There were a couple of people - Don Mayo, I could never have worn Don's costumes. I couldn't wear Ed Dixon's costumes. But they had enough little bits and pieces so that they could put me in something. Now I have all my own costumes. It's kind of nice because I'm always kind of anchored. (laughing) Something is familiar. Nothing else might be.

NR: Are there prop differences?

SH: Props are always a little bit of a problem the first time you go on because it's like, "OK, I've got to get a lantern. Where do I get the lantern from? What do I do with it? Does it have to be given to someone else?" And that gets a little crazy. It was more difficult in a lot of ways in the other production because there were moments when you got a lantern from someone and somebody else took it and there was a lot of switching that was going on. Now, if you've got something, you keep it.

NR: Have you ever gotten on stage and thought, "Who am I?"

SH: Yes. I have done it. I did it actually with Hastings and I did the first move, and then I stopped. I couldn't make the distinction because I had been doing Ken Land (Ben) prior to that, and those two do a lot of the same stuff, but not all the time. So, that one little memory...and then I stopped and thought, "No, that's him." It happens. None of us are expected to be perfect in that sense, and this is an incredible group of people. The regular cast is incredible and the swings are great so we're just sharp and sometimes we have to make something up on the spot. For example, did you hear about last night?

NR: Yeah, I heard you had a problem with the canes last night.

SH: (laughing) It wasn't a problem. They just weren't there! Now, this is the sort of thing that you approach from the point that I can't ignore the fact that I have no cane. That's like saying, "Oh, there's no elephant on stage." So, now you spend the entire time thinking, "I have to hold my hand out, but I don't want it to look like I'm supposed to be holding something, so now I've got to do different things."

NR: There were three of you I believe?

SH: Yes, there were three of us. We didn't look at each other, because we were too busy thinking ahead. If we had we might have been in trouble. At one point, I thought, "Oh good, I'm going to be turning upstage...Whoa, there's a mirror there!" So I couldn't even just stop and break for a moment, because there's a mirror and you would see the reflection. So, you just do it.

NR: Now, the audience obviously knew that was a screw-up. Most screw-ups you can cover, but not that one.

SH: Exactly, it's like, how do you ignore the elephant on stage? "Wait a minute, everyone's got a cane except those three people. Hmm."

NR: Now, did you all approach it the same way, the three of you? Who were the others?

SH: It was Harvey Evans, it was myself, and Jim Hindman. I didn't throw any of them, I don't think. I think each of us may have had one moment when you had to switch hands, but there's nothing to switch hands with. How do you approach that? But not anything that was so outrageous. No matter what you do you're not going to look quite right anyway, so it doesn't make any difference.

Interview conducted and photographs by Nancy Rosati.