Trevor Bass can’t seem to stay away from a Sondheim show. We last saw him on stage in Middleton Players Theatre’s Sondheim on Sondheim. Now he’s back to fill out a role he began there: Joe Josephson.
Merrily We Roll Along moves back through the memories of three friends. What do you hope the audience will remember from this production?
Life is complicated and full of consequential decisions. It is important to remember that mistakes will happen, the key is to keep learning and growing from them.
What makes having OLD friends so meaningful?
The people in your life that stand the test of time have been with you through your best and worst moments. Having that community around you is so important to an enriching life.
What’s the best thing about making NEW friends?
The tree of your community grows new branches - new people to open up to, be vulnerable with, and also to be there for.
What’s your favorite line or lyric from Merrily We Roll Along? Why?
I wouldn’t say favorite, but one that is bitterly impactful for me:
“So old friends,
Now it’s time to start growing up.
Taking charge, seeing things as they are.
Facing facts, not escaping them, still with dreams,
Just reshaping them.”
At face value, the line appears grounded in maturity and being realistic, but in the context of the show and what the audience already knows by the time this lyric is sung, it is all the more heartbreaking. It’s a vestige of hope that even after all that has happened, a positive change can still come. It’s just another one of those little beautifully painful Sondheim layers/nuggets that makes this show so special.
As you’ve been rehearsing this story about creative people, how have you reflected on your own creative process?
It does make me wonder where I’d be if I more aggressively pursued an arts-based career, and if I’d still find it rewarding if it was my job. I don’t have any regrets, but it does make one wonder.
Charley, Frank, and Mary all have big dreams. What was your big dream when you were younger?
How young are we talking? When I was 8, my big dream was to have a go kart. I did achieve that one.
In my teens, I wanted to be a lead guitarist in a rock band. I did that for a little bit, but the passion faded.
I also wanted to be a famous actor. I might not be famous, BUT I could possibly be considered an actor, so I’m calling it a win.
What is your big dream now?
Today, my big dream is to do what I can to build a community that I’m proud to be a part of, and will provide a worthwhile and safe place for my little girls to exist while I’m still here, and after I’m gone. They deserve the world.
Don’t miss Trevor onstage in Merrily We Roll Along May 9-18! Tickets are on sale now at www.middletonplayers.com/tickets.