BWW Interviews: Kathleen McCall of Denver Center's WHEN WE ARE MARRIED on Her Love of Shakespeare and Her Husband

M: Now you have been with the Denver Center Company for quite some time now giving amazing and memorable performances, tell us how you got started with this fine company?

K: Boy, this is my 8th season, no, my 7th season – I’m not sure. And it’s been absolutely fabulous for me. I was born and raised in Colorado. I was born in Denver and went to Douglas County High School in Castle Rock, and went away for a number of years, went to school in London and then lived in New York, and worked out of New York, so for me to come home to Denver was just a real gift. You know, it’s been wonderful to be here. To be around family and to be in an environment that is home and also the theatre company is such an amazing, amazing facility, and the people that inhabit it, you know, the company’s actors, the staff, the crews, I mean, I love how I walk into a theatre and I’m always struck and just in awe of the change when they’ve put a new set up. It just transforms the place and I just feel so fortunate and so blessed to be able to be here and to work. It’s a wonderful, wonderful place.

M: I agree, we are quite spoiled in Denver with that center.

K: We are; we are. It’s the largest regional Theatre West of Chicago until you get to, you know, the Mark Taper Forum in LA, and the work that is gone there, from the New Plays Festival to redoing and visiting the classics is extraordinary. It’s an extraordinary place.

M: You are absolutely enchanting in your Shakespearean performances - what is your secret to your natural ease with the Bard?

K: Well, you know, Shakespeare, I think is my first love when it comes to theatre. And I went to school in London so I was able to work with, my mentor at school, was Patrick Stewart. I was able to work with a number of the Royal Shakespeare Company actors there. And I think doing it a lot – you have to understand the meter, you have to understand the poetry. But then you find a way, and I think that comes from doing a lot of it, and I’ve done a loooot of Shakespeare – I’ve probably done close to 40 productions of Shakespeare – where you inhabit the language. You just want to make it as natural as possible. The other wonderful thing about Shakespeare is that, because of the poetry, when you miss a word, you immediately feel it. You can feel it in your bones because of the rhythm. And so he’s just so special to me.

M: That’s wonderful. So, is there a favorite role that you never tire of playing?

K: Wow, that’s a good question. I don’t know…I’ve revisited a number of roles, particularly in Shakespeare. I’ve revisited Kate. I’ve played Kate before, and that was a lot of fun. And, of course, doing that role depends on who your Petruchio is. And, you know, I’ve had two great Petruchios, so that was fun. I would love to go back and revisit Lady Macbeth. I think she is fascinating. I just don’t know that there’s one…I’ve done Winter’s Tale, I’ve played Hermione in Winter’s Tale, and that production was just so special to me, and so beautifully conceived that I don’t want to revisit it again. Because, not that it was perfect, it’s never perfect, but the situation was perfect. It was so ideal that I’m afraid to revisit it. Does that make sense?

M: Yeah, it does. Well, the context of my next question, was I was going to ask what role has had the most impact on your life?

K: Well, that production had a huge impact on me. I think the production that had one of the biggest influences on me was doing Macbeth. And that was because we partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Defense, and we toured the United States, toured 14 military bases and performed for the troops, just as we were entering the Iraq/Afghanistan conflict, soon after, but not right after 9/11. So that had a huge impact on me – to perform Macbeth for military families on military bases, who understand, you know, Macbeth is a warrior. He’s a military leader. Their families were at war. I remember playing for kids who would come up to me and say, you know, “My dad’s in Afghanistan right now” or “My husband’s in Iraq,” or “My mom…” and it had such an impact on them. It was an extraordinary experience to perform that every night for military families. So I think that would be the one.

M: Wow, that’s really interesting. If you were not in theater, what job do you think that you would be doing in a parallel universe?

K: If I wasn’t in theatre. Um…well, I sit on a board at Denver Health and I do a lot of fundraising and a lot of event planning. We have an event coming up December 2. We just had a big Halloween party on the 31st that raised funds for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, and we have a big fundraiser coming up on December 2, we are having 300 people for a brunch, and then we’re going to see White Christmas. And the money raised will go to support that. So, probably I would be doing event planning or fundraising for a NFP organization.

M: So, are there any other exciting projects after you’re done with this show? I know you just started.

K: Well, I go into rehearsals right after this for Romeo and Juliet, and I follow that with Other Desert Cities, so I have a really lovely season. So, I’ll be busy through the spring.

M: Well, I look forward to seeing you as always.

K: And right now, my son just got home from school and so I’m just happy to have my kid home for Thanksgiving.

M: Again - thank you so much for speaking with me and BroadwayWorld today!!! You are absolutely wonderful and I look forward to seeing you in When We Are Married at the Denver Center!!!

Michael Mulhern has lived in Denver and been active in it's theater scene for over 10 years. He is originally from Wiesbaden, Germany and graduated with a BFA in Theater Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Currently he performs in one to two shows a year and is a proud member of the Denver Gay Men's Chorus. Some of Michael's favorite performances include - Lend Me a Tenor, Guys and Dolls, The Shadow Box, Buried Child, and Jeffrey. He is proud to represent Denver and it's growing theater community on BroadwayWorld.com!

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