Stage Q&A: Jerry Jay Cranford discusses singing, dancing, improvising — and scoring the best role of his life

Jerry Jay Cranford has lived most of his life “as a true gypsy,” he says, “living in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, and touring for nearly 14 years … that’s a lot of hotel rooms!”

Since moving to Kansas City in 2007 and taking up residence in Brookside, the singer, actor, dancer and choreographer has brought laughs in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, 2012) and poignancy in Hello Again (Spinning Tree Theatre, 2013), among other appearances. He now spends weekdays much of the year teaching full time at Kansas State University, but his obvious talent and charismatic presence haven’t gone missing entirely from local stages.

This summer, he’s making his Coterie Theatre debut in the vibrant and lively Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (through August 3) as the musical’s choreographer and in two supporting roles: Lord Scrumptious and Baron Bomburst. They’re as fun as they sound.

The Pitch: What brought you to KC and what has kept you here?

Cranford: My husband and I — we married legally last fall in Iowa after being together for 20 years — moved here in 2007 from L.A., where he was raised. It had become too difficult to care for his mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s. We wanted to care for her in-home, so we packed up her six cats, our two dogs, and moved to Brookside. She had been raised just outside Springfield, Missouri, so we were all returning to our Missouri roots! I was actually raised in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. My mom was born and grew up in Sedalia.

We’ve stayed because we love barbecue … and banana cookies from the Upper Crust! Ha! We love the people, our friends, the work, being nearer to family, the calmness, the four seasons, our home, the fresh air, the Plaza, the arts … so many things! It immediately felt like home.

What originally lit the theater spark? Your Coterie program bio mentions a third-grade portrayal of Charlie Brown.

Correct. It was a show written by one of our high school theater students called Charlie Brown Finds a Solution to Pollution … it was 1972! The entire elementary school, first through sixth grades, performed with a few students assigned roles with lines and solos. The music was taken from Sesame Street and the Charlie Brown stage musical. I ended the show singing “Happiness” in my little, unchanged boy soprano. I was an overweight, awkward kid, who onstage was oddly comfortable and suddenly popular.

Side story: While repeatedly and feverishly dancing around our house to the song “Suppertime” from the Broadway cast recording of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, I suffered an asthma attack and had to be rushed to the emergency room.

What drew you into singing? into acting?

I love to sing — that was first. A love introduced by my mother, Doris Imhauser-­Cranford, who always had music playing and would always sing along. Our whole family sang — my two brothers, Brett and Jeff, and my baby sis, Janee. Then around high school, I started wanting to dig deeper, be better at telling stories, becoming other people, not just singing songs. I became enamored of all things Broadway: cast albums, the Tonys, seeing professional productions.

Where did you train?

University of Oklahoma. Also, spending three summers with the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma was invaluable. It was a boot camp: two weeks of rehearsal with two weeks of performance while rehearsing the next show. Discipline was imperative. As a tapper, when cast as the Gene Kelly role for the tour of Singing in the Rain, they wanted to improve my tap skills, so I was sent to New York for five weeks with a private tutor for eight hours a day, seven days a week! It was difficult, but I loved it! Props to Kathy Kendall, my tap goddess!

For the last year, you’ve been teaching at Kansas State University. What do you do there?

Warp young minds! Bwah-ha-ha! I’m now in a tenure track with the theater department. This past year, I choreographed The Wedding Singer (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Certificate of Merit); directed Dog Sees God, Eight Reindeer Monologues and God of Carnage; and taught stage movement, improvisation, acting and theater business. I’ll continue to teach, adding a musical-­theater technique course in the spring. I’ll be directing Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike this fall! Exciting! I love being able to share 30-plus years of experience with the students and address some of the information I found lacking in my training. I can also give them firsthand knowledge of what it means to be an auditioning, working actor.

[page]

A couple of years ago, in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at MET, you forgot a line and did a funny ad lib that I still laugh thinking about. What are some other ad-lib moments that you’re proud of or remember?

Funny you should mention that … a funny thing happened on the way to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The morning of the press opening, my partner and I received a phone call at 9 a.m. If we could get to the hospital by noon, we were needed to care for a newborn baby girl. We spent the morning gathering supplies and were at the hospital until 5 p.m. I ran home, showered, shaved and barely got to the theater on time. I have no idea how that evening went or what I might have said! We now have her half-sister as well. She’s 11 months younger. We are in the adoption process. My favorite role to date!

The other would have to be the opening preview of Joseph at the New Theatre when, as Potiphar, I did a softshoe dance. As it ended, my Egyptian skirt dropped to the ground. (Thank you, Mary Traylor, for having me wear short bike shorts underneath!) I simply picked it up, held it in front of me as if I were Gypsy Rose Lee and said, “You didn’t pay enough to see that!” The next evening, it had snaps and a hook and eye.

What’s the worst thing that has happened during a performance?

Many but one of the worst: Boston Colonial Theatre with the Les Misérables national tour. We were rehearsing all day to incorporate the cuts and lyric changes being implemented for the 10th anniversary. I was thrown on as Enjolras 30 minutes before show time, having never rehearsed his lyric changes but asked to incorporate them. The big scene leading into “People’s Song” was me on a table … in a spotlight … charging the students to begin the revolution. This is where the bulk of the new lyrics began in a quick patter sequence. I began with an amalgamation of old and new lyrics that made absolutely no sense! I then just stopped singing, jumping back in with my final line. I was silently emoting like hell! The staging had every other person with their back to the audience facing me, and being professionals, they all laughed. It was only five or six lines, but it felt like an hour had passed.

What’s the best?

Doing the Genie in the musical Aladdin for Disneyland’s California Adventure. I did a Harry Potter joke that always got a laugh. One performance, the laughter had stopped, we had moved on a few lines, when a small child yelled out, “Oooooh, Harry Potter! That’s so funny” and began loudly chortling! The audience of 2,600 then also began laughing and applauding the child. It was adorable!

When will we see you next?

Well, you won’t see me, but I’m going to Illinois to direct Les Misérables and taking Stefanie Wienecke along to play Fantine! To see me, it looks like I’ll be playing Gomez in The Addams Family next summer for the New Theatre, and I can’t wait! I’m hoping to someday perform all of Nathan Lane’s roles! Ha!