The Eternal Phantom: Davis Gaines

Oh can you be at all? To that spine tingling vibratos shook the risers more than two thousand times in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and eventually Broadway, where Phantom remains the longest running show in history. But Davis Gaines isn't just that legendary voice. He's an actor first and foremost, with fourteen Broadway and off Broadway credits to his name. That's something he hoped for but had trouble picturing. Growing up. He was a theater obsessive in a place that didn't

have much of an outlet for kids like him. I want to be an actor since my earliest recollection growing up in Orlando pre Disney, Orland, pre Disney describe pre Disney or lots of Orange Groves and um, no traffic, sleepy, little, sleepy town. UM. I grew up there knowing what I wanted to be an actor, but not knowing how. But I found a children's theater group I joined early on, and then I had an amazing junior high school drama teacher and Dirflinger, and she just took me under her wing.

And I just couldn't stop after that. And and I was cast in musicals then because I had a loud voice. But I, did you model your singing after so well? Interesting? I was really introverted, quiet, painfully shy kid. And that's the way I think I tapped into that phantom rolls so much that I understood his pain and his loneliness

and his I get it all that. UM. And So I had grew up in my room mostly by myself with my record player, listening to cast recordings, listening to John Rayton, all those people, and it's somehow sunken, and I guess I just sung naturally. So when I went to Florida State major in theater and not musical theater, but theater, and then UM came to New York and just started going to audition sold and deer Flinger and a young Davis Gains when he's in pre Disney Florida.

Where does the but where does the middle school child? Where does he audition? Like? What was the theater? Reality? Back then? There wasn't nearby? There's no there was, There was not. It was only in school. I mean to see theater with the shows that came through town that they were touring shows back then, Broadway touring shows that came through and um at you know, early age. Mom and dad knew that I loved I wanted to be

an actor and I nothing else would do. So they I don't know if they had been to New York at the time, but when I was ten, eight, nine, ten, they would take me and my sisters to come to New York, my twin sisters to three of us. So they knew I loved it so much, so they took us here when I was ten and my saw my first Broadway show, Oliver Um and who was in it? Oh my god, it was I think Georgia Brown. Yeahclistening who Will Buy in the car and went in your

way home. But I've since done the show and I've done it several times did. When I was here early on, Um, I was in the ensemble of a dinner theater show along Island, and the woman playing Nancy was Shaney Wallace of course, which was in the movie of Course. And so I got to like as a like a kid loving as long as he needs me, my goodness. So I got to watch or do that everyone. But uh, yeah, that's my life has been like that. Like my first

Broadway show was Camelot with Richard Burton. Like I was thirty fourth spirit carrier from the left, but I got to know him and hang out with him and be his friend and watch him work every night. Did he teach you anything? Oh my god? Yeah, what did he teach you? Like? Um, storytelling? He was a great storyteller, and he thought I was as well. But uh, he taught me that the simplicity, the less is more, especially

economized on stage. And it was just wonderful, man. Because for me, when I would work with people that were older in television or film or in the theater, what people taught me in the theater was he is a little bit more precise and useful, you know, like I know people come between you know. I did the first prope I ever did was Loot, where we moved the

Manhattan Theater Company production with Kevin Bacon. They moved to the Joe Wharton played David Merrick, moved it too Broadway and Kevin couldn't come, so I replaced him with Joe mahar And so we want to maker and Charlie Keating and Jackavanick and Nick I'll let and all these people that I remember like it was yesterday. And Charlie Keating was saying to me, you come down stage mate with that screwdriver in the hand. And he says, and how

did up? Will you say that line? I'm going to batton down the acts now and howld up the screwdriver? I bet you get a laugh, tonight, give it a try, Bengo, come down stairs, hold it up. I get a laugh. And I would get these tips from people who they taught me how to do the business, you know what I mean? And uh it was and Burton was one of those people for you. Yeah, yeah, I gave me just simplicity. I mean, he was Richard Burton, so I just would could just like a sponge. I just took

it all in. And uh, he was a friend and we hung out. Did you become the star? And how? When you hate that word? But why? But when did you become the lead actor in the I guess my first break in that way was Cornelius Hackle with Carol Channing. I think maybe that was a big step for me in my career to step out of the ensemble and Richard Mwin's he played Lancelot in the production and Christine ever sold Guinevere, and I remember sitting on the bus with him and I wanted to be him. I wanted

to be Lancelot. I wanted to be play roles and shows. And I said, how do I do that? And he said, just well, stop taking jobs. It's gonna be easy for you to get a job in the course and you'll get pegganed that way, and so just you might not work for a while, but you know, just hanging there, wait, wait, And sure enough I got a call to audition for Jerry Herman, Carol Channing and Jerry's penthouse on the on the East Side, and walked in saying it only takes

a moment, and got the job. And then that's what. Then Carol and I were turned main friends ever since until she died this year and sang. I just sang at her memorial service in Palm Springs and and so that opened the doors that started me on a different path of playing roles. And then I had done a

couple of things at paper Mill Playhouse. Um So, Angelo del Rossi was the producer over there at the time, and he called and said, we're gonna do a production of Damn Yankees, and when we want you to come in an audition. Um I said, great, it's fantastic. Um look at the music and oh, by the way, George Abbott is directing it. And I went deed, Mr Abbott, he ba, I said, oh my god. So I was

just like I learned all Joe Hardy music. And I walked into minskof rehearsal studios and it was just Mr Abbott. He was ninety nine at the time, and Angelo del Rossi and I walked up and shook his hand and I said, Mr Abbott, what what an honor it is to meet you and be able to audition in front of you? And what would you like me to sing? And he goes, well, you you look like a baseball player. And I said, thanks, thanks you much, thanks so much. I appreciate that. Um. He goes up, Um, can you

swing a bat? And I said, yeah, of course, you better right, and I can do that. He goes, well, the guy we got for the movie I forget his name, and I said tab Hunter and he goes, yeah, well he couldn't swing a bat. I said, oh, but I can't. I can do it. What would you like me to sing? And then he long paused and he looked at Angela and he says, well, if Angelo says you can sing, that's good enough for me. I'll see your first day of rehearsals. So I got to play Joe Hardy, directed

by George Abbott orson Bean was the Devil. Um it was supposed to come to Broadway, but that's the story of my life. But then, um, from that chance meeting, he was and that next year he turned a hundred. So there's huge celebration for him on Broadway. And who who put them together and directed them was Hal Prince. So from Mr Abbott, that's how men. Yes, George Abbott, we're gonna talk about who George Abbott is from the people. Goodness,

tell us who George Abbott. I mean, he's like before Hal Prince there was George Abbott, and he was like he was an actor to begin with and a playwright and producer director. He wrote so many things and directed so many things. Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, he wrote them and directed them and the movies. And when Hal got out of the service, he came to Mr Abbott and they shared an office up until Mr Abbott died at a hundred and seven. And uh uh. He was the godfather,

He really was. He was the beginning. There's a joke that he always said that somebody asked him what was the biggest change that he's seen in his lifetime on Broadway? And long pause again electricity. So that was Mr with a great sense of humor. And so by chance then I'm at how and then how it took me under his wing. And and when Hal called and said, Um, would you come audition for the Phantom? And I said sure, so I I had where where they at in the

run of the family by that point. Um, this was like maybe three years into the Broadway run probably, But I remember auditioning first on the stage of the Majestica again, and then then it was down to two people, um apparently, and they flew me to Toronto because he was putting the Toronto the Canadian Company together, and they flew me there and put me up. The driver dropped me off and he said, I just dropped someone else off here earlier.

Oh there's somebody else auditioning as well. So they kept as totally separate. And then I guess he went first and I went second. And then how it comes on stage and said do you want to go to l A and be the phantom? I went, sure? When you when you look at these roles where you were people, I think, I'd love to get your take on this. Mistakenly think you just come out and you just blow those notes and just saying where is the acting involved?

And there in the rehearsals, what was the discussion about acting the phantom? That's a big pet peep in mind, like people like after after six doing the phantom for six years, I would tell people what I did or whatever, and they go, oh, so do you also act? And I went, that's what I've been, that's what I do. I'm gonna chop you up in the ba and that's what I do. But to me, I can't separate the two.

When you were directed by people how much were to do when when you if you were doing collection for inst and how well George abbott Um you know he wrote the script so he would was a very old school and the way he would give us line readings. You know, let's say it just like, and I go really, but then I did it and then sure enough after we opened like he was he was honestly it was right. But then how Um would say to me, you know, I've never seen it that way before. I've done that before.

I've never seen that before, but I get keeping in. So he didn't want me to be uh like Michael Cropford whoever else had played at that point. He was just open to my ideas and my interpretation, which was a credit to him and how he cast um so so you didn't feel you had some some pressure as a put in. They didn't say to you, Michael did this, No, they your interpretation. How do you think you were different from him? I saw him do it once, but I

thought it was really pretty bad. When I first first year, I went into it pretty young, and I you know, I played him to you push a madman and like he's all over the place. And then after six years and two thousand performances. I would do just the slidest bit of the head or the hand, and it just really it just makes all the days it's there. It's it's like part of me. Two thousand performances. Yeah, I did that. When you do a show two thousand times?

What's the key for the long distance runner like you in that isn't husband and your voice and you take care of your voice and you're very cautious. Well that I was a monk. And I listened to your podcast with Julie Andrews, and when she said I think she was talking about I don't about herself, but I had no life for six years. Basically, I I that was my life. And I couldn't drink, I couldn't go out.

I just went home and slept and drank water and came back and because I felt a huge responsibility to the people that were buying tickets to be it on my best on my best game. And yeah, and I that was my life. Um. She also said, Julie Andrews on your thing that you asked her about doing the same roll over and over it and I just figured out things that that no acting class could teach me, or it was just I would have hit a plateau like two years in like that was my personal best.

And then a year later, no, that was my personal best. So I kept challenging myself and get trying to get better and trying to tell the story more clearly and more economically. And you did l A for how long? I did two and a half years at the Amondson And then uh, I thought, I bought a house in Hollywood Hills, and I just I'm gonna start my TV and film career and you know, and and that didn't and how called He said, would you would you poor thing?

He would you open the show for us in San Francisco? I said, oh, sure, like so I did it four months up there. I was on my way back to l A literally and uh starting mine. Then he kind called again and he goes, you know what, Uh, it's not right. I think you should come back to New York and show everybody what you've been doing for three years. And so I said, okay, so two and a half years at the Majestic And so when you left l A and I'm sure it was a very comfortable life

for you, and he went back to New York. What was that like, uh, well as now it was fantastic as a dream come true, like I was playing the freaking family opera. Probably it's like it's not you know, a good perspective. Yeah, it was like how lucky? How lucky can one one person when you when Phantom is going to end in New York? Whose decision is that? What happens? For me? It was once again I was

home and hal caholed, how's your travelated from christ? He goes Davis Andrew and I are doing a new show and together first once since we did Phantom, and we want you to be in it. And I went, well, can I once again? Could I sing something for you? Because is there anything you can't sing? And I said, well probably yeah, no, just just just stay putting Phantom. We'll pull you out when the time comes. And that's how it happened. Um it was called whistle down the

wind Um hal cahold and said time to come. So I left the show, so mine it was gonna be a new show. How Prince Andrew Lord Howeber playing the lead Mine to originate a role on Broadway. It was like it was everything was great and we we we got to Washington, d C. And opened in the views were imagine didn't happen, no, and and we got okay reviews,

but Hall and Andrew didn't. And like the next day how I went to Spain and Andrew back to England and left us there and they were they were Marquis was up at the st James were coming in and then um, last night they came on stage and told us that it was the stay chance, because where do you want your trunk to go? I said, I guess back to l A, so that that was my one chance to come back. They pull you from and then Washington and then you know, I went back and didn't

have a job anymore. But but then I think I did Phantom one more time in Los Angeles at the Pentage. Is just like six months or so. Yeah, um, but yeah, whatever House said, you do. I'm at some show. I want to say. It's like a good benefit for the round About or something like back in the nineties, maybe

late nineties I think. And McIntosh is there at the table and he says Mr Baldwin, and he's very gleaming and very shiny, and he says, Mr Baldwin, I like very much for you to come and meet with my staff and I and we'll talk to about doing a play a musical. And I said, well, I said, I don't think nonsense, Mr Is, that anyone can sing, and he is, and this is a part that was made for You're born to play the spot and he said, it's we're going to do the Witches of east Wick.

Can I want you to assay the role played by Jack Nicholson in the film, the lead male role. And I said, oh god, that sounds phenomenal. And you I'm in such a boundless admirer of you. But I said, you don't want me to do this. You don't want me to do this, I said of Mr Boaldwin, nonsense. I want you to meet with Is. You're going to meet with my New York based music director John Clark, and he will take you through some tunes and he will take so we go to his apartment on the

Upper West Side, this old old building. We're going and you got the piano and we're singing. Just say that word and our beach your bird down to a Polco bay. I'm doing all my Sonatra rip offs. I'm doing it. I'm'm doing impersonation. So I can't sing. I finally get to like the third song, you know, John larry By or whatever his name was, and he stops the piano in the middle of song. We're literally, we're literally in the middle of the song. He goes, Mr Bould, and

I believe you are. He says, you really really come sing. You were listening to my conversation with the actor Davis Gains. If you're a Broadway fan, here's a quiz. Gains is to the phantom as Audrey McDonald is too. Well. Maybe it's a trick question. You could say Porgy or Billie Holiday, But to me, the answer is Carrie Pittbridge, the spunky

mill worker with the best songs in Carousel. It was her breakthrough role, performed in the shadow of her alma mater, Juilliard, where she had once felt so hopeless that she tried to take her own life to then open in Carousel at Lincoln Center, where you can look up and I can see this school that I had a hard time in and and I remember standing in those windows seeing Patty Lapone performing there, going why am I not doing that? And then how do you feel? Um like lucky survivor

in the world. You can find the rest of that conversation with Audrew McDonald. If you text Audre, that's a U D R A to the number seven zero one zero one. I'm Alec Baldwin and you're listening to hear is the thing. Davis Gaines is remarkably unassuming for a Broadway leading man, but he nonetheless has got friends in high places. The entire Bush family, for one, starting with the late President George H. W. Bush. I sang in Orlando for a cancer center gala benefit and h W

was the speaker. I had met him during the Whistle Down the Wind Time in Washington, had a picture, but he doesn't remember, but I did. And so then after the show he came up and said, Barbara would really like you, and thanks, like, yeah, her birthday is coming up and I'm gonna get my boys and we're gonna do something. But what's your email? So I gave him my email address. Two weeks later he wrote and said would I come and sing for Barbara Bush's seventy surprise

birthday party in Kennebunkport. I said yes, yes, you know I can't. I cannot pass this out of course, And so it was amazing experience. Barbara Bush ran that family, and she was the boss and she had a mouth like a sailor. She was an amazing lady. I loved her. But they just took me in and h W said, what are you doing tomorrow Sunday? I said, I'm going back to New York because well, come I a house for coffee and donuts. I said, okay. So I walk in.

There's no servants, no secret service. Really to park and went in the house and there's Henry Kitsons, you're going. Good job last night, David's good job, and thank you general, thank you so much. And then h W goes, there's coffee in the kitchen, go help yourself. And so I was in the dining room, um, hanging out, and George W walked in. W W walked in and said, good morning, having no how are you doing? How you doing? It's like feeling fine, feeling fine. It ran for a couple

of hours after church, feeling good. So good for you. And he goes, can I ask you a question? He said, yeah, he Um, can you learn how to sing? Or is it something you're born with? And I said, good question. I think one can learn to sing, but you probably have to have some musicality in your head. Maybe long pause again and he goes, well, I don't know shit about singing, but you probably got the best boys in America, and so well, thank you so much. And then I

looked around. All the out of town guests were gone but me and the Bush and I said, oh my god, I just me and him. Now I better get going, and he goes, no, no, no, no, stay for lunch. And I said, I really overstayed my welcome. Look there's mama was putting out lunch stuff and I got to go. He goes, no, no, no. If you're gonna pick a day to eat here, this is the day because we're having tacos. And I went, oh wow, I love me

some tacos. I said, you better go ask your mom if I can stay, because you're right wait right here. So he went in the kitchen to ask Barbara bushop I can stay for lunch, comes out and goes, you're in. So I was his little buddy all day long, and pinching myself undertainb why pinching myself like thanks, Oh my gosh. Do you know when you go out there every night

the effect you have on people? No, but no, no, but you know know, but sometimes like that's the goals to move people or you know or um, like in Phantom, like if I didn't feel like I had a if I wasn't my best that night, there was a huge long embarrass bow that we had to do, like stage left, stage right in the middle of I said short bow, short bow, because I didn't think I deserve I didn't deserve that all that. So yeah, I go out there trying to do my best, and it's nice when people

laugh or cry. Um. Yeah, it's nice to do that to feel that. I love that the show you go back six months of the amis and then what happens then you know, I just uh settled back in l A and so a lot of concerts. Yeah, I do a lot of concert work. Enjoy that, yeah very much. So pays the bills and people want to come see very muchself. Could you need to do anything? I get to do what I want to do. But what's great about that is like I get to sing. I can sing.

It only takes a moment as that character, as Cornelius, I can do Fagan. I can sing uh reviewing the situation. As Fagan, I I can go impossible possible dream and every every song has it. I've become a character, which that's what I love to do, and so like morph into that and then I can just sing, you know, normal standards or some standards that you were. What are some of your favorite I did on an album Sammy

Contunes because I sang at his memorial service. I wonder if that's the go to what these guys are dying and they're saying, you know, I love you, Irene. And one more thing, Yes, Sammy, you gotta get Davis my memorial. You know who. Michael Schilders is, the photographer. He called me the day to come sing at a funeral of someone I didn't know, but it's so sure. And then I was sitting next to him because you know you're singing at my funeral on it? No I didn't. I

didn't know that, Michael. He said, you know you sing at John Schlessinger's funeral. I went, you're too kind. How did the film and TV thing go many years? Well? I did a lot during the fense when I was spent him. They wanted me as a guest star on Vernics Closet with Kristie Alley, and I did it. Murder she wrote with Angela Lansbury and those guests, Things Charmed and all those. But since then, I have no representation Los Angeles, so I don't go out on anything. You

don't want to? Yeah, I do, but I don't have an agent, so that stuff has kind of fall off. I don't. I don't really have anybody to book me in concerts and clubs or music anymore. So people just come to me and say, well, I sing um, I definitely want to, but I'm only I'm really good when I'm working. When I'm not working, I'm not so good. And you know, as a person, and as I get what do you mean, any get anti depressed? And when I'm on stage. When I'm on stage, I'm like the

long as you went where you didn't work? Oh gosh, months six months year, six months? A year? Maybe, so let's let's say we'll split the differences nine months. Maybe we'll say a year. And without getting to too much detail, I don't want to pride. But when you say you get answer it? What what's what does that say? I don't feel like I'm worth what do you do? What

do you want to tell? This? Interesting? So I don't I just I probably wanted to quit many times the business, like I don't know else, but I don't know else to do, but I would rather I mean, the part of me wants to just have a normal job, like a normal person. But on the Phantom, like its happened on and the Majestic. Um. I was probably you know, five years, five and a half years into the run, and for whatever reason, I just hit me, Um, I

was at the organ. I had just came in and I was Phantom was going at the organ in the beginning of the show, and I just burst out into tears like me not the Phantom, I had to use it. And I just realized that that moment, like I only felt worth anything or loved between eight o'clock and ten thirty every day. It's like I went there's and I loved what I did, and I just loved it. But I realized there's got to be more to life than

Phantom or between our job, TV business and film business. Yeah, so I just like knew that I just had this thing like that I only felt worth anything in those hours that I was there to work on that. Yeah, I went just there at me. The next probably the next day, I found a great therapist here. But I realized, Yeah, and it's always a balance now just to you know, be happy, um doing not working. But but when I appreciate when I get on stage even more now because

I've just it's like home. It's like, don't to me exactly, don't let it define you in the way that it's going to cripple you. Yeah, And when I did when I did I did this Joe Orton play. I did another Joe Orton play after we did Luton eight six Entertaining was just Sloan in two thousand four. And I'll never forget when I had the scenes with the young guy.

I'm ed the middle aged of brother with you know, my sister lives in the house with my father, and then this male hustler shows up and I'm this bisexual man who's in love with and Chris Carmack. And I remember the moment when I was alone with Chris on stage for some of the funniest parts of the play. I remember saying to myself, oh my god, I never want this to end, because I don't have as much fun anywhere else. Right. This is before I met my

wife and my kids. This is two thousand four. I met my wife and too in eleven so seven years prior in the in the thick of my divorce, and my life was hell and custody, battles from my daughter and just everything outside the doors in the theater was shit. And I'd walk into that theater, I thought, I know exactly what I'm going to say for the next two and a half hours. I know exactly what you're gonna say. I know exactly how they're going to react, and people

will love you. And I was, yeah, I never had more fun in my life. He's like, that's line from applause. I'm only alive at night when I'm in the show. It's like, that's what I gotta do. That's what I do. Now? Would you do shows? Now? Yeah? I mean I do most of my stuff in l A. But I've got the thing about living there, Like the last ten years, I got to play roles that I never would have

played here. What's the least. I just played Nostradamis in Something Rotten, and then up Fagin and Oliver and music Man and silence the musical Hannibal Electors. That's that's the nastiest but the greatest silence of the lambs of the music and you played lect her. Yeah, you could probably of beans and everything. The song my first song, it's like I can't even speaking on My parents were so

great about coming to everything I ever did. And that's the only show, the first song that you can't I can smell your blank if I knew if I could smell her w Yeah, it's huge. Oh god, what is that you've done? The gamut was something really fun. I just play with Rita Rudner a comedy just the two of us kind of and and uh so, yeah, I love doing all different kinds. Not to sing, but I can, but I don't have to. But it's fun to do

all those different things. Uh. And what I'm wondering are their songwriters and are their individual songs get you name a couple that you never tire of singing. Gosh, there's a song Sammy con the words that he wrote and he won four Oscars and twenty Oscar nominations all that music that he wrote. His words are amazing. It's me.

There's a his his one of his favorite songs that my favorite song that he wrote was from a Broadway show called Skyscraper, and it's called I'll only miss her when I think of her, and it's like just a simple poem. It just I never tired of singing something like that, songs that are are sad, songs that hit

the heart and UM like listening to. Like when John Rate was old in his eighties and I was doing Phantom in l A. We did concerts together, me and John Ray and it was my and I would we would sing if I Loved You together as a duet or hey, they're from Pajama Game, and I watched I would watch him sing soloquy and then he watched me singing music to night and it was like a dream

come true. Why Why? Why me? And and be able to like having Rosemary Clooney come backstage in l A after Phantom and said, I can listen to you sing all day. I said, no, Rosemary Clooney, and she give me your home phone and call me. It's like, I just don't embases me. And I'll bring this full circle

back to Carol Channing's memorial. The other day, I was in the wings in rehearsal sound check with Time Daily and we were talking about how lucky we are too to be there and keep working and be there and keep working and how much? And she goes, yeah, I felt she thought I felt so great about being in the golden end of television with Cagney and Lacey and then I then Gypsy on Broadway, and I said, yeah, I just feel the same way, like I don't know

why me? And why did I get to work with George Jabbott and how Prince and Carol Channing and Richard Burton and and um, I just don't sometimes can't put process it, like I loved it. It was a dream, but I and I don't know why me? Um? And then she just put her hand on my chest and goes, why not you? And I went it was like a lightbulb moment for me, like wow, why not me? And I'm told us to people since then, and it's like if I only knew that twenty years ago, thirty years ago,

why not me? It would have mind emitted given me that thing. But now this week just just I'm here talking to you and and why not me? And I I'm so grateful and I can't wait. I just you know what I want to say as we go out of this show. Sometimes it will wraps itself up perfectly, does it wait, we'll tell you why, because we're gonna play some music as we go out here, and when I play this music, everyone will know what I know, which is when you say why me, This is why.

The music we're going to play right now, this is why because you are literally one of the greatest singers ever in thank you so much. I love you too, Davis Games. While you were seeing now One Manue Low, I saught one all my old I'm Alec Baldwin and you're listening to Here is the thing us know Heavens he dont le