Actor takes the long way
By Tim Ryan
to a life on the stage
Star-BulletinDavid Spangenthal's route to a career in musical theater has been, well, just a bit circuitous. It started simply enough in the fifth grade, when he attended a junior high production of "The Wizard of Oz" and knew, he says, "performing is what I want to do with my life."
Then in high school on a dare he become his school's first male cheerleader, eventually leading the squad to state titles in 1992 and 1993 and a second national ranking in 1993. Spangenthal would go on to perform as a clogger on "Hee-Haw," then as an extra - a Hare Krishna dressed in a bright orange toga and bald cap - in "Halloween VI."
"Sometimes the shortest route to a goal is not a straight line," said Spangenthal, 23, co-star with Lolly Totero in Diamond Head Theatre's "Crazy For You."
The cheerleading got Spangenthal a scholarship to the University of Utah. After two years his parents asked him if leading cheers was going to be his life's work.
Soon Spangenthal transferred to Weber State University in Ogden to study musical theater and a week after graduating, the 21-year-old moved to New York, where he slept on the floor of a friend's apartment for two months and through countless auditions, until he was hired for the national tour of "Crazy For You."
"I was very, very lucky," said Spangenthal. "In Utah I had been a big fish in a little pond. When I got to New York I found myself at auditions surrounded by so many talented people who were all unemployed.
"There are a lot of 6-foot-tall guys who can dance and sing well. Many times the choice is made not only on talent but what you look like, whether you can fit into the previous actor's costume."
In a physical show like "Crazy" - there are more than 20 song and dance numbers - Spangenthal's cheerleading background has come in very handy.
"I learned jumps and tumbles and lifts in cheerleading and I do a lot of lifts in 'Crazy,' " he said.
"Crazy For You" is the story of a young banker who heads west to foreclose on a rundown theatre in Deadrock, Nev., and winds up falling in love with the theater owner's daughter. Together they turn Deadrock into a theatrical Mecca, filled with song and dance and hilarious dialogue. The show includes such classic tunes as "I've Got Rhythm," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Slap Dat Bass," and "Embraceable You."
There are 29 cast members in the two-hour-26-minute show.
Spangenthal performs on stage "probably 85 percent of the show" and has several solo numbers, said John Rampage, who is directing the show with Totero.
It was Totero who recommended Spangenthal for the role of Bobby Child. She was his dance captain when he was first hired for a six-month stint on the national tour. After the tour, Spangenthal did the musical in Atlantic City, Vancouver and Europe before Rampage snagged him for Hawaii.
Then the actors' affliction hit him: unemployment.
"Our agreement with David was he would perform at Diamond Head unless he got an offer for a Broadway show," Rampage said. "So, yes, selfishly we have been praying that call didn't come."
Honolulu may not have the bright lights of Broadway, but there is one advantage to community theater, Rampage said.
"In community theater, people all want to be here because they love acting. It's not simply a job."
On stage
What: David Spangenthal (above) and Lolly Totero star in "Crazy For You"
