DIVA TALK: Chatting with Mermaid's Chelsea Morgan Stock Plus News of Rivera, Marshall and Thomas
By Andrew Gans
07 Aug 2009
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Chelsea Morgan Stock
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News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.
CHELSEA MORGAN STOCK
With the imminent closing of The Little Mermaid — the lavish Disney musical will end its run Aug. 30 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre — it seemed a good time to check in with the show's new leading lady, Chelsea Morgan Stock. Stock, who made her Broadway debut in Mermaid's ensemble, succeeded original star Sierra Boggess as Ariel, the golden-voiced mermaid who longs to "be where the people are," June 2. I recently chatted with the young singing actress, a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music, about her Broadway bow, working onstage opposite Tony Award winner Faith Prince (Ursula) and TV and film star Drew Seeley (Prince Eric), and her plans for the future.
Question: Let's start at the beginning. Where you were born and raised?
Chelsea Morgan Stock: I was born and raised in San Jose, CA.
Question: When did you start performing?
Stock: I started dancing when I was probably two. I started doing musicals when I was eight or nine.
Question: Were there any singers or actors at that time who may have influenced you?
Stock: Actually, my aunt [Janie Scott] made her Broadway debut in Peter Pan at the Lunt-Fontanne in the eighties. She got me dancing and singing: She was probably my first inspiration in that sense.
Question: Did you perform in high school shows?
Stock: I did tons and tons and tons of shows!
Question: What were some of the most memorable for you?
Stock: I definitely played Annie once. I worked at TheatreWorks in Mountain View [CA.], and I played Young Violet in the West Coast premiere of Violet — that was pretty amazing. And then in high school I got to play Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street and Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Ariel in Footloose.
Question: Back then, were you were more a belter or a soprano?
Stock: Belter, definitely.
Question: When did performing change for you from a hobby to knowing it would be your career?
Stock: I think I always knew that this is what I wanted to pursue, so my intention was to go to college for it, which is what I did. It was kind of a build-up getting ready for college, and in college it was a build-up getting ready for a career. It was a pretty quick move for me right out of college.
Question: What college did you go to?
Stock: I went to the Boston Conservatory.
Question: What was the training like at the Conservatory?
Stock: It was very rigorous, but I loved it. It was perfect for me. . . . I got out of it exactly what I needed. I had never had any really intense vocal training and, I think, at the school that's definitely what I got and that's definitely what I owe the most to.
Question: Has your family been supportive?
Stock: Oh, yeah! They're super-supportive. They've seen [Mermaid] a million times.
Question: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Stock: I have one sister. Whitney Danson.P>
Question: Does she also perform?
Stock: She did. She went to Millikin [University] for musical theatre as well. She was out here for a little bit. Then she got married and moved back home, and she heads up the dance department at our high school.
Question: Is she older or younger?
Stock: She's older.
Question: When did you get to New York?
Stock: I got to New York May '07.… I got the [Mermaid] job during my Christmas break senior year of college. . . . I got to do my showcase in May, I got to graduate at the end of May, and then I started rehearsals for Mermaid in June.
Question: What was the audition process like to take over the lead role?
Stock: They didn't have me go back in to audition. I was actually on understudying that week for Sierra [Boggess]. I didn't know they were having this whole nationwide search – no one ever actually told me. [Laughs.] So I was surprised to know that. They were gonna have me come in, but they realized that since I was on that week they could come watch me. So the producers and people who hadn't necessarily seen it before, or seen as much as they wanted to, came and saw me, and that was pretty much my audition. . . . I played Andrina and was an understudy since the beginning. I was kind of the understudy who would go on all the time. There were two of us at the beginning, and one of the other understudies left. I was the one who had really been around since the beginning, so I was kind of the go-to girl for awhile.
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Chelsea Morgan Stock and Drew Seeley in The Little Mermaid
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| photo by Joan Marcus |
Question: What was your reaction when you found out you would be taking over the role permanently?
Stock: I was very relieved! [Laughs.] I knew that they could go so many different ways. It's still a business. They could have thought it would be easier to find somebody else just to replace that role than to replace my role and the understudy and all that. So I was ready to hear any answer, but I was definitely relieved when I found out.
Question: What's it been like playing Ariel eight times a week?
Stock: It's great. It's so fulfilling to be able to play a role in the first place and not be in the ensemble. It's amazing to have that direct effect on audience members and obviously the little girls and everybody who look up to Ariel so much.
Question: I went back last night and there was a little boy behind me who, every few minutes, said in this tiny voice, "Is that Ariel? Is that the real Ariel?" What are some of the comments you've heard from the stage or do you not hear much?
Stock: I hear a good amount. [Laughs.] There's one point where [Prince Eric is] asking me, "What's your name?" and that's the first part of Act Two, and I can't speak. Often there'll be a little kid out in the audience that yells out, "Ariel!" and answers for me. [Laughs.] That's a common one.
Question: Is it hard not to laugh when you hear these little voices?
Stock: Yeah, it's hard not to get distracted. Continued...
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