I dreamed I met a local thespian, a most amazing man. He had that look you rarely find— the happy, cheerful kind! So we’ll take some liberties with Lloyd-Webber’s lyrics to suit our story, but in the first of an on-going series entitled “Local Limelight” we bring to the table, Paul Ballard— an area actor who has been involved with theatre for over 20 years in the Baltimore community scene, and some several years prior to that with some decades of being a lawyer in-between. Currently performing as Pontius Pilate in Third Wall Productions’ Jesus Chris Superstar and actively in rehearsals for Woodbrook Players’ Into The Woods, Paul sat down with us to talk about theatre and his current production.

Thanks for giving us some of your time— particularly pre-rehearsal during tech-week for Jesus Christ Superstar! How long would you say you’ve been doing theatre?

Paul Ballard: There were two phases of my community theatre career. When I was young— quite young, so 16 to 20— my parents actually ran a community theater in Baltimore. It was called Mansion Theater and that was in the late 1970’s. I acted in that and I stage-managed. First thing I did was stage manager, I learned how to do that. Then I took acting classes with Barry Feinstein. He was just beginning to give acting classes at that time back at the old Corner Theatre, and I was like 16 years old. I’m basically a high school dropout who later became an attorney. At that time, I was not so great emotionally but acting helped me get through that. Especially method acting, which Barry taught; it was very cathartic. You do sense memory, emotional memory, you learn how to breathe properly and how to relax.  

Then I got a lot of positive feedback for acting, which I always view as positive feedback for being a human being. Because acting allows you to be more fully human, that’s why I love to do acting. I was doing a lot of acting at Essex Community College— they had this open-door policy, even though I’d dropped out— so I never actually took my SAT but I did get my GED and was at Essex before I transferred to Morgan. I did a couple of shows at Essex Community College. I did Death of a Salesman as Biff. Then I did a French farce, I can never remember the character’s name but he was a very rant-y character. It was fun.

I was very serious about acting at the time. The last thing I did before law school was a bit part in Center Stage’s Inherit The Wind. I love that play and I want to do it again. I want to be able to do one of the two lawyers, I’m age appropriate now and I want to do one of them instead of just a bit part but it was really fun. And it was actually very fulfilling because I was able to talk with professional actors after the show. I got to talk to them about their lives. I got to talk with Denise Koch, who was in that cast, she was playing daughter. She and I share a commonality— we’re both preacher’s kids. And she was great. It’s always funny when I see her on TV because I can think about how we were in that cast together.

I was just a bit part then but the nice thing about that bit part was I started out as a photographer and then became a reporter. So I was basically on stage most of the time. And I took notes on these actors acting. I could watch them work, do my own work watching them work and get paid a little money too. After every show I’d have a drink with the guy who played the mayor and I would talk to him about his life as an actor. Then there was a couple, who played Brady and the wife, and they were a real-life acting couple. They told me it was a wonderful thing for them to get to work together because usually they had to follow the work and they’d be acting in different places from one another. It was a real education for me.

But then I thought— I don’t want to starve; I better go to law school. So that’s what I did. I kept performing; I juggle and I sing, I’ve always kept singing. But I always thought once I became a lawyer that theatre would be too much work and too much to balance. But then in 2003, Jeffrey Hines was doing an original piece— A Baltimore Christmas Carol musical— and he was reading for it. So I went ahead and read for it and he cast me in the reading. The following year they did an actual production at The Patterson Theatre and because their Young Fred couldn’t do it, I ended up being cast. It was really amazing— it was this romantic lead and I just remembered how much fun I had.

I realized it wasn’t at all a problem, doing the acting while being a lawyer, if anything it energized me for the next day at work. Once I found that, I started looking for other opportunities. I guess I’ve been doing it the last 20 years. There were a couple of gaps in there here and there. I actually moved to part-time work during the pandemic and will be retiring soon, which will hopefully leave even more time for performing.

You clearly have a storied past with theatre. Do you have a favorite role that you’ve done in your history?

Paul: I would say George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life.

Oh my goodness! You played George Bailey? That’s one of my favorite Christmas stories of all time! How did I miss that? Now I’m sad.

Paul: You did see. You reviewed it. This was Pasadena Theatre Company, 2014, with the last Chuck Dick directing.

It’s all coming back to me now. Chuck, may he rest in peace, played Henry F. Potter in that production too. Now, why George Bailey? As one of your favorite roles of all time over any of the others that you’ve played?

Paul: George Bailey is everything. He’s a romantic character. He’s a funny character. He has pathos. He’s at the end of his rope, he transforms. He’s everything. My favorite kind of character is the kind of character who transforms, who grows in some way. Last year, when I played Captain von Trapp at two different theatre companies a few months apart, I really got to play with a transformed character. I loved playing that role because he transforms. You can just see the transformation right there in the character. That’s always a wonderful thing as an actor, to have that challenge. And I’m trying to actually use that with Pilate because Pilate too is a transforming character. It’s a much more compressed transformation but it is a transformation in terms of how he grows. The lightbulb goes on for him. I find it very interesting, playing these types of characters where makes them change the way they look at life. That’s the kind of character I love the most.

My favorite kind of play is one that makes you laugh and cry. It’s rather fascinating. Part of the method-acting training that I learned is that laughter and tears are very close. Physiologically they’re very close. I remember my mother, bless her soul, when she found something very funny— and this happens to a lot of people— she started crying. She would laugh to the point of crying. That’s actually the way your body works. A lot of times in order to be able to cry about something you need to be able to laugh about it too. The whole saying, “If I couldn’t laugh about it I’d cry?” Well there’s a lot of truth to that! And that carries forward in acting.

That’s one of the things that I really love most about acting. Acting is saying, “Go ahead, be a human being. Be fully human.” And then you get a character like Pilate— I mean talk about being fully human— you go from basically sadist to ‘how can I help you?’ You go from sadist to compassion in a heartbeat. It’s pretty amazing for this character and I love that kind of character. Of course it’s also fun to play characters who get a beautiful song to sing.

Pilate has two songs, I think? Though only “Pilate’s Dream” might be described as ‘beautiful.’ Now, is this your first time performing in Jesus Christ Superstar?

Paul: Yes. I’ve never done Superstar before. It’s not a style of singing that I generally do. I’m generally more ‘classic Broadway’ musical style. That’s where the training in my voice lies, that more classical style. It’s a new experience for me doing this but it’s one that I really love. I’m so old that when the demo-concert-album came out, like many people my age or even younger than me, listened to the album until it would warp. You would just listen to it over and over and over again until the album literally warped. Which made it kind of funny learning the lines— the lyrics— for this thing, because so much of it was already in my head but then there are other pieces that they added on stage. So I was constantly stopping and going “Oh, wait a minute, there’s other stuff going on here.” Having lived with that album on that primal-emotional level as a teenager, I find it interesting that I get to do it now in my later life. I’m just grateful for the opportunity; I never thought I would ever play Pontius Pilate.

And this is your…third show? No…your second show with Third Wall Productions?

Paul: Just my second. I did The Sound of Music with them last year.

I feel I see you everywhere— this side of town, the other side of town, here there and all over.

Paul: Yeah, pretty much. I go where they want me. It is nice being a man who can sing and who is wanted and who is reliable.

Reliable is half the battle, especially in community theatre!

Paul: It’s funny because I really feel that. As a director, the few times I’ve directed, that was always my primary thought when casting. “Is this person reliable? Will they show up?” We can work with the rest of it but we definitely need them to show up and be there.

Is there a dream role or a bucket-list role that you haven’t conquered yet?

Paul: It’s funny you ask that because I did von Trapp, I played Emile de Becque in South Pacific with St. Gabriel Miracle Players. And Emile de Becque was my dream role. That was my absolute dream role. One of the reasons it was my dream role, and not just for the great songs, but because that was my parents’ song, “Some Enchanted Evening.” My father really turned me onto classical Broadway going up. He had acted too, earlier in life. He had actually acted on a showboat for a little bit. So Showboat was a very meaningful musical for me. I thought that “Make Believe” must have been their song. I sang “Make Believe” as a part of his eulogy. I didn’t know this, but my mother came up to me afterward and said, “Actually, our song was ‘Some Enchanted Evening.’ And I just had no idea. I got to cherish that memory every time I sang that song while playing that role and it was just a beautiful, beautiful thing.

After I finished Emile de Becque, I told everyone that I was content. If never did another role ever again, I would be okay. The funny thing is though, as soon as I said that, all these roles started popping up. “Do you want to do Pontius Pilate?” Sure! “Do you want to be Baker?” for Into The Woods— they open May 4^th 2024. And all of the sudden all of these roles are just popping up and I get to say yes.

Aha, Woodbrook Players. Now will Into The Woods be your first Sondheim?

Paul: No. I actually just did Merrily We Roll Along back in January of this year down in Greenbelt. That show was just sort of impulse because I saw a post on Facebook that they needed someone to fill-in in the cast. And I thought, “Wow, I’ve never done Merrily We Roll Along, why not?” The funny, with you asking about Sondheim, the first time I heard about Merrily We Roll Along was when I did Sunday in the Park with George at Fells Point Corner Theatre back in 2006. They don’t do musicals anymore. But that was one of the first musicals I did when I first came back to theatre after becoming a lawyer. Bill Kamberger took a chance on me and he cast me as Franz and Dennis. I really enjoyed doing that show. I remember being in the wings with Adele Russell, who I just did a cabaret with, and she was my wife in that show and it was a grand time. She and I were there with Mike Ware, God rest his soul, and the three of us were in the wings, waiting to go on, and Mike says to Adele, “you know what’s a really good show that they never do? Merrily We Roll Along.” And that always stuck with me.

When I went to that first rehearsal for Merrily, I could hear shades of Sunday in the Park. Merrily We Roll Along had a ridiculous short run, maybe two weeks? The critics totally blasted it when it debuted on Broadway. But there’s so much of Sunday in the Park that sounds just like Merrily, it has always reminded me of that. And then I’ve done Into The Woods with Memorial Players, I think you saw that one too, I played Mysterious Man back in 2018. That was a great production.

I’ve given up counting how many productions of Into The Woods I’ve covered over the years. There’s a whole bunch of Sondheim out there but that seems to be the one everyone wants to do.

Paul: It’s pretty popular. I would love to be a part of A Little Night Music or Folles. I would absolutely love to do Folles. I remember seeing it up in Cecil County. If that wasn’t so far away from me, I would just go audition up there. It always seems like they’re doing something that I’d want to perform in, but they’re just so far away!

Because you’re over in Catonsville?

Paul: Well, Arbutus.

Aha! I grew up in Lansdowne, so I know exactly where Arbutus is.

Paul: We literally straddle the city line but we’re still just on this side of the county. We moved to Arbutus in 1990. I grew up in Parkville. Now, when I did The Sound of Music for Third Wall last year, I auditioned in Towson. I thought I was going to be doing a show in Towson.

Yep. Third Wall thought they were going to be doing a show in Towson too.

Paul: Yeah. I got cast and then a few day later, it was “Hey, we’re moving!” Actually it was more “Does anybody have a place where we can move to?” And they found this place (Chestnut Grove Presbyterian in Phoenix) and it was wonderful. Except then I realized it just added an extra 15-20 minutes to my commute for the show. But it was a wonderful experience, a wonderful production, I’m so glad I did it.

Now, if you want to encourage people to come out and see the current production of Jesus Christ Superstar here at Third Wall Productions, which runs for three weekends, what would you tell them as to why they should come see it?

Paul: There are some incredible actors. I love the choreography. The direction is wonderful. I think people are going to love it. I really do. I’m really excited about tackling this role too. It’s going to be such a departure for me. Lenny Taube said “It’s going to be really interesting seeing you in this role. Pilate is cruel.” And I think he’s right.

Well Lenny’s right, Pilate is cruel, but he also ends up growing, or as you said, transforming. He’s got cruelty but he grows into compassion.

Paul: Yeah, he begins with this lovely ballad, “Pilate’s Dream” and then he’s very cruel when he meets Jesus but that quickly changes. It’s very suddenly, “Wait a minute, what’s going on here?” during the trial. And he becomes compassionate. But he gets hemmed in. The way he keeps peace is he has a deal with Sanhedrin— you keep the peace, I’ll do what you need me to do, you keep them under control. But then he has to ask himself, “Why do they need to keep this seemingly delusion person under control? What is wrong with these people?”

From his point of view, I think he thinks Jesus is just crazy. At first it’s “oh you’re a king, which means you’re a rebel.” So it’s easy to want to have him crucified because he can’t have any rebels. But then Jesus says stuff about truth, and Pilate thinks “well, I can dialogue with people about truth. What’s your truth? Talk to me.” And as he gets this truth, all these questions come up. “Where are the armies? What exactly is Jesus doing to disrupt the peace? What is he doing to rebel against Caesar or against the Pax Romana?” And the answer is nothing. But all these people are filled with hatred towards this man Jesus. And there’s no way to explain it.

Pilate goes from the routine of “Oh yeah, just kill the latest rebel; go kill the next one claiming to be the Messiah.” Because the Messiah would mean that he wants to become the new king. To me, Pilate is a very profound role. Because for me Pilate could be anyone— could be any one of us to be put in that position— where someone who is totally foreign to us is brought to us with this ‘I’m looking for truth’ but it’s contextualized that his truth is blasphemous. And blasphemy is a capital offense in the culture. So much of everything is wrapped around the theology; a whole people is wrapped around that theology. It’s just a great character. I wish he had more to do on stage, but what he does have to is so very packed in.

And it’s powerful too.

Paul: It’s very powerful. It’s fun to play roles that are kind of there at the climactic moment. Pilate disappears after his dream in the first act and then there he is for this critical moment where Jesus is about to be crucified; it’s pretty great.

I believe we call that a ‘princess track’ in musical theatre. You waltz on, do your one amazing thing, and waltz away.

Paul: There are roles like that— like when I did 1776 at Woodbrook Players back in 2018— and that was a great character to play. That was Rutledge. It makes you think, having to inhabit someone like that. In terms of an actor, it’s just wonderfully challenging. You get to be a ham. If you’re Rutledge, that’s your stage and your stage alone for those five to six minutes of that “Molasses to Rum” song. It’s great when you get moments like that. You remember those moments as an actor, I think. They stick with you.

What has been your big personal takeaway from getting to be a part of this production of Jesus Christ Superstar at Third Wall Productions? What are you learning about yourself?

Paul: It makes you think about what this show is really about. And that’s an interesting question because I have thought about this show off and on all my life and very much in my youth. Like I said, played the album until it warped. There’s something about it that grabs you. It’s the story; the story grabs us all. We have whole religions that are formed around this story. It’s an amazing story. And to have someone put music to it that just seemed to fit so well, it’s incredible. I think you can be very religious and be into this show and I think you can be non-religious and be into it, and you can be somewhere in-between and be into it. Because it’s all about humanity.

It is such much the humanity of these people and their struggles. You know, Judas’ doubts and what he thought Jesus would be and how he isn’t what he thought he would be but maybe he will be something better. That’s sort of the cross-section of Christianity. You thought we would get you these material things and that that would be the savior that you would need. You would have all of your daily needs taken care of and that would be your salvation. But it goes so much deeper than that. Can you love your enemy? Can you love me even though I’m not easy to love? And can you focus on love? To me, to be loved is God. Christ embodies love. That’s what I find in this show. And everyone is going to find something different in the show and you don’t have to be Christian to find them. It’s a wonderful experience.

I think about the time I went to England and we got to go to Bath. They have the Roman Baths and there was a museum. They talked about religion of the gods they were worshipping. And quite often, and unfortunately this is the case to this day, pretty much name your religion and this is the case, but basically “Dear God, I want to get back at my neighbor for something they did, can you please smote them?” Revenge prayers. Ouch. There seem to be two prevailing views on God. Either God is power. Or God is love. And there is that conflict here in Jesus Christ Superstar. Pilate says, “you’re king that must mean you want to rebel. You want power.” But Jesus says, “No. I want to love.” And how is Pilate supposed to handle that? Taking it even further— what kind of revolution would that be? A revolution of love? Love is far more powerful than winning armed battles.

The show takes the story from the bible, this wonderful story, and makes it accessible to everyone. It’s very powerful. And whenever you have something that has music like this that also hits the humanity in this direct, intense, forward way. In this immediately present way, goes right to the heart of humanity and it makes you take notice— it’s something extraordinary. It always fascinates me when anything shocks you out of your frame of reference. And I think that’s what has happened to Pilate. His whole frame of reference has been completely knocked askew. It really shakes him— realizing that he’s been asked to execute this innocent man. How many of us give in to go on and do what needs to be done? He doesn’t really want to give in, but he’s trapped. I think that’s why he’s so relatable; so many of us feel trapped when we do what we have to do to survive.

That is some really powerful stuff, Paul. Is there anything else you want to say about the production?

Paul: I do want to give a shout out to all of my fellow cast mates, who are really terrific. I don’t want to start trying to list everybody—

Nope, that’s just one more reason for people to come and see the show, so they can see all these wonderful cast mates! Now, which song is your favorite, “The Dream” or “The Trial?”

Paul: I love “The Dream.” “The Dream” is kind of like any ballad that I might ordinarily sing but with a little more profundity to it. “The Trial” is not a pretty thing to sing. It’s an acting challenge. I don’t really have the right voice for that style of song so some of it is going to be acting but you have to act it. It’s not “let me show you my wonderful voice for Pilate.”

No, we get that in the first half of the show with “Pilate’s Dream.”

Paul: Right! “The Trial” is a different approach. It’s much more, Paul Ballard: Actor in “The Trail” as opposed to Paul Ballard: Singer in “The Dream.” That song is much more in my wheelhouse. And Pilate as a whole is much more me as an actor, channeling my inner method— though I’m always hesitant to say that because whenever I say “method acting” I think people picture me going home with whips and wondering what I’m getting up to. I don’t mean anything like that. I took from method the lesson that you’re always trying to be authentic. Whenever I approach a character, I’m thinking, “if Paul Ballard were in this situation, how would that shape me?” Because people are looking for what I bring to the role. They’re not looking for my imitation of what somebody else has already brought to the role. I tend to shy away from watching what other people do with roles. In fact, one of the best compliments I’ve ever received was when I did George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life. A woman said to me, “You made me forget about Jimmy Stewart.” And that’s what I want. Otherwise, what are you doing it for?

If you had to sum up your experience of being here in Jesus Christ Superstar at Third Wall Productions in just one word, which one word would you use?

Paul: Revelation.

Jesus Christ Superstar plays March 8^th 2024 through March 24^th 2024 at Third Wall Productions, in residence at Chestnut Grove Presbyterian Church— 3701 Sweet Air Road in Phoenix, MD. Tickets are available by at the door or in advance online.

PLEASE NOTE:

FRIDAY & SATURDAY EVENING PERFORMANCES START AT 7:00pm

SUNDAY MATINEE PERFORMANCS START AT 3:00pm

For more information and ticketing info on the upcoming Woodbrook Players production of Sondheim’s Into The Woods, click here.

To read the next in the Local Limelight Interview Series, featuring actor Kelly Rardon, click here.