For Alli Sutton, a return to Philadelphia’s Academy of Music is a chance to come full circle. The Abington native, who grew up in Hatboro, is touring with the first national production of 'The Great Gatsby,' the Broadway musical inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, which arrives in Philadelphia Oct. 20 through Nov. 1.
A Point Park University musical theater graduate, Sutton previously toured with 'Hadestown' and now performs in the 'Gatsby' ensemble while understudying characters Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson.
Sutton recently sat down with Metro to discuss her journey from local theatergoer to touring performer, how the Tony Award-nominated musical — with a book by fellow Pennsylvania native Kait Kerrigan — gives new perspective to the women at the heart of the story, and what life on the road has taught her.
I'm from Hatboro and we’d always come into Philly for my birthday to see something at The Academy. We saw 'Les Misérables' there, which is still one of my favorites, and we saw 'Wicked' with Jessica Vosk.
I didn't grow up doing a whole lot of theater, actually. I did a couple of shows in middle school — I was Flounder in 'The Little Mermaid.' But when I was in high school, I didn't really have a community for that, so I actually delved into voice training and studied opera. That gave me a totally different understanding of the voice and how to sing like an athlete, and that gave me the love for this. I went to college for musical theater in Pittsburgh, which sort of tied everything all together for me.
'Gatsby' wasn't even really on my radar. It's so funny how this business works. I was on the national tour of 'Hadestown' at the time, and I got an audition for the production of 'Gatsby' that was happening in Seoul, Korea. The timing didn't work out, and I couldn't get to New York because I was in the middle of nowhere on tour. I was like, ‘Okay, you know, if it's meant to be, it'll come back’. And a couple of months later, I got an audition again for this tour.
I was always auditioning for Jordan, specifically. So, then I went through the whole audition process. I did a taped audition, then a couple in person, then a dance audition. They told me they were looking at me for ensemble to cover, and they told me I had to do a lift, and I'm not even a dancer, so I was very intimidated by that. But I went in and [tap dancer, choreographer] Kurt Csolak from Broadway was there, and he helped me figure out the lift.
I watched the movie again with Leonardo DiCaprio during this audition process, and it just got me so excited because it’s such a classic love story. I was so happy to delve into this big Broadway after doing such a different show.
The novel is written in first person and it's from Nick's perspective. Our book writer, Kait Kerrigan, wrote this version from third person, and it raises the female voices in the story a lot more. I cover both Myrtle and Jordan in this production, and in some of the other versions, they may not have had as much to say or as big of a plotline. They have a voice in this version, and that's very exciting to see. So I think audiences will be really thrilled about that.
Jordan felt really natural to me. She is very independent and strong and unwavering in her personality. I love tapping into that because I'm a little bit more shy in real life. Myrtle was never in my mind. I never auditioned for her until the very end, until my last callback, they had me sing for her and that one kind of came out of nowhere. Now I truly love her more than Jordan.
That tour was really unique. That was a non-equity tour, so it differs a lot from this one, just with scheduling. We would do one-nighters in cities and be traveling on a bus all of the time, so it really taught me about how tough touring can be — like the mental stamina that you need and how to preserve your body, your mind, and your peace. So much of that I've brought over to 'Gatsby' and it's benefited me greatly here.
Just seeing as many family members as I can at home. It’s so nice and grounding because it's never a guarantee when you're on tour when you'll be able to come back. I always love spending time with my mom and my brother when I come home.
They can come visit my family with me!
'The Great Gatsby' hits the stage at The Academy of Music from Oct. 20 to Nov. 1. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit ensembleartsphilly.org
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