Encores! is lucky to have Gavin Lee, a two-time Tony nominee, step in as Fagin in ''Oliver!,'' and I'm not surprised to hear he's fabulous.
I first saw Lee as Bert in ''Mary Poppins,'' and he did that terrific tap-dancing solo, upside-down, at the top of the proscenium.
I got to interview him for Playbill.com, and there was ''no happier bloke'' from Britain making his Broadway debut.
That season, Lee won the Drama Desk for Featured Actor in a Musical. And that year, the Drama Desk decided to hold a special reception to present the winners with their awards, now engraved. Among two dozen invited Drama Desk winners, the only ones to show up were the cast of ''In the Heights'' and Lee. He made the time and was a gracious class act. The no-shows, who apparently had scheduling issues or couldn't be bothered or didn't care, included Frank Langella, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Debra Monk, Boyd Gaines, Martha Plimpton ... and Raul Esparza. |
