Actor's early start in 'Alice in Wonderland' leads to father role in 'The Sound of Music'

BY WYNNE W. WASSON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Russell Rowland made his acting debut in what he recently described as the itty-bitty part of the nameless frog's footman in a production of "Alice in Wonderland" at Midlothian Middle School.

Years would pass before Rowland realized the impact it would have on him.  But in retrospect, he said, the enchantment of that moment seems to have been the beginning of what's become a career path.

Now 21, Rowland has acted on stages in Pennsylvania and Utah as well as Virginia.  His current role landed him in Fredericksburg, closer to his Chesterfield County home than he's been for many months.

' Five times a week, he can be seen playing the lead role of Captain Georg von Trapp in Riverside Center's Dinner Theater production of Rodgers and Hamerstein's "The Sound of Music" The musical is based on a true story.

"They're in Austria just before the Nazis take over," Rowland said, setting the scene of the show.  As he talks, he seems to slip into character: "He's a captain in the Austrian Navy and he's commissioned to go into the Nazi Navy.  So we flee to Switzerland.  Eventually, we come to America as a singing group."

Rowland's transformation to patriarch von Trapp begins backstage with the graying of his hair and the aging of his face.

"He's such a complex character, so layered.  It's been a challenge playing someone that much older with all that life experience," said Rowland, temporarily inhabiting Fredericksburg digs for the run of the "The Sound of Music" which has already been extended through Feb. 13.

A 1996 graduate of Midlothian High School, Rowland said he approached the "Sound of Music" audition as practice.  He was thrilled as well as surprised when he was hired by the play's director and Riverside Center founder, Rollin E. Wehman.

"Russell has a wonderful baritone, a wonderful stage presence, very commanding for someone in his 20s," said Wehman, also the show's musical director.  "He's easy to direct.  I don't think I could have found anybody better if we'd gone to Hollywood."

After appearing on stages in Utah and Pennsylvania the past two years, Rowland was pleased to find work close to home.  He visits his parents often at the family home in Midlothian.

The timing couldn't be better, either.  In January, Rowland will turn 22 and mark the end of a two-year limit he set for himself to discover whether he could make a living acting.  So far, so good.

"I've been working constantly," Rowland said, adding that he's appeared in eight shows in a range of parts including a children's production of "Hugs and Kisses.”  The Theater IV production about child abuse prompted some young viewers to reach out to cast members for help.

"It was emotionally draining when we'd talk to these kids, 8-year-olds going through this.  Horrible.  But we got them help," Rowland said.

Richmond's Theater IV is Rowland's home base, he said.

"They're so down-home, earthy," said Rowland.  Sure, he loves New York City for all it has to offer, but he is not compelled to move there.

"There's so much good theater in the world," he said.  "I like going to new places that are starting up theater scenes."

Rowland was not drawn to acting as a young child, but another incident while he was still in middle school seems to have set his course: the day his viola was stolen.

"After that, I decided I'd take voice lessons because a voice, well, you can lose it  I have!   but it can't be stolen," he said.  During high school, he also trained in dance genres from ballroom to ballet, andhe acted in Theater IV's children's productions.

Rowland went a long way away to college.  He selected a state school in southern Utah in a small town about a 45-minute drive from Las Vegas.

"I went to Dixie College for one year, and as I started my second year, I got an offer for a national tour at Theater IV," Rowland said.  "I realized others getting those offers were graduates from good colleges.  Idecided I would try it until I was 22."

Next month he'll decide whether to continue to work on stage or seek further education or training.  Either way, he says, he's in theater for good.

"This is something I love.  I will never give it up," Rowland said.  "There's something magical about theater when you have the audience there in front of you and it just clicks."

The "click," he said, is that moment in which everyone realizes their humanity.

"It's something that touches all in every way," he said.  "With this show it's easy, all of us have a father."

Published: 12/08/1999