Performer indulges self, audience in one-man show

By Brent Hopkins

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Jason Graae has an acting resumé a mile long: his own
one-man show, “An Evening of Self-Indulgence;” Harry
Houdini in “Ragtime,” the original Sparky in
“Forever Plaid,” and one role that made him a fixture
of every child’s life in their most precious formative
years.

He voiced Lucky the Leprechaun, famed cartoon purveyor of those
magical marshmallows that have been fueling many a not-so-healthy
breakfast for years.

In a recent phone interview, the L.A.-based actor recalled his
days hawking cereals with fondness, chuckling all the way
through.

“They called me and wanted someone to match up with the
original guy who’d been doing it for 30 years. He’d
done the last commercial, which I believe introduced The
Rainbow,” he said, dropping his voice an octave to convey a
sense of drama.

“His voice was going down a little bit, since that’s
a little high to be talking all your life.”

With this, his voice soared back into leprechaun range, then
returned to its normal, easygoing baritone.

“I booked it, which was pretty exciting. I did it for
about five years, flying back and forth from L.A. When
“˜Ragtime’ happened, though, I had to let little Lucky
go. It was quite a shame.”

Now that Graae has moved on from the cereal business, his tastes
have matured a bit.

“I used to encourage all children everywhere to eat their
sugar cereal. Now I’m telling ’em “˜Stay off the
sugar! Eat your bran!’ Maybe eventually, I can pitch
Lucky’s Prune Cereal.”

There’s far more to Graae’s acting career than
cartoons, though. Growing up in Oklahoma, he learned his taste for
the theater from his mother, who he saw in a production of
“Gypsy.”

“When I was in second grade, I got to see my mom play a
stripper,” he recalled. “I was kind of hooked ““
you don’t really have a chance if you’ve been
introduced to “˜Gypsy’ at that age. I was completely
stage struck.”

From there, he decided to pursue musical theater as a career.
His debut onstage at the age of 13 was less than momentous.

“My first real part was the pivotal role of Boy #2 in
“˜George M,'” he said with a wry laugh.
“Both of my lines were showstopping.”

Graae continued with both acting and music, heading off to the
University of Cincinnati as a double major in musical theater and
oboe. The latter didn’t last too long.

“There’s not a lot of oboe majors … and
there’s a reason why. You sit there making those reeds all
the time and it drives you insane. I finally just picked up my reed
kit one day,” he said, voice swelling with impending urgency,
“and I threw it across the room.

“When I look back at it, reed making would have been a lot
easier.”

After college, Graae packed his bags and headed for the Big
Apple, trying to make it big on Broadway. His first major role was
that of Herb in a showcase production of
“Godspell.”

The cutthroat atmosphere, with each actor vying to attract an
agent’s attention and get signed, made for a rather unusual
production. Even during serious moments, everyone was trying to
steal the show.

“It was very peculiar, because everyone was trying to cry
hardest during the crucifixion,” Graae said.

Though he later landed an additional part in the Broadway
production of “Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect
Up?,” the production flopped after less-than-kind reviews.
Nonetheless, he kept at it, and eventually achieved a measure of
success.

His role as Sparky, a departed doo-wopper in search of one final
concert in “Forever Plaid” was truly momentous, which
earning him a spot on the original cast soundtrack recording that
still nets him royalties today. His later turn as master
illusionist Harry Houdini in the Los Angeles production of
“Ragtime” sent him west, and he hasn’t looked
back.

Currently, Graae finds himself onstage in his own solo show,
“An Evening of Self-Indulgence,” at the Hollywood
Roosevelt Hotel. Given the title of the show, audiences can expect
to see a full display of his sparkling wit.

“I think there’s no way around it that a one-man
cabaret show is slightly self-indulgent,” he said, with extra
emphasis on the “˜slightly.’ “I thought I’d
really play that side up. It’s an awful lot of fun,
though.”

Though he credits director Heather Lee and musical
director/pianist Gerry Sternbach with helping him through it,
appearing solo is still a little dizzying.

“It’s hard, but it’s very gratifying,”
he said. “The feeling I get before it is really quite intense
nausea. I usually think “˜Oh my God, what’s about to
happen?'”

The hour-long performance will feature songs that he’s
performed onstage in the past, along with others that he’s
yet to try out. While he’s keeping mum about what will
actually make it into the playlist, he promises a few surprises
that should either scare or wow audiences.

“It’s songs that just drive me crazy that I love to
perform. A couple of them are just relentlessly obnoxious, that
I’ve always wanted to do. You know the kind you just
wouldn’t dare do in a show? Well, I want to do
them.”

While this devil-may-care attitude may succeed in winning over
the crowd, it has its downside.

“The only drag is that usually in a show, you can blame
your castmates or the director if things stink. This way,
you’ve got to take full credit if it goes well … or
badly.”

THEATER: “Jason Graae ““ An Evening of
Self-Indulgence” runs Aug. 16 ““ Aug. 20 at 8 p.m.
nightly at the Cinegrill at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Tickets
are $15 with a two drink/food minimum for most performances. For
more information, call (323) 466-7000. The Aug. 17 performance will
benefit the Actor’s Fund of America. Tickets will be $25 and
are available by calling (323) 933-9244, Ext. 33.