There are certain actors who are considered an actor’s actor. They always do great work. They don’t find themselves in the limelight the way other actors might. They are professionals through and through and they never fail to impress both their colleagues and audiences. One such actor is Harry Groener. Not a household name, but if you’ve attended theatre both here and in New York, or spent any time watching television, you’ll recognize his face.
Currently the best way to see Groener is by going to see Paula Vogel’s play Indecent at the Ahmanson Theatre. Indecent, which was Tony nominated for Best Play, tells the story of Sholem Asch and how he created the play God of Vengeance in 1906. The play was performed regularly, but when it made its way to New York in 1923, it was deemed obscene and shut down.
Groener, who was not part of the cast in New York, plays multiple characters in Indecent. He’s also a founding member of the Antaeus Theatre Company* in Glendale. He was a regular on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and has appeared on Broadway in such shows as Cats, Sunday in the Park with George and Crazy For You.
All this means we had a lot to talk about when we spoke by phone last week on his day off from Indecent.
Before getting cast in Indecent, how familiar where you with God of Vengeance?
Not at all. It’s only subsequently that I realized I have friends who actually did a production of God of Vengeance at ACT in Seattle. I think Williamstown did God of Vengeance when Michael Ritchie was there. We read it during the rehearsal. I didn’t know anything about the story. [Michael Ritchie is the Artistic Director of Center Theatre Group]
How did you respond to that play?
It’s an amazing piece written in 1906 and he writes about the love between two women. He’s way ahead of his time. That’s what works for me is that he’s brave enough to put that on stage. And they were brave enough, as a company, to put it on stage. And how accepted it was by many audiences until it got to New York, he re-wrote it and they closed it down.
What made God of Vengeance controversial in 1923 seems not too far removed from what might be deemed controversial today. What does Indecent say about how far, or not, we’ve come as a nation.
I think it reminds us that we haven’t come as far as we should. There are so many themes in it: antisemitism, censorship; you realize we’re going backwards in many ways. I think this production reminds you are of the work that still needs to be done. We can’t let the progress be destroyed by people who want to take away the progress we’ve achieved. There’s still a lot of work to do.
Being part of the cast of Indecent allows you to, more than most plays, truly be part of an ensemble. What makes this experience unique for you?
Not only do you get to tell this great story, but you’re playing all these different roles and you’re fit into this wonderful mosaic of staging and blocking. It’s just heaven. Yes you get to play all these roles, but it’s the result of it; the result that we can feel from the audience that is gratifying. You’re part of this storytelling to make the audience feel the way they do at the end of the piece. My short experience has been consistent. It has been silence at the end of the play. Then they are standing and yelling. To know you’ve helped to make that happen is very gratifying.
I first saw you as Mandy Patinkin’s replacement in Sunday in the Park with George by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. What do you remember most about doing that show?
First of all, I never thought I’d get to do a Sondheim musical. When I went up for it it was to audition for Steve and James. This is an opera – this is never going to happen. I got the call, I’m just out of the shower completely naked and they said “you got it.” Now I had to do it.
Because it was that show and it was a Sondheim musical and a dream come true for me, I wasn’t scared at all. I was in a beautiful fantasy and dream. It was the best feeling. You are on the stage and you hear those notes and you almost burst into tears. It was four months I got to do it and they brought Mandy back to goose the audience.
One afternoon I had a session with Steve and he came to the theatre. I asked if he’d mind if I recorded it. He said sure, so I have that on a cassette. It was a whole afternoon with him working on the score and him giving notes. He said the best thing to me. “Look, I know that you are concerned about the singing and doing it right and making it sound well. Yes, I’d like the score to be sung as written. But, if you ever feel you aren’t going to hit the note or it won’t be right, just act it.” That gave me so much freedom. I can’t tell you how appreciative I was.
From Sondheim to Buffy to Indecent, you’ve done a wide range of work. What perspective do you have on your career?
I’m very happy with the way the career is going. I’m doing exactly what the goal has been. My life has been to do everything – as much as I can. I love doing it all. Both my wife [Dawn Didawick] and I feel very grateful we can do what we love. How lucky are we? That’s the measure of success – whether people know your name or not – that you’re working in the business and don’t have to take a job outside that. I’m really aware and grateful and honored that in my career I’ve been able to do just that.
Main Photo: Harry Groener in “Indecent” (Photo by Craig Schwartz/Courtesy of Center Theatre Group)
Cats and Sunday in the Park with George photos by Martha Swope/Courtesy of the NYPL Archives
For tickets to Indecent go here.
*Antaeus Theatre Company’s next production is Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle. For information go here.