25 things to know about Music Theatre Wichita music director Thomas W. Douglas
Here are 25 things to know about Music Theatre Wichita music director Thomas W. Douglas, who is marking a milestone this summer.
“This is my 25th summer here in Wichita.” There are no celebrations planned, “nor should there be,” he quickly added. “It feels like the place I want to be. It feels good to me.”
He found out about MTW thanks to one of his Carnegie Mellon University students who was in the resident ensemble. “I waited until I saw what their next season was going to be,” he recalled of his 1999 debut. “I knew they were doing ‘Ain’t Misbehavin,’’ and that required a pianist who would be on stage, and he should be African-American.” Wayne Bryan, longtime MTW artistic director recalls, “his prodigious musical skills and onstage charisma were only part of the bargain.”
Over 25 years, Douglas figures he’s lived about six of them total in Wichita. “9 to 5,” which ended last week, was his 92nd MTW production.
Douglas was immediately taken with MTW. “I found right away the company was a wonderful company to work for – the staff, the talent, every aspect about it was really quite significant,” he said. “It was easy for me to come back after my first summer.”
He also has an affinity for Wichita. “I love the town,” the Pittsburgh native said. “When I thought of Wichita, I thought there would be some cornfields and that’s about it. But to have the Arkansas River running right through the city and have the riverside and beautiful places in the city, it’s quite different from what I was expecting.” Bryan adds, “He knows the name (and family history) of the lady at his dry cleaners, as well as for the fellow at the bakery, and for the kids whose folks own a favorite restaurant. He can walk into a number of local establishments and be immediately served the highly specialized cocktail that the bartenders have created in his name.”
The rest of the year, he teaches at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, one of the preeminent arts schools in the country. Douglas is director of opera studies and the director of choral activities.
Some of the famous Carnegie Mellon alums he has taught and directed include Megan Hilty, Joe Manganiello, Zachary Quinto, Patrick Wilson, Christian Borle, Matt Bomer, Sutton Foster and Josh Groban (“He was only there for a year,” Douglas added.)
Leslie Odom Jr. has him on speed-dial. The Tony Award winner for “Hamilton,” currently on Broadway for “Purlie Victorious,” will call Douglas for voice lessons while on the road.
Douglas transitioned from performer to music director in his mid-30s. “If I told myself the truth, what I really wanted to do was to be a music director,” he recalled. “It’s hard to admit that, because if you have no place to do it, it’s just words.”
“My goal was to be making my living as a conductor before I turned 40.”
His first gig was conducting “Phantom of the Opera.” In Switzerland. In German. For 400 performances. With short notice, he wrangled emergency passports for his two young children. “It was really worth it, and it became the direction that my life continued after that.”
Douglas has cut back on his MTW schedule. Until the pandemic, he was directing all five shows every summer. But the change in artistic director from Bryan to Brian J. Marcum, which resulted in a three-week rehearsal process rather than two, made him decide to cut back. He’s still in Wichita nine weeks a summer, as opposed to 10.
Jesse Warkentin, longtime assistant music director, now takes two shows a summer, this year they’re “Matilda” and “Beautiful: The Carole King Story.” Warkentin is envied by Douglas for conducting “An American in Paris” – in Paris.
Douglas has no say in the shows selected. “After Brian selects the shows, he’ll ask what shows I’m interested in,” Douglas said.
If Douglas had his own choice? “Sweeney Todd.” “For me, it’s the best piece of theater that’s out there. It’s just a great show. It has everything and it’s really tricky,” Douglas said. “Sondheim, we really don’t do. … I don’t know how well he would fit the Music Theatre Wichita audiences.”
His favorite MTW shows? “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “The Full Monty,” “Big Fish” and “Kinky Boots.” … “I tend to like whatever I’m working on at the time,” he said. “When I think back about it, those are the ones that stick out.”
His next project? “Frozen,” which MTW is one of the first theaters in the country to produce. “It’s really kind of difficult,” he said of the score, as well as the plot. “Even though I’ve watched the movie, I still don’t understand the story. I don’t know why this girl wants to freeze things,” he added with a laugh.
Douglas is taking a crash course in “Frozen,” after Disney delayed getting scores to the MTW for him to prepare. “I’m a little bit pushed to get it all learned. Usually, I have months. Now I have days,” he said. “My goal here is to have enough skill to learn what they have to learn before we can stage it.”
There’s constant admiration for his orchestra. “The orchestra members are just great. We have one rehearsal by ourselves … and that’s it until the dress rehearsal with the audience. Their ability to work quickly and efficiently is really incredible.”
Now that he’s been at MTW for 25 years, he’s starting to repeat shows, including this season’s “Gypsy” and “9 to 5.” … “I’ve always thought, give me any score and I’ll master it. I’m always anxious to try something new,” he said. “But to return to something that’s familiar, to bring the memories of the past into the present, is always very nice to do.”
Bryan loved working with Thomas. “I love Thomas because we share passions for so many of the same shows, the same songs, the same people. I love him because he is such an unselfish, endlessly giving individual, filled with talent and goodness. I love Thomas because he makes me laugh, he makes me think, and he makes me grateful to collaborate with such a knowledgeable, alert, perceptive, and delightful man. To collaborate with him on a show is sheer heaven.”
Marcum admires Douglas’ work with the singers. “He cares for them and their success and really nurtures them,” he said. “While he can come off a bit intimidating at times he really does know his stuff and takes care to teach the resident ensemble about musicality, vocal health and music theory.”
Douglas has a five-year plan. He sees staying with MTW and Carnegie Mellon for at least another half-decade. “I’ll come back to Wichita as long as Brian invites me. I’ll come back for the next five years for sure,” the 67-year-old said. “I’m not ready for (teaching) to be done yet. I still feel like I have a lot to offer the students and I really enjoy it.”
His family is talented as well. His son, a former writer for “Sesame Street,” works for the Kennedy/Marshall Company, best known for the “Jurassic Park” movies, helping decide what scripts are made into film. “I just want to go to the Oscars,” his father said with a laugh. (Douglas’ daughter is more of an athlete, he said.) Douglas’ husband, Italian-Irish Seamus Ricci, is a stage director of opera, musical theater and plays. The two worked together on the opera “Don Giovanni” in Pittsburgh and will team up again for Handel’s “Alcina” this fall. Douglas said they work well together. “Whatever the director says, goes. It’s like any two people working together. You need a chef and a sous chef, a director and a music director. When he and I work together, I rely on his ability to lead, and I support that.”
The MTW experience is like none other for him. “The professionalism of the company is really significant,” he said. “The shows, the productions are first rate. And everyone who comes here from other places will say this is better than Broadway and for me that’s the case too.”
