Grumps, grinches and galoots pave way to 'Lion King' for Broadway vet
Gavin Lee is deep in his villain era − and loving every moment.
"It's nice to be absolutely nasty and horrible on stage for three hours a night," the veteran Broadway and West End actor said with a laugh. "I absolutely love that my path has gone that way. My whole career was very, very song-and-dance man."
He's currently purveying his trade eight times a week as one of Disney's greatest villians, Scar, in Disney's "The Lion King" on Broadway.
In a long line of grumps, grinches and greedy galoots, Lee's Scar gets a boost from his previous baddies, who include Squidward in "SpongeBob SquarePants" on Broadway, The Grinch himself at Madison Square Garden and on tour, and Monsieur Thénardier in "Les Misérables" on Broadway and on tour.
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It's the green bad banana with the greasy black peel who Lee, a Maplewood resident, says is most like Scar.
"The Grinch is the most similar role- and costume-wise to Scar for me," he said. "They both have long fingers or long claws that you can really use to make your physical character come alive. They're both evil, horrible characters. The Grinch and Scar are very similar in 'how can I have all the power?' The Grinch is 'how can I have all the presents? I want to be in control.' And that's certainly Scar as well."
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Now, Lee doesn't mean to excuse Scar's behavior, but he feels it's important for villains to be understood.
"Well, I have to say there's one line, it comes in Act II ... it really is the crux of his whole character. And basically he says, 'Nobody loved me − there's the rub − not even as a cub.' Meaning the reason he's how he is is he never got any love," Lee said.
He says the line has helped him discover the core of Scar's bitterness.
"Maybe the audiences don't care. They just see him as the evil brother that's trying to kill the king and kill the king's son so that he can be in charge and have all the power. But as the actor, rather than just being 2D 'I am evil,' I love that that line is there in Act II for you to go back to and go, 'Oh, it's because he was always second place.'"
Scar comes alive
Lee says Scar's spiky costume, with "ribs and claws everywhere," also really helps him get into character.
In fact, on his first day of rehearsal for "The Lion King," he didn't start with lines, music or blocking, but by putting on a costume and skulking around the Minskoff Theatre lobby.
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"Day one, I spent all day in costume with the walking stick that's a very important part of Scar's costume, and with the mechs, meaning the mechanical head gear that makes the mask that you wear on top of your head come down and up. I spent hours just in front of mirrors, walking around," Lee said.
He got some tips from Rufus Bonds Jr., resident director of "The Lion King."
Bonds said, "Just feel what he's like. Feel how low you have to go. Even though Scar is a lion, think of him as a snake. He's low. He's slimy. He crawls along the ground," Lee recounted, adding that to make a particularly evil point, he'll bring the mask down in front of his face and propel his body forward, striking like a snake.
His makeup, which takes 50 minutes to apply, also helps.
"It's very hard to just sit there, because you can't sit and watch Netflix on an iPad because they have to do your eyes. You can't eat anything because they do your mouth. You can't even put earbuds in and listen to a podcast, because they have to do your ears. It's all painted," he said.
Lee says he chats with his "fabulous" makeup artist for about 10 minutes, then closes his eyes and relaxes in silence as he prepares for the show.
A love of theater
Here's a secret: Despite a penchant for playing delicious villains, Lee is actually extraordinarily kind-hearted, and one of his favorite moments of the show comes right after he steps into costume and waits in the wings.
"What I love about the top of the show is: I am not in 'Circle of Life,' which opens the show, but I'm standing stage right − there's an announcement that Rafiki makes. Within that speech he says, 'We want to give a big shoutout to the people in the audience that this is their first Broadway show. Thank you for coming to your first Broadway show, and hopefully it starts a lifetime love of theater.' And every show the audience cheers. We hear that every night, and it's such a buzz to know that this is the first time they've really sat in a big theater like that in New York City, and they chose us. It's a responsibility, but an absolute joy."
He also delights in being part of the Disney world, with Scar being the third iconic character he's played in the Disney orbit. He originated the role of Bert in "Mary Poppins" on the West End and Broadway and has played Lumiere in "Beauty and the Beast" at Paper Mill Playhouse and on tour and at the London Palladium in the United Kingdom.
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"Disney really know how to put a creative team together, including the set and costume designer, that can make the audience come into a theater and really feel like they've been transported into a different world," he said.
A few months into his reign as "The Lion King's" resident baddie, Lee said, "I find I'm playing around a bit and finding things that hopefully other Scars have never done before, but, of course, still keeping to the the original direction."
He recently renewed for another year at Pride Rock. "The Lion King" is in its 28th year on Broadway, having debuted in 1997.
"I know how much the audiences absolutely love 'The Lion King,' and I have to say, it's exactly the same for the people up on stage and in the orchestra pit and backstage. We all love it as well," he said.
Go:"The Lion King," Minskoff Theatre, 200 W. 45th St., Manhattan. For tickets and more information, visit lionking.com .
Ilana Keller is an award-winning journalist and lifelong New Jersey resident who loves Broadway and really bad puns. Reach out: ikeller@gannettnj.com .
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Gavin Lee relishes playing Scar in 'The Lion King' on Broadway
