He lives near Nashville, but you’re forgiven if you think W. Scott Stewart is still in Birmingham. He’s here often performing with the Dill Pickers, while maintaining his theater career in Tennessee. That career also includes the tour of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” which Stewart has appeared in since 2015. It opens this season on Nov. 2, but before he heads to Whoville, Stewart took the time to talk about that show, others he’s done, and a popular advertising slogan that Stewart came up with.
Tell me a little about yourself.
I was born in Germany, while my father was working for the U.S. Army. Then we returned to the U.S., and he went to grad school at Scarritt College in Nashville. I grew up around Alabama in Decatur, Mobile, Andalusia and Dothan. My father was in ministry with the United Methodist Church.
Can you talk about your Alabama theater history and how you ended up in Tennessee?
I did my first show in 3rd grade in Mobile, playing Big Tree in our class play. I sang in the church choir and in musicals at Dauphin Way UMC. In high school in Andalusia, I started doing more shows: “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Li’l Abner” and the lead in “The Music Man.” I went to Auburn and earned a theater minor, moved to Chicago, then LA, then settled in Birmingham for the next 15-plus years in advertising (Remember “We’ll beat your best deal … Regardless!”? – that was/is my campaign.) In Birmingham, I did several plays with The Parable Players, BFT, TNT, Bell Tower Players and First Stage Players. Later, I would return from Tennessee to perform with the Virginia Samford Theatre and Red Mountain Theatre.
In 1999, after a production of “Smoke on the Mountain,” Norton Dill invited me to be a part of a new band, The Dill Pickers. In 2006, I moved to a family farm in Triune, Tennessee, just south of Nashville, to be near my parents. In Tennessee, I got involved with The Boiler Room Theatre, Circle Players, Street Theatre and more.
What about the “Grinch” tour? How did it come up for you?
In 2015, Rollie Mains, a music director I had worked with, was playing for some auditions at the Opryland Hotel. He texted me and said to get out there – there was a role perfect for me. The show was “How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” and they were doing a “sit down” tour at the Grand Ole Opry for Christmas. I grabbed my book, zipped up there and, after a callback, landed the role.
Can you tell me about the show and the role you play?
The musical is basically the Dr. Seuss book on its feet. The color scheme of the book is all you see on stage … blacks, whites, grays and shades of red – the only colors in the original book. Then mixed with the 1966 Chuck Jones cartoon and those iconic songs, “Fah Who Foraze” and “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and the green color for the Grinch. But the Mel Marvin score and Tim Mason book stays very true to the original. The Grinch is mean, the Whos are innocents, and Cindy Lou saves the day with her love. I play Old Max, who is the narrator of the show.
I assume there are a lot of children who come to see this show. Does that affect your performance in any way? Do audiences react differently when they’re younger?
There are a LOT of children at our shows. For many, it’s their first live theater experience. It runs 90 minutes, so it’s a good introduction. The delight of the kids is definitely felt on stage by the actors, as well as their fear when the Grinch first appears. But it is not a kids’ show. It’s a story that has been read for several generations, so parents, grandparents and great-grandparents all come and relive their childhood. There is so much to this story of love and redemption, and many adults are caught off guard at the emotions it can bring up.
Were you a “Grinch” fan growing up? What drew you to the story?
Yes! My mother had read me the book. And I was a cartoon junkie – especially Looney Tunes! When the animated special came on each Christmas, it was a must to view it. My favorite part was Max. Especially when they are on the sleigh and Max disappears, then reappears on the other end of the sleigh, no longer pulling, just riding, and he waves at the Grinch. As an adult, the heart of the story is what keeps me coming back to the book and the musical.
What’s your first memory of being on stage?
In nursery school, I had a red wagon. I loved it. Just sat in it on the playground while older kids ran around. At my father’s grad school, they were doing a Winnie the Pooh play and needed a wagon to pull on Pooh’s birthday cake. I saw my wagon on stage and wanted to be in it in front of all these people. In 2nd grade, my teacher gave me a solo in our Christmas show.
What’s your favorite role you’ve played?
Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Who is your favorite composer?
Stephen Sondheim.
Who is your favorite playwright?
Neil Simon.
Do you have a favorite show?
Toss up between “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Sweeney Todd.”
Do you have a favorite song from a show?
“Guv’ment” from “Big River.”
What’s a performance (on stage or screen) that sticks out to you as an audience member?
Karen Casteel in “The Woolgatherer” at Auburn University’s Telfair Peet Black Box Theatre my freshman year.
What is a role you wish you will play or could have played?
Sweeney in “Sweeney Todd.”
Any great advice you’ve been given by a director or anyone else about being on stage?
Someone in that audience is seeing a show for the very first time tonight. And someone in that audience is seeing a show for the very last time tonight. We owe it to them to give the absolute best performance we can.
Do you have any pre-performance rituals?
In a dressing room by myself, I usually play “Beginnings” by Chicago. Also, I take a “nervous pee.”
Tell me about a time something went wrong on stage.
Doing “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” with The Parable Players, we had just started my big number, “Those Canaan Days.” After the first verse, the power in the theater went off, but the emergency lights in the auditorium came on – so we kept singing a capella because the band lost power, too. By the last chorus, the power came back on, the lights came up, the band came in and we were still on pitch! We finished to huge applause.
Tell me something people might be surprised to know about you.
I have never been married.
What kind of music do you listen to when you’re not performing?
Americana music, bluegrass and the Great American Songbook.
What’s the last book you read?
“Shaking the Gates of Hell” by John Archibald.
What podcasts do you listen to?
“Serial,” “WTF with Marc Maron” and “The Moth.”
What’s the last TV series you binged?
“Only Murders in the Building.”
What’s next for you?
I have a weekend of shows with The Dill Pickers at the Virginia Samford Theatre on Feb. 28-March 2.
The tour of “How the Grich Stole Christmas! The Musical” opens Nov. 2 in Bloomington, Indiana, and runs through Dec. 29.
