Elizabeth Stanley
Hometown: Camp Point, Illinois
Currently: Making her Broadway debut to critical acclaim as sweetly naïve flight attendant April in John Doyle's revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. As in Doyle's award-winning Sweeney Todd, Company's actors double as the orchestra, and Stanley expertly plays the oboe, tuba and alto saxophone throughout the show.
Overture: Stanley planted the seeds of her future career early on, studying piano from the age of seven. "We lived in this tiny town out in the country, and there wasn't a lot to do," she recalls. "If I had lived in suburbia, I would've been out playing with my friends, but instead I was a nerd in the living room practicing piano because it's all there was." Discovering a community theater troupe in a nearby town, Stanley made performing a part of her life from fifth grade all the way through a double major in voice and theater at Indiana University, and continued developing her instrumental skills in high school with the oboe and tuba. "I guess it all worked out for the best!" she says of her musical beginnings.
The Road to Cincinnati: Post-college, Stanley began picking up regional credits, from the title role in Sugar to Princess Amneris in Aida, a role she's particularly fond of. "Aida was one of the first shows I saw on my first trip to New York," she remembers with a smile, "and [Amneris] was a role I'd been dying to do. It was a blast." While preparing to play Belle in a regional Beauty and the Beast, she got the call to audition for Company—with the unique instructions to "bring your instruments." The multitalented actress immediately came up with a game plan: "I thought, 'Okay, everybody plays piano, so I'm gonna take in my oboe and my tuba and hope I have a better chance." A few callbacks later, Stanley was on her way to Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park, where the production opened last spring.
One-Woman Band: Director Doyle's actor-as-musician concept added an extra element of happy chaos to rehearsals, Stanley reports. "The second day, it was like 'Okay, now I want you to walk over here playing that bass,'" she recalls with a laugh. "It was a total disaster because we didn't even have our music memorized, but it forced us to make it a natural part of what we were doing." This new perspective led, in turn, to a deeper understanding of the show as a whole. "I associate so many parts of my character with the sounds of my instruments," Stanley says now. "We communicate in so many different songs that it becomes that many more things you have to 'say' to the audience—and tells you that much more about your character."
April Moments: Stanley's character gets some of the choice moments in Company, including a makeout session with Raúl Esparza and a duet with Esparza's Bobby on the classic song "Barcelona." She admits seeing certain aspects of herself in the sincere young flight attendant she plays. "I don't consider myself especially naive, but there's a kindness and honesty about her that I like to think I possess," Stanley muses. "I hope I don't possess her dim-wittedness," she adds with a smile, "but there are certainly moments when I just laugh at myself and go, 'Wow, that was so April!'"
Broadway Baby: Seated in a dressing room filled end to end with flowers at the Barrymore Theatre, Stanley is still taking in the overwhelming experience of her Broadway debut. "I feel so grateful to be making my debut in a piece that's this artful and intelligent," she says. "And my parents came in for the opening, which was really special. They paid for years of music lessons and allowed me to major in two things that quite possibly wouldn't be lucrative or bring me success. I just keep writing in my journal, 'Is this my life?' It's a dream come true."