September 27, 2012
The GazetteSeptember 27, 2012
By Bill Brownstein
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No secret is the sudden ascent of Montreal stand-up Massimo into the world of theatre. He had his lines all memorized for his audition. He brought in a nifty toy-shotgun prop. And, oh yeah, Massimo makes some mean lasagna for his director Diana Leblanc as well as the cast and crew of Guys and Dolls, the revival of the classic Broadway musical which begins previews Sunday at the Segal Centre.
Massimo has been cast as the mobster heavy Big Julie in this massive production, featuring 24 actors and eight musicians. But he will at least have some familiar company on stage. His comedy crony Mike Paterson has landed the role of Nicely Nicely Johnson in the production.
Paterson is a relative theatre vet compared to Massimo. This marks his third appearance on the Segal Centre stage, having performed in Harvey and The Odd Couple. Unlike Massimo, Paterson gets to sing — among other tunes, Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat — and dance.
Paterson, a graduate of Dawson College’s famed DOME theatre programme, may be as wonky a wit as there is in this town, but there’s no denying he has quite the set of pipes. “I have spent a good part of my life doing karaoke Bon Jovi singing,” says Paterson, 38, who is also part of the lip-synch combo Never Surrender and the musical duo Dan-d-Lyons.
“Big Julie may not sing, but he’s not to be messed with. He’s a gangster from Chicago who is vacationing in New York and who is a compulsive bad gambler. And, clearly, the role is not much of a stretch for me. I’ve been preparing for this role since I was 7,” deadpans the hirsute Massimo, 36, whose roots are St. Michel by way of Sicily. “Basically, I just smile and push hairs away from my throat.”
Evidently, one’s lack of theatre experience can be more than compensated for when one brings giant pans of homemade lasagna to the set. “Massimo has quickly become the most popular person in the cast — even if he is completely tone-deaf,” Paterson notes.
Undertaking a two-month stage commitment has meant sacrifices for the two comics. Paterson, also known for his shilling work for Jig-A-Loo, Hydro-Québec and Brault and Martineau, had to turn down two lucrative Bell Canada commercials as a consequence. “And I had to give up hosting an Open Mic Night for this gig,” Massimo says. “That’s $30 I’ll never see again!”
“Sure, I could make more money selling commercial products, but this pays better for the soul,” adds an unconvincing Paterson.
Ah, such a noble thespian ideal. Massimo seems a tad perplexed.
“First of all, I have to find out what a thespian means,” says the man with one name — “because my family was too poor to afford a last name.”
Perhaps more importantly, inquiring minds will want to know if Paterson’s trademark mullet must go for the show — all the more so since Guys and Dolls is set on the mean streets of New York in the 1940s when mullets didn’t exist, other than in horrific barber-shop accidents.
“I tried to hide my mullet in Harvey, but (director) Diana suggested it might be time to chop it off, so I can take the entire range of non-mullet parts available to me on stage. I will do it, but this is going to be so hard for all my fans,” says Paterson. “Now I’m going to look like a regular, fat, bald guy.”
Perhaps. But Paterson has come a long way. Prior to making mirth as a comedian, he started out as a pin-setter at a local bowling alley — where legend has it that he took a few too many errant bowling balls to the cranium. Later, he tried to earn his daily bread and beer as a wrestler, but spent much of that time pinned by his opposition on the mat. He has fared better as a wit, particularly after being nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award as best male stand-up and being showcased on his own Comedy Now! special on CTV and the Comedy Network.
Massimo took an even more circuitous route into showbiz. A high school and college dropout, he had stocked shelves at a pharmacy, landscaped, shovelled snow, telemarketed, bartended and was a short-order cook — for four hours at the last job. But at the urging of friends — who figured he was somewhat of a ham — Massimo tried his luck at stand-up and hasn’t looked back. One of the most popular comics in the land, he was a Montreal rep at the Just for Laughs fest’s Homegrown Comic Competition and has done the illustrious Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Now he’s setting his sights on more theatre and film.
“My moustache has given me opportunity. I can play gangsters or cops, but I can do other roles, too. Thanks to my moustache, I played a porn star on screen in Blue Mountain,” Massimo boasts.
Not to be outdone, Paterson interjects: “Well, I have extensive film credits, too. I was Employee No. 3 in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and I’m all over the deleted scenes on the DVD.”
Massimo has others matters on his mind. He has to run downstairs to the Segal Centre kitchen and check on his lasagna. “If it gets burned, I’m done in this business,” he says with a shrug.
“This is not like comedy, where there is no cooking and all you have to do is drink half a bottle of whiskey, go on stage and babble. You just can’t wing it in theatre. It requires something … they call it ‘discipline.’ My mother couldn’t be more thrilled. She figured I’d be behind bars by now. Instead she’s seeing me wake up at eight in the morning and not at three in the afternoon. Yup, such is my life as a thespian now.”
“Never mind,” Paterson shoots back. “I’ve learned something more important about theatre. Tomorrow, I’m bringing in my eight-bean surprise dish.”
Hopefully, the surprise won’t come an hour later for nauseous cast and crew, or Paterson will be done in the business.
Guys and Dolls goes into previews Sunday until Oct. 10 at the Segal Centre, 5170 Côte Ste. Catherine Rd. The official run is from Oct. 11 to 28. Tickets: www.segalcentre.org or 514-739-7944.
bbrownstein@montrealgazette.com
Twitter:@billbrownstein