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Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1474220
getting the lines down. This is the first time I've ever had a leading role and the most lines I've had." Playing the leading man is both wonderful and terrifying, he admits. "I thought it wouldn't be much different from how it is being in the ensemble, but it's a very different ball game! … As a lead, when it's you on the stage, it's just you. Every movement you make is going to be focused on by a majority of the audience. I'm really thankful to have great direction because without it, I'd feel like a deer in headlights." Mountz came back to theater in 2020 after a long hiatus, during which he sang some and worked a lot. His significant other hooked him on "Hamilton," and after moving to Northwest Arkansas, he looked for a community theater to try his hand. He was just in time to be cast in "Newsies" at APT, but he says his favorite role so far has been one of the Bad Idea Bears in "Avenue Q." "My cast mates and the chemistry we had made that show so memorable for me, but this role is a very close second," he says. Co-directors Ed McClure and Brenda Mashburn Nemec promise that although nothing like "Avenue Q" or "Something Rotten," "Disaster" is "so silly but so fun!" "The show is a parody of the 1970s disaster films such as 'Poseidon Adventure,' 'Towering Inferno' and 'Jaws,'" Nemec explains. "Those movies cast some of the best actors of the time, but somehow, everyone's performance in those films felt so over the top," adds McClure. "We are embracing that hammy-ness and larger-than-life quality in our performances." "Admittedly, I wasn't terribly interested in this show initially," says Kevin Lancaster, who portrays the "noted disaster expert," Professor Ted Scheider. "However, after studying it and getting to know the show, I totally changed my mind. The show is a nostalgic — and hilarious — look at the disaster films and music of the '70s. If there was ever a show where you could play everything "over the top," this is it." "When 'Disaster' was announced, I didn't know anything about it," agrees Caity Church, who plays the jazz singer. "I looked up the music when I learned it was a jukebox musical, and I knew and loved nearly all of the songs. We discovered that there would be a role for a young male around [my daughter] Maysie's age, so we found a bootleg on YouTube to watch. We absolutely LOVED it; we could not stop laughing." While Maysie Church works on her batting average in the summer leagues, Mountz has fallen so in love with "the show" that he's going to college this fall to study theater. Like his character, he's had "a lot of ups and downs before coming to the final conclusion." THE LINCOLN CENTER THEATER PRODUCTION AUG. 9-14, 2022 | 8 SHOWS Media Support: Broadway Series Sponsor: Premier Broadway Series Support: Bob & Becky Alexander Show Underwriters: Bill & LeAnn Underwood Broadway Series Support: Friends of Broadway Show Sponsor: 4 WHAT'S UP! JULY 24-30, 2022 COVER STORY Disaster Continued From Page 3 There are 16 actors in "Disaster," and four of them are making their APT debuts, says co-director Ed McClure. Also new is choreographer Noelle Drummonds, who was dance caption for "Something Rotten." (Courtesy Photo/Chad Wigington for APT)