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Considering Benjamin Sprunger's effervescent performances in two lighthearted musicals, I was momentarily taken aback when he mentioned that last year he relished a stage role as a bloodthirsty serial killer. But I shouldn't have been too surprised; I had also been enthralled by the menacing street thug he portrayed in Rick Sparks' electric A Clockwork Orange staging this spring. Raised in Columbus, Ohio and having "cut his acting teeth in Chicago." Sprunger relocated to LA three years ago to seek an acting career. Almost immediately he landed a plum role as the second male lead opposite Carol Lawrence in the Pasadena Playhouse's sparkling Rodgers/Sondheim revival Do I Hear a Waltz? And now, following an audition arranged by casting director Michael Donovan, he's charming audiences again in another acclaimed musical, the zany Jesus' Kid Brother, in which he struts his narcissistic stuff as a swaggering Roman soldier in Biblical times. As a new kid in town landing many choice roles, Sprunger mentions good luck, though sheer talent is likely his trump card. Sprunger opined that the acting scene in LA is vastly different from that in Chicago. While he feels many people here have priorities far removed from artistic passion, such as money and fame, he indicated that the key to doing fulfilling work is finding people and companies with similar artistic values similar to one's own. The diversity of roles he has mastered proves his versatility, and his track record in open auditions suggests he has the moxie to succeed. Though he has a very pleasant singing voice, he doesn't want to be pegged as a musical actor. "I can carry a tune and project when the role calls for it," he said. This refreshing sense of modesty makes his current portrayal of a preening, self-obsessed Adonis all the more impressive. |