1 Musician, 100 Shows

By LINDA BUCHWALD

The cast of Chicago changes frequently, but if you listen to the orchestra behind the actors, then you’ll hear the same man night after night.

“But then that era died and I had to make a living,” he says.

Press’ career came full circle in 2007 when he received a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre at the same time that he was music coordinator for the most recent Gypsy revival. He recalls, “At the award ceremony, Patti LuPone, the magnificent star of that production, sang one of its most wonderful songs, ‘You’ll Never Get Away From Me,’ to me. My cup runneth over.”

Plus, Press feels like part of the Chicago family, citing a tradition where the cast and crew celebrate birthdays during intermissions. The sense of community is no doubt boosted by the fact that the musicians are part of the action, sitting on stage while the actors perform. “Most shows, you’re in the pit, you’re downstairs in the basement,” he says. “The actors are upstairs in their dressing rooms, and you can go through a whole fourteen years of a show and never meet any of the actors. We’re all one company here because we all share this together. It’s a marvelous place to be.”

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Linda Buchwald is an assistant editor at Scholastic. She blogs for StageGrade and her own blog, Pataphysical Science.