Majestic Repertory Theatre’s recent production of Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor’s “little nightmare musical” The Sandman had no shortage of spectacular stage effects, ranging from hidden doors to Annette Houlihan Verdolino. The hardworking local actor’s performance as dry-witted, mischievous and altogether inscrutable nanny Fraulein Kaeseschweiss was a marvel, evoking Mary Poppins and Young Frankenstein in equal measure. As generous a performer as she is—she never steps on anyone’s lines, and is quick to hand off the baton when someone’s keen to run with it—Verdolino can’t help but command the stage.
Originally from New York City—“Ozone Park, Queens, the same neighborhood as Cyndi Lauper and Bernadette Peters,” she notes proudly—Verdolino has been a presence on Vegas’ stages since the early 2000s, first as part of the cast of long-running Strip show Menopause the Musical, then in numerous local stage productions and as the hilarious, helium-voiced burlesque emcee Blanche DeBris. (Verdolino cheekily lists her pronouns as “she/they/Blanche.”) She has done stage work in New York and London, has her own production company (fittingly called Nice Girl) and even appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s original Magic Mike film.
Now, Verdolino—by day a graphic artist—has become the secret sauce of Vegas’ theater scene. She’s not always the main ingredient, but she’s ever the one who makes the whole thing irresistible. She recently took an afternoon to chat with the Weekly.
Verdolino (center) in ‘The Sandman’
When you first came to Vegas, you didn’t act right away. What got you back into it? Honestly, I realized that I wanted to make more friends [here]. I saw a little notice of auditions for this workshop of a new musical, and the people involved in the musical just happened to be so tied in to the Vegas entertainment community that I completely lucked out. … From there, I found out about the auditions for Sweeney Todd at CSN in 2004, and that was it. The Las Vegas Philharmonic was the orchestra for that show, which was incredible. … I remember standing in the wings of the Horn Theater. The orchestra started up before we made our entrance, and I just burst into tears. I was like, “Why did I ever stop this?”
And then? In September of 2006, I got Menopause. Not the condition! That was a super lifesaver, because for the first time in a really long time, that was my work. That, and only that, was what I did for my job, and it was great. … I was in the Vegas show from 2006 to 2012, and then I went on tour with the show for a few years after that. I made a lot of great friends: Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle [from Disney’s 1991 Beauty and the Beast] is one. I’m still really close to the original cast, and I even met my boyfriend as a result; he was the sound guy at the Luxor. In between, I started doing more community theater stuff in Vegas as well.
How did you create the character of Blanche DeBris? Blanche was born on a dare in 2008. My company manager for a brief time at Menopause was production coordinator of the burlesque shows at the Moisture Festival in Seattle, and she told everyone in the cast, “If you come up with an act, I’ll put you in the show. Simple as that.” … I was a stage kitten [the person who comes onstage between acts and collects the discarded clothing], and I started having a little back-and-forth banter with the host. On the second night, they said, “We have to put a mic on you, because what you’re saying is too good.”
Blanche is better than me. She’s so much better than all of us. She’s all the light and happiness and optimism and joy and positivity that’s, you know, impossible to maintain.
Blanche’s voice is something else. How did you find it? God’s honest truth, that is my voice. When I [studied] performing arts, we had vocal classes, voice and diction. All my teachers told me to lower my voice, lower my pitch. It got trained into me to get rid of most of my Ozone Park accent. Blanche’s voice is actually where my voice really wants to naturally be. I mean, I can do a great Cyndi Lauper impersonation, because that’s where we both come from.
I’ve gotta ask about Magic Mike. You Googled me! Yeah, I still get residual checks from being “Tarzan’s girl.” I had two days of filming. I had a great time. Filming and improving with a big sexy Kevin Nash; got carried on stage by Joe Manganiello … I was, like, “You know, I’m doing OK.”
You’re doing great. Vegas’ theater scene is fortunate to have you, and we’re fortunate to see that scene blooming right now. Yeah, it’s so fertile. I mean, what does it take? It takes money and resilience. I gotta hand it to [Majestic artistic director] Troy [Heard] for figuring it out. You know, when everything was shut down, he was like, “not us.”
Right? We’ll just move the shows outside. To the parking lot! I had a teacher at NYU who used to say “All you need is two planks [for a stage] and a passion.” There are people here now who have that passion. I’m just lucky I get to be a part of it.
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