Steve Palkovitz (Daddy Murphy) in LTA's Bright Star

Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, went to college at JMU, and am retired from the FBI after working there for 33 years. Now I am a substitute teacher, home-brewer, pickleball fanatic, hospice volunteer, and overseer of two and a half miles of the Appalachian Trail. I live in Vienna, have two lovely daughters in the area (both of whom, I believe, are coming to the show…at least I bought them tickets!), and I just got engaged to be married to my own little bright star.

Why did you audition for Bright Star?
I really admire Steve Martin. He’s so talented: comedian, author, banjo player, movie star. Plus his name is Steve! Before auditioning, I didn’t know this play at all, but I knew Steve Martin, so I trusted it would be a great show.

What do you enjoy most about your role?
Well, Daddy Murphy is a hard guy, he’s tradition-bound, he’s conventional, he’s Old Testament, but he loves his family with all his heart, and it’s ripped him up for 23 years that he did what he believed at the time he had to do. He’s got his own “daddy issues.” How he was raised, and that conventional morality that he absorbed from his dad and the Bible, drove his actions then, but he’s changed. He’s evolved. He’s more New Testament now. He cares less about community convention. He adores Alice, and always has. I believe he would lay down his life for her.

What have you learned from working on this production?
It’s not so much that I learned, but it’s that I re-learned (from my role in Mary Poppins in Reston a few years back) that, for me, the dancing is the hardest part. I don’t consider myself a great singer or actor, but the dancing leg of my musical theatre tripod is the weakest, in my opinion!

How long have you been acting and what made you get involved in theatre?
My friends say I tried out for a play in college, but honestly I don’t remember; I know I didn’t get a part. My first play was a small part in a show at the Vienna Theatre Company in 2014. The director only gave me the role if I agreed to also be the assistant stage manager. But I was hooked: that feeling when you’re behind the curtain in the dark, getting ready to go on stage and the audience is settling in and the pre-show announcements come on, and you feel the nerves and the butterflies and the excitement and the anticipation and the fear…just what I imagined the ancient Greek or Roman actors felt or the Shakespearian actors back in the day…and here I was on a little stage in Vienna, VA, feeling the same emotions. Bingo! I still feel it.

Describe your experience with LTA so far.
This is my second show at LTA. I was in A Christmas Carol in 2017. Other than the rotten commute on the beltway from Vienna, acting at LTA is a great experience: it’s a barrel of fun, and the people you meet (actors, production team, crew, management, etc.) are top-notch. The company gives the actors lots of love and support, and the audiences are large, vocal, and enthusiastic.

What advice would you give others who are interested in working on musicals?
Well, I’m just lucky I’m a guy. Typically, far fewer men audition for musicals, so the odds of me landing a role go way up. If I were a woman, I doubt I would be on the LTA stage, or any stage for that matter. So my advice is: give it a shot!