Hunchback's Sam Ruby: 3 Questions

HND Patch caught up with junior Sam Ruby, "Phoebus de Martin" from the upcoming production of Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame at LWE, which runs April 27-29, (tickets $10 at lwemusic.org) and he took the time to answer a few of our questions.

Sam, we've enjoyed your comedy for a number of years now. Was it difficult switching to a dramatic role?

Playing a serious character is more challenging but also in some ways more satisfying. It's certainly easier for me to engage an audience when I have a funny role to play. With a serious role, you have to spend time studying the character and figuring out what motivates him, what his situation is, a lot more. It's easy to get an audience to like you in a comedic role. In a serious role, I have to work harder to get the audience to connect. It's definitely more difficult to make someone cry than make them laugh. There is some comic relief to Phoebus—every musical needs some of that—but he's learning and growing the whole time, and the underlying message of the show is more complicated than that of a dramatic comedy.

So the character of Phoebus changes during the musical? How do you convey that?

When we first meet Phoebus, he's just been away at war for four years. He's newly back to Paris , and he is somewhat shellshocked. He just wants to find someone to spend some time with him and help him forget everything he just went through. Even if he only has three days off until he starts his new promotion, he doesn't want to spend those three days alone. When he meets Esmeralda, he is a bit overwhelmed. He wasn't expecting to fall in love with someone. When Phoebus first meets Quasimodo, he is horrified by how awful the hunchback is treated, but he follows orders and does not interfere. Then he sees Esmeralda go against the other gypsies and take care of Quasimodo, and this really makes him admire her more. Initially, he's just flirting with Esmeralda, but seeing how Frollo treats her causes him to want to protect her and look out for her. By the time Tavern Song comes along, the tension is really building and he's on her side completely. In the climactic number "Esmeralda" from Act I , Frollo is basically ordering Phoebus to make a choice: Frollo or Esmeralda, duty or love. He ends up giving up everything he has for this girl. By Act II, instead of protecting Esmeralda, she is protecting him. By "Someday", they are protecting and comforting each other, and become something together that is more meaningful than either of them alone.
Phoebus' view of Quasimodo is initially that he's just a simpleton in need of protection. It's only later in Act II that he realizes the value of Quasimodo as a fellow human being.
To convey all this, I really have to use my voice AND my body language. Between Act I and Act II, Phoebus' voice, posture, actions, and singing all change to convey this dramatic change in his personality and beliefs. By the time he's singing "Hear me, people of Paris" he's no longer singing for himself, he's singing for the citizens. He goes from selfishness to selflessness in the course of the musical, and I work hard to get that across with every aspect of my portrayal.

Whew! That's a lot. We are really looking forward to the show! What's next for Sam Ruby after this role?

The end of junior year with final concerts, AP exams and finals, and then I have a little time off before I head off for a summer program at Oklahoma City University. I'm doing an acting intensive and then we are putting on How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. So, back to the comedy, and working on my dance skills. Senior year will be busy with college applications and hopefully a few more shows . One thing I've learned about the theatre is you never stop learning and growing, that's a certainty.

You can see Sam Ruby and the rest of the cast of Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame at Lincoln-Way East Fine Arts Auditorium this April 27 and 28 at 7pm, April 28 at 1pm, and April 29 at 3pm Tickets are $10 at the door one hour before show times, or can be purchased online at lwemusic.org