Illinois native enjoying himself touring in musical 'Evita'
Chasing his dreams has led B.J. Scahill to South America – and into the limelight with Eva Peron.
Schaumburg native Scahill is an ensemble member in "Evita," the touring Broadway musical that arrives at 7:30 p.m. April 23 to the stage of the University of Illinois Assembly Hall. The production revolves around the life of the dynamic, larger-than-life persona of Peron, wife of the former Argentine dictator, Juan Peron, and a champion of the working class.
Scahill is on stage in various character roles with the other ensemble members, who propel the story along.
"All of us in the ensemble do multiple roles," Scahill says. "There are four principal roles in the musical, and everyone in the ensemble carries the story along.
"I have 14 costume changes during the show – the show backstage is as big as the one onstage. It's quite hectic."
Scahill attended Millikin University in Decatur and was attracted to the school for several reasons: It wasn't too far from home and has a well-regarded School of Music. But he didn't finish.
"I had an itch. It was nothing about the school. I was just unhappy at that point. I couldn't decide what I wanted to do, so I left for New York," Scahill says.
He enrolled in the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and knew within weeks that he had made the right decision.
"It's an 18-month intensive study program. You are immersed in the theater, the people, the lifestyle – I knew it was for me," he says.
Scahill's regional theater credits include Gus in "Cats," Cogsworth in "Beauty and the Beast," King Herod in "Jesus Christ Superstar" and others.
And like "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Evita" is from the very successful writing partnership of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The production features songs like "Goodnight and Thank You," "A New Argentina" and the hit, "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," which Scahill describes as a "show-stopper."
"All of the music is fantastic," Scahill says. "And we're doing the original staging by (choreographers) Larry Fuller and R. Kim Jordan. It's a production that's really well-balanced between comedy and drama. It's also very informative. We even have a projection screen that shows clips of the real Eva Peron that hangs just above our heads.
"This has been a really good tour so far. ... My worst day is 40,000 times better than my best day waiting tables in New York," he adds.
Besides being a member of the ensemble, Scahill is also the assistant stage manager and the assistant company manager. But he has no desire – at least at this point – to spend more time behind the curtain.
"Maybe down the line," he says. "But right now, I really like standing on that stage."
The tour finishes up at the end of May in Milwaukee. Scahill isn't certain what his next move will be.
"I have a couple of things in the mix, but nothing firm," he says. "I'm throwing my name out there and trying for a bunch of things. Broadway is something I want to do, so I'll see what happens. My original goal was to get my (actor's) equity card in five years, and I did that in two, so I'm already ahead of the plan."
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