My Husband, the Actor

 

 

When I married David Vargo last November I knew he was a fine actor and that he’d done much  professional work earlier in life.  But last month all of his things from Florida were finally brought to our home in Ohio and he’s been unpacking them.  As this happened I’ve asked him to particularly share theatrical memorabilia, and what a treasure trove that has produced!  This blog highlights some of his adventures on the stage.

David started early.  Here he is mugging on the stage in Oscar Wilde’s “Birthday of the Infanta” at a Florida Theater Convention in 1964 when he was only six:

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David starred in plays in both high school and college.  His reviews were terrific.  In 1978, when he was 20, he appeared as one of the leads in Broward Community College’s production of the musical “The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd.”  A review in the Hollywood FL Sun-Tattler was headed “David Vargo Gives Stunning Performance,” and in praising the entire show the reviewer had this to say:

           If laurels are, in fact, to be awarded for this show, the biggest wreath must go to David Vargo, who is almost certainly destined for a meteoric rise to the top, if pure talent is any indicator of imminent success.  His characterization of Cocky, the poignant, Chaplinesque anti-hero who always comes out the loser in the game of life, is stunning.  His song that ends the first act, “Who Can I Turn To?”, the anguished cry of a trapped, frustrated human reduced to little more than an animal, is shattering.

The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd

In his teens David had studied Shakespeare at the Magdalene College in Oxford, England (where he appeared in both “MacBeth” and “Midsummer Night’s Dream”), and in the early 1980s he went to NYC to enroll in the National Shakespeare Conservatory and concentrate on acting Shakespeare.  Following that he did a good deal of professional and semi-professional work with theater companies in Florida, where he had an Equity card.  He played a number of parts in the state play of Florida, “Cross and Sword,” an outdoor drama written by the famous Paul Green, working his way over a three year period up to the lead role. 

 

With the same company David did a large number of other shows, including singing the role of the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance.”

 

Returning to his native city of Fort Lauderdale he participated in a great many productions with the Public Theater, both acting and directing.

As Billis in "South Pacific"

Algernon, left, in "The Importance of Being Earnest"

 

 

And now David’s in Ohio and about to play the role of a lifetime: William Shakespeare himself! The production, entitled “Elizabeth Rex,” is opening this coming week, produced by Evolution Theatre Company at the Columbus Performing Arts Center.  Details can be found on ETO’s website at http://evolutiontheatre.org/.  In the play, William Shakespeare, on his deathbed, remembers a night when Queen Elizabeth commanded his company to perform for her while her lover, Lord Essex, was being executed by her own order.

With Peggy Reasoner and Mark Phillips Schwamberger

I trust the Ohio part of David’s theatrical career will be as rewarding as his past triumphs.  I’m very proud to be married to this amazing man.

 

Related Posts:

“Falling in Love, Turning 70, and Getting Married,” October 21, 2013

“Douglas and David Get Married,” December 20, 2013
“Some Lottery Winners Score $400 Million”—An April Fool’s Day Joke,” April 11, 2014