At a school where everyone's dream job is consulting, it's hard to justify pursuing a career in the arts. But Kevin Gray, Trinity '80, did just that, ditching the pre-law track for stage success.
Gray, an English-major-turned-Broadway actor, returns to the Triangle this month to play The Engineer in North Carolina Theatre's revival of Miss Saigon. Gray's current role was preceded by such iconic roles as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, the King in The King and I and Scar in The Lion King.
While at Duke, Gray participated in both campus-based and local theatrical performances, but his path as a professional actor was not cemented until several years after graduation. While working as a personal trainer in New York he landed the lead role in the remake of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures-the break that threw him onto the musical map. Gray attributes much of the fame that followed to his education.
"My Duke education was the absolute ace in the hole that I had," he said. "I've always felt that acting, singing, dancing... those are the minimum requirements, those are just what get you into the room."
Despite his educational edge, Gray still asserts that acting is not for the faint of heart-intimately acquainted as he is with both rejection and financial instability.
"I've been joking lately that actors should be teaching classes on how to deal with the recession, because we're basically in a recession all the time," he said. "I've never had any security of any kind at any point. I've just gotten used to that over the years."
Yet the difficult professional realities do not permanently deter actors such as Gray from the craft, as evidenced by cast enthusiasm for Miss Saigon.
"It's one of those shows that has a very loyal cast base," said Carolee Baxter, producer of North Carolina Theatre's upcoming production. "A lot of our cast has done the show in many places.... It's a very tight-knit group that takes this show to heart and makes it really special."
Additionally, Gray ascribes some of the musical's continued relevance to his character's implicit commentary of American values. In this musical about a doomed love story at the end of the Vietnam War, he plays an enterprising pimp.
"My character is really commenting a great deal on the circumstances of Vietnam but far more on the circumstances as he perceives them in the United States," Gray said. "And it's what's made the show timely... we are once again finding ourselves in a place of great cynicism."
With a string of lead roles behind him and a pivotal part in the forthcoming large-scale production, he can undoubtedly be seen as an ideal model for Duke students wishing to follow in his footsteps.
Gray's explanation of how he got this far?
"My only answer is I don't know-I just kept showing up," the actor said.
Miss Saigon is playing March 21 to 29 at North Carolina Theatre, 1 E. South Street in Raleigh, with a special student preview March 20. For more information, check out www.nctheatre.com.
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