Claudia Christian returns to her roots in ‘Night’

Tom Titus

Two decades ago, Claudia Christian, a junior at Laguna Beach High

School, won an acting scholarship from the Laguna Playhouse -- even

though she hadn’t done any theater work while in school.

Currently, Christian is back where her thespic dreams were born,

starring with Kip Gilman in the U.S. premiere of the two-character

dramatic comedy “What the Night is For,” and demonstrating to the

playhouse that its scholarship choice was hardly ill-advised.

Christian, 38, who won the award for two scenes portraying Cherie

in “Bus Stop,” spent her sophomore and junior years at Laguna Beach

High, then headed for Los Angeles to embark on an acting career. But

the stage wasn’t her number-one priority.

Television and movie roles have been her primary bread and butter

for the past 20 years, including a headlining stint on TV’s “Babylon

5” as the bisexual Commander Susan Ivanova. She’s developed an

enormous European following and has twice won the Hugo award for best

science-fiction television series.

“I hadn’t done any live theater in 10 years when they called me to

audition,” she confided, “and I couldn’t make it to the first tryout.

But they had a second one, and I did that -- and they immediately

offered me the part.”

And what a part. Christian comprises half the cast of the Michael

Weller story of two former lovers, both married, who hook up again to

reignite their affair. The role requires her to unveil a heretofore

hidden aspect of her character in the second act -- a bipolar,

emotionally unbalanced woman who’s dangerous when deprived of her

medications.

“That was a little scary,” the husky-voiced actress said. “Not

playing the scene, but making the audience believe I hadn’t actually

forgotten my lines” due to the contrasting nature of her character.

She and Gilman put their stage personas together in just three

weeks of rehearsal and, as she says, “I’m still finding the

character, still working out the kinks.”

The stage is only one aspect of Christian’s professional life.

Besides movies and TV, she’s carved a respectable career out of

voice-over work, her latest thrust in that field being the voice of

the Blue Fairy in the animated film “Geppetto’s Secret.” There’s a

sequel in the works, and another chance for Christian to voice this

“motorcycle-riding tough lady, sweet with a rough exterior.”

She’s done a number of movies of the week, and counts among her TV

colleagues Bob Hope, Faye Dunaway, Peter Falk, Don Ameche, Sharon

Stone and Jaclyn Smith.

Yet another aspect of Christian’s professional life is music --

she wrote both lyrics and music for her first CD, “Taboo,” and has

come out with four others since then, all in varying genres.

Next up for the tall, vivacious actress is an open-ended journey

to England, where she’s signed up for another sci-fi series -- this

one a spoof called “Star Hyke.” And she might just take up residence

there for the foreseeable future, selling her home in the Los Feliz

area of Los Angeles.

“I have the freedom to decide where to live,” she explained.

“There’s no man in my life, no kids, not even any pets. So I might as

well take advantage of the situation while I still can.”

For the next three weeks, however, her heart, and her talent,

belong to the Laguna Playhouse where she’s earning glowing reviews

for her first stage venture in a decade. Such as this notice from the

Los Angeles Times:

“Christian’s rueful faded-belle routine seems especially apt; she

could be Maggie the Cat after a few years with Brick and a few days

without her meds.”

Or, the mention from this column a week ago: “Claudia Christian is

breathtakingly magnificent as a frustrated poet whose dialogue drips

with irony” and “Christian’s character (changes) as her vulnerability

and desperation are brought to the fore. Christian excels at this

difficult bit of business in a sequence that’s in turn achingly funny

and profoundly painful.”

As for her decision to audition for “What the Night is For” in the

first place, she says, “It was a spur of the moment decision, an

opportunity to do something challenging.” Thus far, she notes, “It’s

been a very good experience.”

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.