Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407220098
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ABINGDON LENGTH: Medium
The name fools people, even though Chew says it is an old Virginia name harking back to England where it was spelled as Chewe, and he is not about to give it up even though it sometimes causes misunderstandings.
When the Roanoke native moved to New York City to pursue acting, he heard from investment firms seeking Asian clients and Oriental evangelists wanting to convert him to Christianity.
Now he is back in Virginia, performing in Barter Theatre's production of the musical, "Man of La Mancha." As the Padre, he even has his own song, "To Each His Dulcinea."
Chew had rented the movie version with Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren but found the film version had cut a lot of the play. "The song that I sing, for instance, isn't in it."
When he was in grade school, his mother, Pearl Chew, a beautician who still lives in Roanoke, drove him to Barter for a production of "The Solid Gold Cadillac." It was the first professional play he had ever seen, and helped influence his career choice.
After graduating from William Fleming High School, he attended Virginia Western Community College for a year deliberately avoiding acting classes to explore other career options. But he found that acting "was like a nicotine addiction. I needed it again."
He moved to Richmond's Virginia Commonwealth University where he graduated with a degree in acting. He acted at Roanoke's Mill Mountain Playhouse in several plays, the last of which was as an Indian in the musical "Little Mary Sunshine."
"That was my swan song to Virginia," he said, 19 years ago. Now 45, he is back for the "Man of La Mancha" run through Aug. 27.
In the past 19 years, he has performed in regional theater, toured with actresses like Barbara Eden and Lauren Bacall, worked in theaters all over New York state, and most recently went to Paris to work in "Hello, Dolly!"
The performance was in English and French translations would be projected above the stage for audiences to follow. "The translations were sometimes horrific," Chew said.
Lauren Bacall, who preferred to be called Betty, was the lead in "Sweet Bird of Youth" and was a salty lady, Chew said. "She saved her most vehement remarks for the producers."
In regional theater, Chew worked in a play with both Eddie Albert and his son, Edward Albert. "They were a trip," he said. Eddie, the co-star of TV's "Green Acres," was in his 60s at the time, ate health food and jogged five miles a day.
Chew also worked on television, in several daytime dramas and once on ``The Cosby Show.'' "Bill Cosby was a little bit difficult to work with. You could definitely tell that he was the one everyone had to come to first," Chew said.
Another reason Chew was drawn to acting, he now feels, was because he is gay. As a child, when he was uncomfortable with himself, he would retreat at times into a fantasy world. In acting, he found, "your own personality gets to disappear."
It took time and therapy for him to come to terms with his sexual orientation, he said. Now he lives and has a relationship with a successful artist in New York.
When his agent called about an audition to come to Barter, he braved a snow storm to attend and, after giving a sample of his singing, added that he would like to return to Barter where he saw his first play.
"I wasn't quite on my knees begging for a job, but it was close," he said.
``The Man of La Mancha'' is on stage at Abingdon's Barter Theatre through Aug. 27. (800) 368-3240.
by CNB