Copyright 1993 The Buffalo News   
The Buffalo News 


June 27, 1993, Sunday, Final Edition 

SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. 5 

LENGTH: 947 words 

HEADLINE: TONY FAME BITES TORONTO'S 'SPIDER WOMAN' 

BYLINE: By LARRY HACKETT, New York Daily News 

DATELINE: NEW YORK 

BODY: 
    Stardom has planted a wet one on the unsuspecting lips of Brent Carver. 

A year ago, he was beginning his third decade of performing in Canada and was thoroughly unknown south of Niagara Falls. One afternoon before appearing in a matinee performance of "Tartuffe" in Toronto, he stopped into the theater next door for a quick audition. 

"The minute we saw him, it was 'Oh my God, this is a force of nature,' " said director Harold Prince, who, with songwriter John Kander, was in town to cast and direct a production of their musical, "Kiss of the Spider Woman." 

In May, Carver, who had made his Broadway debut just a few days earlier, was nominated for a Tony (Best Actor in a Musical), one of 11 "Kiss" garnered, tying for tops with its West 44th Street neighbor, "Tommy." While "Kiss" itself weathered some criticism, acclaim has been unanimous for Carver's portrayal of Molina, the imprisoned gay window dresser sustained by a library of romantic fantasies. 

Carver, walking toward the Broadhurst hours after the nominations, didn't look up at the newly minted marquee touting the nominations. The best he could muster was a crazed, stagey "Aaaaaaghhhhh!!!!" when asked how he felt. 

With a hippie's earnestness and the bearing of a yoga instructor, Carver is polite and gracious, but shyness reduces him to speaking in fuzzy New Age truisms. Nevertheless, he gamely retackles the fame question in his dressing room. 

"Having grown up with, you know, listening to and knowing about great Broadway plays and the idea of Broadway, and every song ever written about it . . . it was an idea in my head that possibly I'd work here some day," Carver says. 

Having finally gotten to Broadway after a year of "Kiss" in Canada and four months in London, Carver says his debut is less a dream than crossing another bridge. 

"I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, I guess," he smiles. 

Carver's trip began 41 years ago in Cranbrook, British Columbia, about 50 miles from the Montana border. One of seven children born to a timber mill trucker and a waitress, Carver spent much of his childhood singing boy soprano in various church, school and social-group choirs, as well as watching old movies on the family's black-and-white TV. 

After high school, he enrolled at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he took performing-arts classes. Just before his final year, Carver joined up with a touring repertory company doing a trio of children's plays. 

The job launched more than 20 years of performing, bringing him to Toronto, where he found work in musicals, classics and contemporary theater, as well as Canadian TV and film. His only U.S. gig was a Los Angeles production of "The Tempest" with Anthony Hopkins. 

America's cultural provincialism paints Carver as an overnight sensation -- a portrayal he finds amusing. "I've been chopping wood for 23 years," he says. 

Prince Prince originally offered Carver the role of Molina two days a week, since Richard ("The Waltons") Thomas had already been cast. Carver agreed, and then Thomas had to drop out for personal reasons, giving Carver sole possession of the leading role. 

Even more than in the 1985 film starring William Hurt and Raul Julia (which Carver saw when it opened but refused to see again in preparation for this role), the musical "Kiss" is devoted to Molina and his reveries. Chita Rivera is the star of his mind's eye, a femme fatale named Aurora whom he casts in elaborate cinematic visions, all played out upon the stage. 

Carver is typically sheepish when presented with the critical praise, gushing, "Oh, gosh, I don't know." He's happy the notices mean a full theater and, ideally, steady work. 

And he laughs at the sudden competition between himself and Martin Short, who was nominated in the same category for his performance in "The Goodbye Girl." Not only are both Canadians, they lived in the same house in Toronto in the late 1970s and have known each other for nearly 20 years. 

Carver, who gave up his Toronto apartment and lives alone in a Manhattan sublet, hopes to spend a month back in Cranbrook this summer. His run in "Kiss" is open-ended for now, though he'd like to consider some film roles -- if they come along. 

After years in what many consider the cultural backwoods, Carver shows no signs of making up for lost time. 

"I think," he smiles, "things come to you, hopefully, when you're ready." 

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH 

LOAD-DATE: June 29, 1993