Charise Reynolds is reviled and not at all to be trusted — on stage, that is. The Middletown resident stars as Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” now playing at Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport. Reynolds is a veteran of the stage, having appeared in musical theater roles for years in Los Angeles. She even appeared in Jesus Christ Superstar before, as a less duplicitous character. The San Diego native moved to Lake County in 2001.
1. How does it feel betraying Jesus night after night?
[Laughs] Pretty good, because Jesus — Nicholas Powell — tries to make me laugh all the time. It’s payback.
2. What drew you to Judas?
The music. Every time I listen to the CD I’m drawn to his music.
3. Your favorite?
Judas’ death — I mean the song for Judas’ death.
4. Why act?
I don’t know. I put on shows when I was a kid. Probably when I started it was the attention, the idea of being a star. But now, I’m not going to be a star. But there’s the applause — the adrenaline rush is amazing.
5. Were you surprised to find a small theater doing this play?
Yeah, because it’s complicated and you need very strong voices. I was pleasantly surprised.
6. What happens if you mess up on stage?
You make it look like it was the other actor’s fault [laughs]. I saw someone do that once. No, you just keep going. I’ve lost my shoe on stage; you just work it in.
7. Some people can act, some can’t. Why is that?
I don’t know. There are some people who are inherently good at it. But not everybody studies acting. You have to practice.
8. When the day of the last show comes …
The week before you think ‘I’m never doing this again,’ The last night you just want the show to go on for months and months.
9. So you’ll do this again?
Yeah, but I need a break. It’s a lot of time away from family.
10. The Lake County crowds …
They’ve been really good. They’re really into it.
