by Ann Vaccaro Brady, Port Chester Council for the Arts
The Port Chester Council for teh Arts (PCCFA), in celebration of its 30th anniversary, presents this series of monthly profiles of professional artists whose roots are tied to the Town of Rye and the PCCFA.
Joe Langworth began his theatre career on a Braodway stage and never looked back Twenty-two years later he lists performer, director, choreographer and casting director on his resume. And he’s not even close to being done.
Joes is a Port Chester native who comes home often to visit his parents Joseph and Lucia and siblings Janice and Michael. He credits the village’s location as an asset for him professionall. “Growing up so close to the city, I was always aware of what a challenge it would be as a career.” he said.
He made his Broadway debut at 23 in A Chorus Line. “The first time you enter a Broadway stage is as exciting as you imagine it,” he explained.
Although he has appeared in several shows on Broadway, including Follies and On the 20th Centure, his career highlight was performing in the original cast of Ragtime in 1998 with Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie and the tweenage Lea Michele. “We, the eniter company, were aware of what a special project we were involved in,” he said. He describes the talent as “musical gold.” He’s also performed in the Broadway tours of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Ragtime, The Who’s Tommy, On the Town and West Side Story.
But in 2006, after almost 20 years as a performer, his passion for being onstage started to dim and he took a career turn into casting.
He joined Telsey + Company whose productions in clude the revival of South Pacific. “I got to provide opportunities to actors who may not have had chances otherwise,” he said.
“Working on the revival of South Pacific was the most contribution I’ve ever had to a Broadway production,” he said. He worked on both casting and choreography. “With casting…I wanted to think outside the box because it’s an historic American tale about real people,” he explained. “I made an effort to find actors who maybe hadn’t been on Broadway before.” That included Hawaiian jazz singer Loretta Ables Sayre, whom he cast in the role of Bloody Mary for which she received a Tony nomination. She’s now in the cast of the London production.
Though he enjoyed casting, Joe missed the creative process. “I had been a dance captain, an assistant director and choreographer while I was in the cast of a given show. That prepared me to…take the next step into directing and choreographing.” An old friend, the choreographer on South Pacific, asked him to be his associate and Joe set the national tours and London production of the show.
In-between his theatre work, he’s found time to teach, which he calls a new passion. “I had the honor to go back to my alma mater, SUNY Geneseo, for a semester,” he said. He’s also choreographed a production of The Who’s Tommy for NYU and has been back to Geneseo for guest artist work. “It’s a great age to work with because they are so open, so willing and appreciative,” he said. He’s kept in touch with a few of his students who are in New York City pursuing theatre careers and who contact him for advice. “It’s a challenging business, so if I can help them on the way, I will.”
Joe’s theatre career started in Port Chester. He performed in shows directed by Port Chester Council for the Arts founder Camille Linen and Denise Colangelo, and Diane Lucas. “I always found them incredible encouraging,” he said.
“Other names I hold dear to my heart are Cindy Moore and Joan Morenstein,” he added. “They remain some of the most influential people in my life in a very positive way.
“The early exposure I had in Port Chester was integral to my development because so much opportunity was provided to us as kids. I got to learn on my feet, to learn by doing.” Joe’s neices Samantha, Sarah and rebecca Barnes have followed in his footsteps in community theatre. They’ve all performed as part of the PCCFA summer shows.
Joe is a believer in exposing kids to the arts. “It’s invaluable to give young people the opportunity to express themselves through the arts. It’s really a special thing about the community. It’s really important.”