A dentist turns into a clock
Stanton Allen is a pediatric dentist, an alumni from Utah State University and a wound-up clock.
Allen performed in musicals sporadically in high school but stopped singing amid the demands of dental school.
“I’ve always kind of sung a little bit,” Allen said. “I took voice lessons in high school and in college a little bit.”
Allen sang in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Institute of Religion choir while he attended Utah State University, but admittedly, never sang seriously. His wife had other plans for him.
“My wife kind of tricked me,” Allen said. Three years ago, he was talking to his wife on his way home from work when she told him that she had signed him up for an audition that night. She had the song and the application — all she needed was his picture and approval.
So, Allen auditioned and landed a role in “The Music Man.” Since then, Allen has played Daddy Warbucks in “Annie” and just recently finished playing Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.” In addition to playing Scrooge, he made his own prosthetic nose and made the Beast’s eyebrows and nose for “Beauty and the Beast.”
“The roles that I’ve done and the plays that I’ve been in, especially like “Annie” and Scrooge, it starts with this grumpy old guy that has like this power struggle or just life isn’t good because of the way that he’s choosing to live his life. And then, all of a sudden, there’s transformation,” Allen said. “I think that those make some of the best stories.”
Allen is glad to be performing again. He said it brought out a creative side that had been suppressed after college.
“It seems like as adults we push away those things a little bit,” Allen said.
Zack Grob, who will play Lumière alongside Allen’s Cogsworth, said Allen is perfect for the role.
“They saw him in his audition and they were like, ‘Wow, you are perfect.’ And they didn’t call anybody else back,” Grob said. “I really enjoyed his portrayal of Cogsworth from the beginning, and I felt like we had a genuine connection right off the bat.”
But when Allen auditioned, he was in the middle of his stint at playing Scrooge.
“It was funny. It was kind of an impromptu type thing,” Allen said. “It was just chaotic. And I came home and just recording read the lines and, for some reason, the character just fit me,” Allen said. “I got lucky.”
Since he has had a lot of time to be Cogsworth, Allen has realized a few similarities between himself and the clock.
“He’s uptight and I think I’m uptight. He’s very particular wants things done his way,” Allen said. “He’s pretty loyal to the Beast, which is a kind of an interesting thing. He’s scared of the Beast, but he’s also always trying to do what the Beast has asked him to do.”
Loyalty, Allen pointed out, is one of Cogsworth’s key traits. Of course, he’s always trying to be in control but, somehow, never is. Lumière, on the other hand, always seems to have control.
The constant power struggle between Lumière and Cogsworth is pivotal in “Beauty and the Beast,” according to Allen, and the friendship between castmates helps that chemistry.
“I was so grateful to have someone so open and friendly,” Grob said. “That chemistry is so important between Cogsworth and Lumière. So I was really grateful to have a quick friend.”
Rehearsals have been fun for Grob, who noted that Allen is always fun to talk to, which has given him a lot to play with on stage.
That friendship is certainly not one-sided.
“There’s a real bonding that happens during the productions,” Allen said.
During rehearsals, Allen tends to focus in on his character.
“What I’m trying to do is to get into the head of Cogsworth,” Allen said.
He finds himself asking questions about what Cogsworth is worried about and who he’s loyal to.
“A performance like that really is a puzzle,” Allen said. “If everybody that’s involved with it focuses on what they do, the story just flows.”
Allen will be performing as Cogsworth in Music Theatre West’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” at the Ellen Eccles Theatre March 4-12.
Photo by Bailey Rigby