You might find Stuart Barkley in the gym. You might find him in class at Douglas College. You might find him on the hiking trails. Or you just might find him on stage or in rehearsal for a musical production.
One place you’re unlikely to find him is on the couch doing nothing.
“I feel like we have one life, we have to do as much as we can,” the 25-year-old New Westminster resident says, on the phone during a break from classes at Douglas, where he’s studying in the bachelor of performing arts program.
Barkley is getting set to appear as Warner Huntington III – a.k.a. Elle Woods’ pompous ex-boyfriend – in the upcoming Align Entertainment production of Legally Blonde, which opens at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby on Feb. 2.
The musical is a stage adaptation of the Amanda Brown novel, best known for the movie starring Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods – the Delta Nu sorority girl who decides to follow the above-mentioned ex-boyfriend to Harvard law school after he decides she’s not “serious” enough for him. Naturally, beauty and brains win the day as Elle proves that pink just may be the new black – with plenty of singing, dancing and courtroom antics along the way.
For Barkley, being back onstage in an Align production is a homecoming of sorts; he previously starred as Joseph in the company’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2016 (and its remount in November 2017).
“I’m delighted to be coming back again,” he says. “I’ve performed with multiple companies, but none of them really compare to Align.”
Barkley says the company’s founders, Chad Matchette and Patti Volk, work hard to create a family-like atmosphere where everyone enjoys being together – which results in many cast members who return, time after time, to take part in another show together.
“It’s just a good time with my friends,” he says, citing fellow castmates such as Justin Lapena and Robin Sukorokoff, who are also good friends. “It never feels like work.”
Which doesn’t mean, by the way, that Barkley isn’t serious about that work. Though he cheerfully admits he got into musical theatre on a whim - when he tried out for a production of Grease at Brookswood Secondary in Langley and skipped basketball practice to do so – he quickly got hooked. After taking drama courses in high school, he went on to do his diploma in musical theatre at Capilano University and then on to Douglas College, where he’s now in the bachelor of performing arts program.
Whether it will end up being his career, he isn’t yet sure. He points out that, realistically, there’s not much money to be made in the musical theatre scene in Vancouver and nearly all performers end up doing something else for a living as well.
“Do I want to do this for as long as I can? Absolutely,” he says.
And it’s so far, so good, for the emerging stage star, who already has some pretty impressive credits on his resumé: Robert Martin in Theatre Under the Stars’ Drowsy Chaperone and Enjolras in Arts Club Theatre’s Les Misérables, to name two.
That first Arts Club appearance was, he says, both a triumph and a major learning experience.
“When I got the call for Les Miz, to be Enjolras … as soon as the call ended, I just shouted out loud,” he says with a laugh. “I was so proud of myself.”
Playing the role taught him a lot about himself as a performer, Barkley says, not the least of which was that he’s capable of singing higher than he expected. While he previously considered himself a baritone, he says, he’s since been cast for roles that have tapped into his tenor side.
And he’s quick to say that performing with Arts Club also taught him how much more he wanted to strive for as a performer.
“The Arts Club show was a wakeup call that I needed to improve, that I needed to be better,” he says.
He’s looking forward to returning to the Arts Club stage this coming summer as Sky in Mamma Mia, saying he’s ready to show just how much improvement he’s been capable of.
There’s no question that performing has hooked him.
“There’s this moment when you go on stage. … It’s just black, it feels like it’s just you in this moment. It’s yours,” he says. “I love theatre.”
At the same time, though, Barkley is also keeping his options open. He has studied sport science at Douglas College and has his personal training certification; he currently works in the gym at the college and also trains and competes as a powerlifter.
Tapping in to his physical fitness, he’s also snagged himself another summer job: performing in the lumberjack shows at Grouse Mountain, where you’ll find him scaling trees and sawing logs, among other newly acquired skills.
And, once the Mamma Mia run wraps up, he and his girlfriend plan to strap on their hiking boots and take on the West Coast Trail.
“You’ve just gotta love what you do,” he says.
CHECK IT OUT
What: Legally Blonde, presented by Align Entertainment
When: Feb. 2 to 17, with preview Feb. 2 and opening night Feb. 3. Evening shows Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; matinees Feb. 4, 10, 11, 12, 17 at 2 p.m.
Where: Michael J. Fox Theatre, 7373 MacPherson Ave., Burnaby
Tickets: Regular prices $27, to $39, with school matinee on Feb. 9 for $15 and Family Day matinee on Feb. 12 for $15. Buy through www.alignentertainment.ca/tickets, or phone 778-888-8444.
More info: www.alignentertainment.ca.
