Michael Berresse is an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, and director. He starred in numerous Broadway hits such as “Damn Yankees,” “Chicago,” “A Chorus Line,” “The Cher Show,” and “Kiss Me, Kate,” for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.
Before his successful theatre career, Michael was a member of Kids of the Kingdom, a group of singers and dancers who debuted at Disneyland in the summer of 1974.
When asked why he auditioned for Kids of the Kingdom (KOTK), Michael said he really did not actively pursue it, but was “kidnapped” and brought to the audition.
“In all honesty, the inspiration didn’t really come from me and it’s a miracle it happened at all,” said Berresse. “At 18 years old and just out of high school, I was really struggling with my identity and paralyzed about my future. I was extremely anxious socially and despite being top of my class, I hadn’t accepted any offers for University. My parents were both in new marriages and new homes and I had no real guidance so I got a job teaching gymnastics and rented a room in my friend’s father’s house. While performing in the musical ‘Company,’ at the local Junior College, two of my castmates who understood my dilemma and believed in my talent basically kidnapped me and brought me to the Chicago stop of the Disney audition tour. God bless you both – Nikki Todorovich-Blowers and Jesus Perez!”
Having never really auditioned professionally before, Michael went into the audition with no reference and “with zero expectations.”
“I had been a musician and competitive gymnast since early childhood so I had flexibility and body awareness and could read music but my theatre career at that point began and ended with school productions,” stated Berresse. “I really had no concept of what a professional audition was so I walked into this grand old arts building in Chicago with … no clue. I came face-to-face with 700+ other auditionees crammed into the stairwells and hallways, all looking more professional and prepared than me and I wanted to bail before it began, but my friends insisted. I made it through the ‘typing’ and once I danced the first of many combinations in street clothes and bare feet, something clicked. For the first time, I started to feel I belonged there. Not without plenty of faux pas, however.
When I sang ‘Miracle of Miracles’ from ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ I pulled the director (and now Disney Legend) Barnette Ricci out from behind the audition table and sang directly to her. I had no sheet music. I had no dance clothes. I honestly think my ‘blank slate’ was part of the reason they took a chance on me. Ronnie Rodriguez, Rich Taylor, and Barnette Ricci changed my life. In fact, 16 years later when I was nominated for a Tony Award on Broadway, I got a note from Rich Taylor that read: ‘You’ve come a long way from a barefoot audition in Chicago.’ I will never ever be able to repay the second chance at life that Disney gave me.
“I started at Disneyland in the summer of 1983 as the boy singer in ‘Fantasy Follies’ at Carnation Plaza. It was a three-month gig, but when it ended I was invited to go to Walt Disney World for another three-month contract doing ‘Sparkling Christmas Spectacular.’ Just as that contract was ending, two of the KOTK in ‘Show Biz Is’ left to get their Equity cards and I was invited to be a full-time ‘Kid’ for the first time. Including six months at Tokyo Disneyland in 1986-87, I stayed as a Kid through early 1988 before leaving to get my Equity card at Pittsburgh CLO. I spent the fall of 1988 as a choreographer at Walt Disney World before moving to New York City in January of 1989.”
Rehearsals for these shows were unique for Michael and the other Cast Members because in many cases they originated the show.
“Many of the shows I performed were the original cast so I most often had the privilege of building things from the ground up with the directors and choreographers themselves. Over the course of a couple of weeks, we’d learn the show in a rehearsal space on property (sometimes while still performing another show). With each new show and new cast, there was the question of how the individual tracks would be laid out. Usually some internal auditioning but often just assigned based on skills and experience. There was a LOT of partnering in those shows (which I have to say is really lacking in the current climate of Broadway dance) so we spent a lot of time working on that. And once the show was ready to leave the rehearsal room, we would do overnight tech rehearsals when the park was closed. To this day, those overnighters are some of my favorite bleary-eyed memories of the parks.”
Michael said that he had the joy and privilege of performing in many different venues in Disney Parks over the years, several of which no longer exist.
“First the Carnation Plaza just off Main Street at Disneyland, then the Castle Forecourt, Tomorrowland Theatre, Fantasyland Theatre and parade route at the Magic Kingdom and for special events: the American Gardens Theatre at EPCOT, the FantaSea cruise on the SS Norway (pre-Disney cruise line) and even the rooftop of the still under construction Grand Floridian resort for the 1988 Easter Parade telecast.”
Michael said they would perform five shows a day, but during the holidays they would perform in holiday parades in between shows. He went on to say shows such as “Fantasy Follies” had just a single costume and then a show like “Show Biz Is” at Disneyland had “more than a dozen – lightning fast – full costume changes.”
Stage shows at Disney Parks changed – sometimes subtly and sometimes completely. “It varied from venue to venue and show to show,” said Michael. “‘Disneyland is Your Land’ aka ‘Disney World is Your World’ aka ‘Lands Medley‘ ran with basically the same music but different choreography for 14 years. I personally performed three different versions of the show (four if you count the version sung almost entirely in Japanese for Tokyo Disneyland) but that was an exception. ‘Show Biz Is’ stayed virtually unchanged for its almost three-year run. Seasonal shows like ‘Sparkling Christmas Spectacular’ and the ‘Fourth of July Special’ would make small updates each year they ran but typically once a show was set, it would run for a couple of seasons and it was the changes in the cast that really kept it exciting and fresh.”
Michael’s first show, “Fantasy Follies,” was one of the only shows that he sang and spoke live for the entire show. Most often, for the large KOTK shows there would be a combination of “click-tracked” vocals with live solos. Today, this still applies to some shows throughout Disney Parks.
“During my time in Orlando, there was a 17-year cicada invasion,” said Michael. “One night, we were performing ‘Disney World is Your World’ on the Castle Forecourt stage while Joanne Bogart was performing ‘I’m Wishing’ as Snow White. The cicadas started zeroing in on the spotlight on her face. She daintily batted the first few away but then ran off as they started pelting her by the dozen. Eventually, there were so many thousands of cicadas on the deck that we could barely stand let alone dance among all the squashed bugs. It was hilarious and really gross.
I also remember running off stage in ‘Show Biz Is’ that first summer and hurling into a bucket while I changed clothes because it was so unbelievably hot and that show was unbelievably hard.”
Michael describes what a typical day was like for him.
“Back when I was working in Orlando, the drive to and from the park each day was through swampy bogs and miles of orange groves where there are now whole communities. There was something magical about driving through that rural Florida landscape and arriving out of seemingly nowhere at this fantastical mirage of castle spires and monorails. I’d park in the cast lot and take the shuttle bus to the Fantasyland tunnel entrance. After grabbing a bite at the ‘Fan-C’ cafeteria, I’d pick up my costumes from wardrobe. Depending on where I was performing that day, I’d head to one of several dressing rooms and get ready for the first show.
There were different show schedules depending on the season and the venue but almost always five shows with or without a parade. In winter our shows were usually earlier in the day to coincide with shorter park hours and less light but during the summer, we would start shows a bit later so that we would still be able to perform the 10:05 pm post fireworks show on the Castle Forecourt. And if we were performing in an open-air venue, there was usually a longer gap between say 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. because it often rained and then cleared up during that window. (God bless the technicians who were mopping and drying those stages every day.) One of my favorite things to do was sneak into the park out of costume between shows to try and catch the parade. Watching the evening Christmas Parade my first winter in Florida, usually with some sweet treat from the Main Street Confectionery, is etched into my mind as one of the happiest times of my life.”
Other shows Michael performed in were the New Years’ Eve specials, Easter parade and other holiday shows, huge new venue or new park opening events, convention shows, television specials, and other special events. He says he was very fortunate to work as a park swing toward the end of his time at Disney. Sometimes he would jump from cast to cast and show to show all in one day.
Disney has been a springboard for many in the entertainment industry. While Michael went on to a successful career in the entertainment industry, others he worked with went on to equally successful careers not only in performance but in education, choreography, producing and even park management.
“Two of the first people I met at Disneyland were Kevin McCollum and Michele Pawk who were performing in ‘Show Biz Is’ at the time. Michele would go on to a stellar Broadway career (including a Tony Award for ‘Hollywood Arms’) and Kevin is one of Broadway’s most prolific and successful producers (including ‘Title of Show’ which I directed and choreographed on Broadway!) Deidre Lang, my partner in ‘Show Biz Is’ became one of the ‘In Living Color’ fly girls before continuing as a Broadway performer. Angie Schworer who came to Disney for ’15 Years of Magic’ has had a prolific Broadway career and my long-time castmate Randy Wojcik did ‘Cats’ on Broadway before becoming a show director and now creative director for the Walt Disney Company.”
Since moving on from his time at Disney Parks, Michael has had a successful career in the entertainment industry. For over 30 years, he has worked consistently on Broadway as a performer, choreographer, and director.
“I have been extremely fortunate … I have done something like 6,500 performances in 11 Broadway shows,” says Michael. “I have transitioned from chorus dancer to principal actor to director and choreographer. I have been able to do feature films and television. I teach. I write. I have never actually had a job outside the realm of the arts. Truthfully, I credit my time in the parks for a great deal of my success. Not only for establishing my work ethic but also for my passionate sense of community and my great joy and appreciation for the privilege of being an artist.”
Ironically, Michael’s first Broadway show was the 1990 revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” starring Topol. He says in what was a “full circle moment” he sang “Miracle of Miracles” for his audition song. The same one he sang to Barnette Ricci at his Disney audition.
In addition to developing multiple shows as a director and teaching master classes, Michael is co-authoring an animated feature film musical. “I would LOVE to sell it to Disney,” exclaimed Michael. “Just saying…”
Looking back at his time working for Disney Michael says he cherishes his memories as a KOTK during the ‘Golden Age’ of Disney live entertainment.
“Everything I am and everything I have was influenced by what was essentially my ‘college years’ at Disney,” says Michael. “I am eternally grateful. It was certainly not a perfect time and I certainly made a lot of mistakes, but for the first time in my life to be surrounded by other creative people in a place full of hope and color was, for me, the beginning of a new life of possibility and happiness.”
Michael Berresse can be found on Twitter @MBerresse and Instagram @mberresse.
Feature Image: Michael Berresse
