There鈥檚 a fire in Andrew Polec 鈥�12 (KEY), and it was kindled at Rochester. The former Midnight Rambler鈥攚ho studied music and English, and participated in the International Theatre Program鈥攊s now finding professional success as Strat, the lead in Bat Out of Hell: The Musical, which just ended an extended summer run in London. The show makes its North American debut in Toronto on October 14.
Featuring the music and lyrics of composer Jim Steinman, the musical takes fans on a trip back to one of the best-selling albums of all time鈥攆irst made famous by Meat Loaf (the stage name of musician, producer, and actor Michael Lee Aday), whose operatic performance of larger-than-life songs set a high bar for its new lead. It鈥檚 a challenge Polec gladly accepted.
鈥淚t takes such focus and such commitment to fully give yourself to these songs,鈥� he says. 鈥淢eat Loaf鈥檚 advice: 鈥楳ake these songs your own.鈥欌��
The show synopsis describes the story as a 鈥渞omantic adventure about rebellious youth and passionate love, set against the backdrop of a post-cataclysmic city adrift from the mainland.鈥� Polec, who uses a vision board each night to inspire his performances, invokes the rebellious nature of such rock music icons as Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Elvis Presley.
A native of Philadelphia, Polec started out following a premed program. He completed two clusters in biology and psychology before he began taking music, English, and theater courses. He was a Midnight Rambler during the period when the a capella ensemble was chosen to record with Ben Folds for the singer-songwriter鈥檚 album Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella! He performed in the International Theatre Program productions at Todd Theater, including Hello Again during his first year, and Adding Machine: A Musical during his final year. Polec took voice lessons at the Eastman School of Music and was part of the Music Department鈥檚 Rock Repertory Ensemble. He was accepted into the Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year (KEY) Program, spending a fifth, tuition-free year at the University to start a student-run record label and release an album.
A pivotal moment for Polec came during a literature course鈥擟lassical and Scriptural Backgrounds鈥� taught by Professor Emeritus Russell Peck. 鈥淚 was just blown away by his theatrics and storytelling,鈥� Polec says, recalling in particular a lecture on Homer鈥檚 Iliad. 鈥淎s he described the narrative of Achilles鈥檚 rage, in that moment, as he destroys the Trojan army, I thought, 鈥榯his is what I鈥檓 missing.鈥� I wanted to make people invested in the story [in a way] that takes them out of their lives.鈥�
One of Polec鈥檚 mentors, Kim Kowalke, says, 鈥淚 got to know how special a talent he was.鈥� Kowalke鈥攁 professor of music and the Richard L. Turner Professor in the Humanities at the College, as well as a professor of musicology at Eastman鈥攔emembers Polec鈥檚 audition for Musical Theater Workshop, as jaw dropping. 鈥淗e was not only charismatic, but he was one of those people who was such a risk taker. If you said, 鈥楾hat was nice Andrew, but why don鈥檛 you sing the same number and do somersaults across the room while you鈥檙e doing it, he would have done it鈥攐r he would have tried to do it.鈥�
Kowalke visited his former student in the UK during the preview of the show at the London Coliseum in June. He says Polec remains a risk taker, to great effect. 鈥淭here is nothing more exciting than a performer willing to take risks. It means they鈥檙e right on the edge, and that is spellbinding in the theater.鈥�
Polec is looking forward to the show鈥檚 Toronto run. 鈥淚鈥檓 so excited to be coming back to my time zone,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檒l be closer to my alma mater; close to the place that taught me so much.鈥�
What鈥檚 in store for Polec鈥檚 future? 鈥淚 would like to work on things that bring joy to people 鈥� in the way that arts can,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ot knowing my path, but ending up where I鈥檓 at right now, by using all the tools that I used from the professors and the groups that I was part of, it just feels fated.鈥�
