LIVING A BROADWAY DREAM: CAPE GIRARDEAU'S ROGER SEYER LANDS ROLL ON NEW YORK STAGE

When Roger Seyer was 2, he used to annoy his older siblings by singing commercial jingles and dancing around the living room.

Musicals, especially old ones such as "Singing in the Rain," also fascinated him at an early age.

But he wasn't truly bitten by the acting bug until he was in eighth grade, when he tried out for a role in the Notre Dame High School production of "Mame." He wanted to play Mame's nephew but was cast in an ensemble role because he was too big for the part of a young boy.

But that didn't matter.

"I was hooked from day one," Seyer said. "I always wanted to perform."

Now, the Notre Dame High School graduate is fulfilling his dream as an understudy for the lead role of Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" at the Imperial Theater in Manhattan, N.Y.

Seyer, 34, said he's played the role on stage 15 to 20 times in the past year.

"The first time, I was so nervous," he said. "I had my whole family and my wife in the audience, and I just had these moments of complete awe that I was on that stage. But then I realized that I couldn't allow that, because if I'm thinking about that, then I can't do my job.

"After that, I was fine."

His drama teacher at Notre Dame, Cynthia King, said she always knew he'd fit in on Broadway.

"Broadway is a one-in-a-million long shot, but you could tell in high school that he had the stuff," said King. "I've watched a lot of things he's done, and landing this role didn't surprise me at all. He's always had that desire, and he works so hard."

High-school roles

Seyer graduated in 1985 from Notre Dame, where he had several main roles in productions including "Guys and Dolls," "West Side Story" and "Barnum." Although he has been in countless productions since then, he said he ranks his role as P.T. Barnum as one of his most memorable.

"It was a very large and complex role," he said. "It was also highly physical -- I had to learn how to walk a tightrope and how to juggle. It was fun for me because it was so challenging."

After high school, Seyer attended a year at Southeast Missouri State University before transferring to Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., There he graduated with a degree in musical theater in 1989.

He married his college sweetheart, Kari, in 1992 and worked at various acting jobs around the Midwest for the next year.

But New York was always on his mind.

"As I grew older, I began to realize that I wanted to do musicals," Seyer said. "And of course, New York was the pinnacle of that art form, and I realized that was where I wanted to be."

The move was a "big and scary thing" at first for Seyer and his wife, but they had to see if they could make it.

He worked odd jobs as a waiter and at Gymboree. At night he did whatever acting work he could get his hands on and took dance classes to better his chances for musical roles. Seyer said it didn't matter if his work was paid or unpaid, because it was a chance to get his face and his work out there to directors.

After a few years of roles in short-term productions, Seyer landed a part in a production of "Miss Saigon" in 1995. He got the role after an open audition.

His "Saigon" contacts eventually helped him land his understudy role in "Les Miserables," at 14 years, the longest-running Broadway show. He had an audition in August 1999 and tried to gear it toward the Valjean role of a just-released prisoner. He did a "work session" for producers in October, singing and dancing as required in the role.

He didn't hear anything else until the casting director called him back and offered him the understudy role in summer 2000. The long length of time between his original audition and being offered the role wasn't unusual, Seyer said, since there is no typical length.

The story of Valjean

"Les Miserables" is the story of Valjean, a Frenchman who steals a loaf of bread and goes to prison for 19 years. After the kindness shown to him by a priest who helps him avoid a second arrest, Valjean starts his life anew and attempts to lead a revolution in France. Seyer calls the story one of "doing what is morally correct versus what is ethically correct."

Seyer, who plays the role of a student involved in the revolution when he's not playing Valjean, said there are two other understudies plus the man who plays the lead. The lead takes one night off per week, he said, and the understudies fill in on a rotating basis. He said the three of them aren't really competitive about who gets to play the role.

"Everyone's really supportive of each other," he said.

His mother, Frieda Seyer, said she was concerned sometimes about her son's success in the field of acting. "He used to worry me about how he would support himself with that as a career," she said. "But he's proved that he can. I've always been so proud of him, just as I am with all my kids."

However, his drama teacher wasn't so concerned.

"I've never had a student who knew what he wanted as early as he did," King said. "He's one of the most energetic, enthusiastic and hard-working people I've ever known."

Seyer said that although he is auditioning for other roles constantly, he hopes to stay in his current role in New York for a long time. "I have a really great gig," he said. "I don't have the responsibility of performing every single night, but I'll wait and see what may come along."

Seyer said he isn't ruling out a possibility of a return to the Midwest because of his family ties to the area and a desire to possibly teach one day.

King said her students consider it a high point when Seyer comes to talk to her classes about his acting profession. "He really gives them confirmation that you can do this and make a living at it," she said.

Seyer said he speaks to students because he was encouraged by many people in his life and wants to do the same for others.

"It's nice for me to be able to use my Broadway experiences to say to the kids, Yes, you can. Whatever you want, it's there for the taking.'"