From Mr. Thommie to Mr. Braithwaite: The Party’s Just Begun for Broadway Bound Thommie Retter
“Had I received my first Broadway role when I was in my twenties, I would have thought the universe owed it to me,” confesses Thommie Retter, who will be making his Broadway debut on November 13, 2008, as Mr. Braithwaite in the hit show Billy Elliot the Musical. “But this happened to me after everything, after teaching and after adulthood. I cherish it so much!”
Mr. Thommie, as his students at Debbie Reynolds Studio in Los Angeles affectionately call him, began his career like many aspiring dancers. He grew up far from the bright lights of Broadway in Kentwood, Michigan, where his mother, Bette Retter, owned a successful dance studio. Retter’s older brother Darryl caught the attention of world- famous tap teacher Al Gilbert, a.k.a “Uncle Al,” and began accompanying Gilbert to master classes as his assistant.
Sure enough, Retter acquired the family tap dancing genes and was asked to assist Gilbert as well. “Then he started recommending me for other gigs and I started rocking the jobs!” exclaims Retter. Soon, he was teaching master classes at conventions and choreographing at studios nationwide. And that is how Mr. Thommie, the teacher from Kentwood, Michigan, was born.
At the age of 19, Retter was hired as a part-time lecturer at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where he taught tap for 12 semesters. “After teaching at Hope College, I knew that was about the biggest it was going to get for me in Grand Rapids, Michigan,” he recalls. “So I moved to Los Angeles with my fiancé, Becca.”
Both he and Becca, now his wife of 12 years, secured teaching jobs at Retter’s Academy of Dance, a studio owned by his brother Darryl and his wife, Linda. Shortly after, Retter was offered a job at Debbie Reynolds Studio in North Hollywood, where he has been teaching for 14 years. “It ended up being a really great place to work,” he professes.
In the midst of his busy teaching schedule, Retter appeared in industrials, instructional videos and commercials. Although he received plenty of work, he never got the big break needed to catapult his performing career. So he and Becca, who is now co-director of the pre-school department at Retter’s Academy of Dance, continued the teaching circuit.
During that time, Al Gilbert, his early tap mentor and teacher, passed away. But before he did, he asked Retter’s brother Daryl (and Doug Shaffer) to take over his company, and Music Works began. In addition, Gilbert asked Becca to continue to teach his tap syllabus and create more teaching aids. “Music Works produces fresh music and choreography to accompany that music. For example, you can buy a song called “Rock it Don’t Stop it” and we write the song, produce the music, and my wife’s voice says, ‘flap ball change, flap ball change,’” explains Retter. “It was then I realized I’m a pretty talented song-writer!”
On a random January morning in L.A., casting directors from Billy Elliot thought that Retter’s background in music combined with his dance talent made him perfect for the role of Mr. Braithwaite in the new Broadway show. “I was teaching tap class at Debbie Reynolds. There’s always auditions going on, so it was no different that morning,” recalls Retter. “There was an audition across the hall for Billy Elliot, but I didn’t know what it was for. So I taught my class as usual and when I was done I left.”
When he was halfway home, he got a call from the studio explaining that a casting agent wanted to meet him. Immediately, Retter turned his car around. “When I got there they asked if I could audition for a role really quickly because I looked perfect for the part. I said sure and put my tap shoes on,” recalls Retter. “Boom! Two minutes later I passed the dancing test.”
He was about to leave when the casting agents asked if he could sing. Off the cuff, he performed “On the Street Where you Live” from My Fair Lady. Retter, who had never even taken an acting class before, was then asked to read lines. Julian Webber, the associate director of Billy Elliot, was stunned by his natural abilities. Later that night, after telling all of his students what an amazing day he had, he got a call from New York.
Retter recalls, “They said they wanted to see me again for a callback for Billy Elliot the Musical. I said, ‘Whoa! This is getting cooler by the second!’” After the callback, the directors thanked him and said they would be in touch. But weeks went by and nothing happened.
So Retter continued teaching, focusing much of his attention on a special student, Ashley Argota. For Retter, there is nothing more exciting than helping a young person realize his or her talent. And the second he saw Argota perform, he knew she had star quality. “She just got off the road with Disney playing young Nala in The Lion King and I picked her to sing a song called ‘Pop Princess,’ which was produced by Moho Productions and is now available on iTunes on her album ‘Ashley,’” Retter says proudly with a smile. Argota, who had just received a role on the Nickelodeon series “True Jackson, VP” assured Retter that he would get his dream role too.
Then, about a month and half later, he got an unexpected call from New York. “They wanted to see me again,” he says. “So they flew me out. And there I was, auditioning for a Broadway show, just having the time of my life!” Retter, who never got his hopes up, thought to himself there was no way they would select him. “Why would they pick Mr. Thommie to be on Broadway? I’m a dance teacher!”
A few months passed, and by this time Retter figured he was no longer in the running. But sure enough they asked him to come back to New York. “I said, ‘absolutely!’” recalls Retter. With the group narrowed down to only a handful of dancers, he realized he had a real shot. But Retter heard nothing, so he continued his life as Mr. Thommie the tap teacher.
Then, a month later, he got a call from a familiar 212 number. “They said they couldn’t make up their minds and asked me to come back again!” he says with excitement. When he auditioned in New York for the third time, Lee Proud, who was the resident choreographer for Billy Elliot in London, pushed for Retter to get noticed. As it turns out, Proud was also the man who saw Retter in the window that January morning in L.A. at Debbie Reynolds Studio.
“Now this is the best part,” says Retter. “This whole time I was under the impression I was auditioning for an ensemble role with the possibility that I may understudy the role of Mr. Braithwaite.” But in his last audition, the directors asked if he had any special talents and he said, “Yeah, I can do hip-hop.” So, the pianist started to play and Retter improvised some hip-hop, which turned into all-out break-dancing. “I just threw them the whole kitchen sink. What did I have to lose?” It was that moment, he says, that the panel of judges looked at him differently than when he started.
But Retter found himself playing the waiting game yet again. He knew Billy Elliot rehearsals were going to begin soon, so he assumed he was not chosen and planned out his teaching schedule for the remainder of the year. Then, about a month later, he received the call from Tara Rubin Casting that changed his life. “I was chosen to play Mr. Braithwaite in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical!” exclaims Retter. “With music by Elton John, directed by Stephen Daldry, choreography by Peter Darling and book and lyrics by Lee Hall. Wow!”
Retter was in shock. “I thought to myself, ‘Did they say I was going to understudy the role of Mr. Braithwaite?’ he recalls. “So I called back to make sure. And they said, ‘Thommie, you will be playing the role of Mr. Braithwaite.’ After the initial shock subsided, he called everyone he knew, including his high school choir teacher, Mark Webb, who could not have been prouder. “He said, ‘You have made this old man’s day,’” Retter beamed.
“The cast has been great, especially my new friend Donnie Kehr. And the creative team is just spectacular!” he reveals. “But I miss my students from Los Angeles dearly and my family.” Retter has two daughters, Liza, 7, and Bella, 4. “I haven’t seen them in seven and a half weeks! I can’t wait until they all get here to start our new lives in New York.”
Never in a million years did Retter think this would happen. “I’m just me, and I’m true, and I treat others the way I want to be treated,” he explains. Now, the man who was once the teacher has become the student, a transition that was easy. He reveals, “As a teacher and a daddy, I learn from young people on a daily basis.”
From Mr. Thommie to Mr. Braithwaite, the party has just begun for this tap teacher turned Broadway star.