Colin Hovde
Regular patrons of the Santa Fe Playhouse’s annual Fiesta Melodrama are sure to recognize at least a few recurring faces year after year. They’re the folks who bring the show, which famously riffs on Santa Fe’s foibles, to life. Among them is Cliff Russell, a mainstay of the show in that way where you almost can’t recall a time he wasn’t involved. Russell has, in fact, brought so many characters to life since his first appearance on the Playhouse stage in 2001, and now it’s kind of the end of an era. Seeing how the current run of the show marks its 100th—which also inspired its anonymous writing team to poke fun at the Melodrama itself—Russell has decided it’s a great time to go out with a bang rather than with a whimper; when the curtain falls on that final performance later this week, it’ll also close the book on Russell’s longstanding involvement. Russell’s done a lot of things over the years, like working for the US Postal Service and serving nearly four years in the Navy, but we think it’s pretty dang notable he’s been a part of Santa Fe’s silly Melodrama for so long. So we called him up to learn how it’s been, how he got his Screen Actors Guild card, why the time to leave felt right and what’s next for an actor who didn’t even start treading the boards until his mid-60s. Catch Russell and the rest of the Melodrama gang as they take the show on the road this week to the Santa Fe Public Library Southside Branch (6 pm Wednesday, Sept. 14 and Thursday, Sept. 15. Free. 6599 Jaguar Drive, (505) 955-2580) and the final performance at The Bridge@Santa Fe Brewing Co. (7:30 pm, Saturday, Sept. 18. $15-$75. santafeplayhouse.org), after which Russell’s castmates, friends and family will send him off in style with a beer-fueled afterparty. This interview has been edited for clarity and space. (Alex De Vore)
How do you feel now knowing that your tenure is coming to an end?
I feel pretty good for an 87-year-old man. Because I’m 87, I’m starting to get a little bit worn down. I’m not as steady on my pins as I used to be. But I’ve just loved doing it. That’s all I can say—that I really loved it a lot.
Would you say there’s any reason that kept you coming back, or something you learned during your run you’ll carry with you?
I met a lot of wonderful people, and I hope the friendships I made will last me until I go to the grave. It’s been a variety of people in that show. Some kept coming back, some liked it—like the hero in this year’s Melodrama, whose name is Felix Cordova, has been involved for the last 10 years—[other actors] have been in several Melodramas. Some keep coming back, but some of them just come and go.
I’d seen melodramas before, and these started out to be very similar to the old-time melodramas, and then they gradually changed into more of a political thing. A satire, you could say. It was always different, though, it was never the same. Some of the sets were spectacular, some were more simple. They were always spectacular.
What do you think you’ll do now? Will you keep acting? In television or film, perhaps?
It depends on what goes on. I keep looking at the auditions, and I look at the characters they have and none of them are quite my age. Back when I was 79, I played a 60-year-old, and now that I’m 87, I’m playing 100-year-olds. But I have done movies, and I have done TV. I became [Screen Actors Guild]-eligible on a TV show called The Night Shift about a hospital in San Antonio—but it was filmed in ABQ. That’s where I got to be SAG-eligible, because I finally got some lines. I...finally got lines.
Y’know, that’s something I might pursue if the situation is right. I’d prefer it to be in Santa Fe, though. And I prefer Westerns. I’ve done a lot of Westerns: I worked with Kevin Costner on Wyatt Earp, and I also worked on his first Western, Silverado. But also, I’ve been retired from the Post Office for 28 years, so really I think I’m gonna just keep on enjoying my retirement. I’ve lived in Santa Fe for 46 years. I’m not going anywhere. My next home is the National Cemetery. [As for the theater], I would just like to say—keep on coming back.
