From Caracas to NYC via Wichita and Wichita State, Javier Ignacio is claiming his own corner of the musical theater sky.
As Peter in the current North America touring company of Company, the Broadway comedy with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, Javier Ignacio fs ’07 performs on stages almost literally half a world away from where he spent the first 10 years of his life and learned to love all things musical.
“My mother, Ana, as a single parent with dreams of providing a better life for us, brought my brother, Daniel, and me to the States when I was 10,” says Ignacio, who’s on the road with Company, which he also did on Broadway from 2020 to 2022. He’s finishing up a run at Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles before striking out for Las Vegas, Spokane, Sacramento, Dallas and then, in October, Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall. “About my life in Venezuela, I mostly remember small details — my relationships to my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and some of the schools I attended. Music was a big part of my life. My grandfather was a singer/songwriter who performed on the radio, and my mother studied opera and sang in a prestigious choral group called La Schola Cantorum de Caracas. When I was just a toddler, my grandfather noticed while flipping through channels on the TV that I’d run in to see what was happening. My love for music was undeniable. But it wasn’t until moving to the States that I began any sort of formal music training.”
With family who had immigrated to the United States and settled in Wichita earlier, it was natural for him and his family to follow that path. Javier went to Caldwell Elementary, Curtis Middle School and high school at Southeast, where he sang in the choir, played viola in the orchestra and auditioned for his first musical, the comedy Once Upon a Mattress. “I completely fell in love with everything drama,” he says. “But I didn’t yet realize this was something one could pursue as a career.”
That changed after he came across an ad for Music Theatre of Wichita’s apprentice program. The summer after his freshman year at Southeast was the first of many he spent working alongside professional stage designers and costumers, actors and dancers. “Seeing their passion and dedication for storytelling through music” is, he says, what lit up his own determination to someday take the stage as a professional. But first, he knew he needed to continue to hone his talents and learn the skills and techniques that would offer him the best chance of gaining a toehold in such a famously competitive industry. The next step was college, specifically Wichita State’s School of Performing Arts, but money was short. As it turned out, it took the efforts of a cadre of friends and supporters from both inside and outside the world of musical theater to help clear some of the hurdles in the road ahead of him.
A BAND OF ANGELS
“All along the way,” he says, “my family was juggling a very long and intense immigration battle. As things in Venezuela became more hostile, our case became increasingly delayed and complex. I’m forever grateful for a community of people — angels, as I like to think of them — who stepped in to help when we most needed them. Wayne Bryan, Sabrina Vasquez, Nick Johnson, Linda Starkey, Jim Rhatigan and Bob Scott are but a few of those angels who, to this day, I credit for much of my success.”
James J. Rhatigan, WSU senior vice president and dean of student affairs emeritus, remembers the first time he saw Ignacio perform. “I met Javier, who was a senior in high school at the time, after a performance at the University Congregational Church,” Rhatigan says. “Bob Scott, the choral director at the church, had called me to recommend him for a scholarship. I remember sitting in the back row and being very impressed with Javier, who is an outstanding, expressive singer and actor — a complete performer. The university awarded him a scholarship.” The performance was of Pippin, and it wouldn’t be the last time Ignacio would impress with his singing of the musical’s “Corner of the Sky,” a song about finding one’s way in life.
The next three and a half years in Wichita were fantastically full ones for Ignacio, who in addition to his studies and stage experiences at Wichita State continued his affiliation with MTWichita under the direction of Wayne Bryan and racked up credits in such roles as Mereb in Aida, Rocky in Damn Yankees and the Mayor of Whoville in Seussical. As a WSU performing arts student, he says his most memorable experiences include “getting to play Pippin in 2005 when the production was selected to be performed at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in St. Louis, playing Gordo in the musical A New Brain, dancing with WSU’s Alithea Mime Theatre and taking my first trip to NYC with Alithea’s director Nick Johnson and Sabrina Vasquez to perform at the United Nations.”
A COMPANY OF SHOCKERS
LINDA STARKEY ’90, WSU School of Performing Arts director emerita
Linda Starkey ’90, member of the Mary Jane Teall Hall of Fame and recipient of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Gold Medallion, took her final bow as WSU’s performing arts director in 2021 after 40-plus years at Wichita State. In that time, she says, her strongest sense of accomplishment has come by simply supporting students, including Ignacio. “Javier has such charisma on stage,” she says. “He has the most wonderful inner spotlight that just radiates sweetness and authenticity. You can’t teach that to students. All we can do as educators is try to help them grow into their talents.” And, in Ignacio’s case, stand by as steadfast supporters of him and his family in their ongoing immigration difficulties.
In his final semester at Wichita State, in November 2007, Ignacio had to leave his university studies to attend to family matters. “I wasn’t able to return to finish my degree, but instead continued to work, finding much success. I give credit to my instructors at WSU as well as my mentors at MTWichita.”
Ignacio has lived in New York City for over 15 years now. He has worked on Broadway, off-Broadway and done Shakespeare in the Park. He’s been in Broadway national tours, including the 2016-17 tour of Into the Woods, in which every character plays an instrument. He played the viola. “Touring can be difficult at times — the long travel days, being far away from your loved ones, staying fit and healthy despite the different climates and regional allergens,” Ignacio says. “But you also create incredible bonds with your cast and crew and get each other through it — you grow.”
When not on tour, Ignacio says he enjoys spending more time with his family, his boyfriend, Hansel, and three dogs. “My mother and I live together with our two Puggles, Maia and Flint, and my brother and sister-in-law, Alejandra, are close by with our other Puggle, Scout,” he says. “Life as an actor in NYC can be hard and exciting and beautiful, and it’s the people you surround yourself with that enhance the experience. Some of my dearest friends in the city came from my time at WSU and MTWichita. I’ll just mention two: Julius Thomas III and Taurean Everett, whom I adore and admire and am so proud of their success. It’s always fun to come together and remember our time as WSU students and celebrate our journey. But we’ve also come together in times of struggle to lift each other up because one of the hardest aspects of being a performer is that our career paths aren’t linear. Every contract has an end and you have to figure out the next step. That’s scary but also exciting – you learn to use all your gifts.”
Thomas, who was Leading Player to Ignacio’s Pippin in WSU’s 2005 production of the musical, describes his friend as being “one of the finest humans I know in this life. Javier is my brother on stage and off, for life. If he were just a kind human, that would be enough. But he’s also an incredible artist. The mark he leaves on this world is undeniable.” It was Thomas who sponsored Ignacio in his final successful application for U.S. Residency. His green card came in November 2023, 28 years after his own arrival.
Company’s tour comes to a close in October, and Ignacio is considering what might be next. TV/film work? Voiceovers? Teaching/coaching? All he knows for certain is that he’ll continue, he says, “to stay open and curious for what new adventures come my way.” He knows, too, he can always count on his band of angels – and the company of Shockers.
