BWW Interviews: LES MISERABLES' Ian Patrick Gibb Talks New CD

Ian Patrick Gibb is currently touring with the LES MISÉRABLES U.S. Tour playing Jean Prouvaire and understudying for Marius. He recently released a new CD called "Fill in the Words." It is a compilation of songs defining the many meanings of the word "Love." Ian's choice of music fit well with his rich voice and the strength of each song. It's a must have for any collector of Broadway music. In a recent interview, Ian shared with me his musical passion and the labor of love which has become his first CD.

Your first role in theatre was Oliver when you were 11 years old. Tell us about getting the part for Oliver and how your parents talked you into auditioning.

My parents wanted me to be well rounded when I was growing up so they pushed me to do a bunch of different things. I played all the sports, I took piano lessons and I used to sing with my sister a lot. They recognized something that I didn't even know. I sang in a choir in Arizona. There was an audition notice for Oliver. People had been telling them that I would make a good Oliver. My sister had been doing plays too. One night after a piano lesson, they said they wanted me to go audition for the show and I said, "No, I don't want to do that." They didn't listen to me and they drove me to the audition. I sat there and I cried and said I didn't want to do it. They had the director come sit and talk with me for a little while. He said, "That's fine if you don't want to audition but if you do, you can come back tomorrow and audition." And I said no again. At the time, I was playing baseball and didn't like it. My dad came up and said that if I auditioned for the show that I could quit baseball. So, I auditioned for it and ended up getting Oliver. Little did they know that I would fall in love with it and find out it was what I would want to do for a living.

Is that where you got the "bug?"

Yes, totally. I was obsessed with doing musicals after that.

Pre-med to Music? How did that happen?

I always felt pressure to go into something that involved money just because both my parents worked in the financial aspect of their careers. They always stressed about money so that's what I thought I needed to do. I've always been good at math and science growing up so I thought I would do pre-med and become a doctor. I attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas for 2 years. I felt like I was going through the motions. I could have done it, but I wouldn't have been happy. I decided to leave the school and leave San Antonio. I needed to do what I loved to do which was theatre and my parents totally supported that. My mom keeps telling me that she goes to work every day and she doesn't really enjoy her job. She thinks it's wonderful that I wake up every day and do a job that I love to do and always want to do.

What did you like about San Antonio?

I loved the Riverwalk. I also went and saw my first national tour at the Majestic Theatre. I remember going to see "The Little Shop of Horrors" at the Majestic. It was so cool because we just returned to San Antonio with the show. It was full circle. I saw my first national tour there and then I came through with LES MISÉRABLES national tour. I loved Six Flaggs, the Superman ride and Seaworld. I loved Trinity's campus. It overlooks the downtown area. It was a fantastic city.

Then you left San Antonio and went to Oklahoma?

I decided a week before my junior year that I didn't want to go back to Trinity. So, I stayed in Wichita for a semester and then transferred to Oklahoma City University in the Spring of 2006. I did a Bachelor's of Music and musical theatre and I graduated from there in 2009. It's a great school. I had a fantastic vocal teacher. He taught me everything I know about singing. I'm very grateful for him. It trained me very well for this career. I'm happy that I made the switch.

I really love the new CD and have gotten to listen to a lot of it. I was so impressed with many of the songs. One that really struck me was, "When She Loved Me." You did a great job with it. And I love "Run Away with Me." How did you decide to do a CD?

I always wanted to do an album. People have been telling me for a couple of years now, my parents especially. I wanted to get established in my career before I wanted to go forward with an album. The album is themed around the different aspects of love. Love is something I feel that everyone can relate to in some way in their lives. I wanted to incorporate a variety of songs that did that. There's a song for everyone in the album. There are songs about meeting your love for the first time and how exciting that is songs about saying goodbye or about losing the ones you love and how sad and emotional that can be. Sometimes you don't have the ability to express how you truly feel about somebody. That is where the title of the album came from. You're given the word love and now you need to fill in the words with your feelings and experiences with it. I think the great thing about is that everyone's interpretation will be different. I think the variety of people listening to the album will enjoy different songs because they can relate to certain songs more than others.

Kathy Strain spent most of her life outside of Philadelphia and has enjoyed Broadway shows for most of her life. Kathy moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2001 with her husband Ken and 3 children. She holds a degree in Public Relations from the University of Texas at San Antonio and runs her own Public Relations company. She loves to contribute pieces on the arts to several outlets and enjoys writing about talent and sharing it with the world.

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