It took years of searching for the right career path for Bruce Sabath to realize that the career he was destined for had been right in front of him as a student at Brighton High School.
The 1980 Brighton graduate had been active in the high school theatre program, participating in chorus, band and orchestra, and playing clarinet, piano and guitar.
“I was always a performer,” Sabath said of his school years. “I was always on stage performing. I was never much of a shy kid.”
Among his roles in high school theatre were Applegate in "Damn Yankees", Fagin in "Oliver!" and, his favorite high school role, Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" during his junior year.
“I enjoyed taking on these characters and trying to understand them,” he said. “It was always such a really fun challenge. I loved the kind of momentary Zen experience when you become another character — another person — and live through that person’s eyes for a moment in time.”
But when it came to pursuing theatre as a career, Sabath said it never crossed his mind.
“It was always just something that I did, my favorite thing,” he said. “The concept of an acting career is not something that was at all a realistic concept to me.”
His first career
After graduating high school, Sabath earned an applied math degree from Harvard University and an MBA from the Wharton School, before pursuing a career on Wall Street and in corporate strategy, eventually landing a job at American Express.
“I had a series of business jobs, and each moment, I would think this is exciting and fun and I’ll enjoy it,” he said. “I found myself saying this doesn’t feel quite right, and I’d move on to the next thing. I think it really changed my perspective of what you can and should do with your life.”
The turning point came when his wife asked him what he would do with his life if he could do anything. Sabath didn’t have to think a second — his response was acting.
“All of a sudden, it kind of made a lot of sense,” he said. “I realized that in my mind, I had an idea that I would work and work, and then I’d retire and do community theatre, and then I’d be happy. It seemed kind of backwards. I decided to go for this.”
It took years of searching for the right career path for Bruce Sabath to realize that the career he was destined for had been right in front of him as a student at Brighton High School.
The 1980 Brighton graduate had been active in the high school theatre program, participating in chorus, band and orchestra, and playing clarinet, piano and guitar.
“I was always a performer,” Sabath said of his school years. “I was always on stage performing. I was never much of a shy kid.”
Among his roles in high school theatre were Applegate in "Damn Yankees", Fagin in "Oliver!" and, his favorite high school role, Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" during his junior year.
“I enjoyed taking on these characters and trying to understand them,” he said. “It was always such a really fun challenge. I loved the kind of momentary Zen experience when you become another character — another person — and live through that person’s eyes for a moment in time.”
But when it came to pursuing theatre as a career, Sabath said it never crossed his mind.
“It was always just something that I did, my favorite thing,” he said. “The concept of an acting career is not something that was at all a realistic concept to me.”
His first career
After graduating high school, Sabath earned an applied math degree from Harvard University and an MBA from the Wharton School, before pursuing a career on Wall Street and in corporate strategy, eventually landing a job at American Express.
“I had a series of business jobs, and each moment, I would think this is exciting and fun and I’ll enjoy it,” he said. “I found myself saying this doesn’t feel quite right, and I’d move on to the next thing. I think it really changed my perspective of what you can and should do with your life.”
The turning point came when his wife asked him what he would do with his life if he could do anything. Sabath didn’t have to think a second — his response was acting.
“All of a sudden, it kind of made a lot of sense,” he said. “I realized that in my mind, I had an idea that I would work and work, and then I’d retire and do community theatre, and then I’d be happy. It seemed kind of backwards. I decided to go for this.”
At that moment, at the age of 35, Sabath decided to leave his job and go back to school, to the William Esper Studio, and pursue an acting career in New York.
After two years of studying the craft, Sabath began auditioning for parts. His first professional job came when he was cast in the national tour of “Victor/Victoria.”
Hitting it big
Fifteen years later, Sabath has performed in about 30 theatre productions and also taken on some film and television parts.
He said he prefers theatre to film.
“Theatre is the most gratifying because you get more time to actually work on developing a character and working with other actors,” he said. “There’s more of a sense of community. You really get inside it.”
His big break came in 2006 when he was cast as Larry in the Broadway production of “Company.” The show, which ran through 2007, won the Tony Award for best revival.
“All the things that go along with it — the opening night, the New York Times review — were all really exciting,” Sabath said. “People who know you can come and see you. Being able to do it every night is just exciting.”
Coming home
Sabath recently wrapped up his Geva Theatre Center debut in its own production of “Company.”
Revisiting a production he has such fond memories of, he was cast in a different role, this time playing Harry.
“Ever since I started acting professionally, I always had the idea that it would be really fun to come back to Rochester and perform at Geva,” Sabath said.
It was an opportunity for him to return to the Rochester area, where his mother, Margie Sabath, still lives, as do old friends and neighbors.
“Almost every night after the show, I would see someone I know or who remembers me or my performances (in high school),” he said. “It’s just a lot of fun to be able to do the show for people I know and who know me.”
After the conclusion of the show, Sabath returned to New York City to pursue new roles.
“I feel lucky that I was able to, first of all, figure out what I really did want to do,” he said of his career journey. “I’m lucky that I asked that question and was able to figure it out. And I’m very lucky that I was able to actually pursue it.”
