Rigby’s return brings ‘Wendy’ back to stage

Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 | 3:56 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: October 17, 2004

Elisa Sagardia has been a cast member of "Peter Pan" off and on since 1997.

She was with Cathy Rigby's most recent tour, which ended in 2000. Then she was in a televised version with Rigby. Then she did a few other non-tour engagements around the country.

If not for Rigby, Sagardia would have ended her career as Wendy a long time ago.

"After the last tour I decided I wanted to do other things," she said.

But never say never.

"This will be Cathy's last time performing in 'Peter Pan,' " Sagardia said. "When I found out she was going to do it again, I wanted to come back and work with her one last time.

"Part of it is a nostalgic thing, and it also is a bit of a possessive thing of the character -- I have been doing it so long it felt strange to think of someone else in the role of Wendy."

During an interview from her home in Los Angeles, Sagardia said this probably will be the last tour with the production for a lot of the cast members, including herself.

She has lots of things to keep her busy.

For one thing, the 35-year-old performer has never put her bachelor's degree in psychology and her master's in counseling to full use.

"I started performing right after I got my undergraduate degree," Sagardia said. "I joined a tour of 'Evita,' which was kind of a fluke. When I graduated I wanted to go on and get a Ph.D in clinical psychology, but I loved the theater."

She said she first saw "Evita" when she was 14 and fell in love with the production.

"I was attending UCLA when a national tour held auditions for the role of the mistress. So just for fun, I tried out."

Sagardia won the role and three weeks later, with a degree in her hand, she joined "Evita."

Six years later her stint with the road company ended and she joined the cast of "Fiddler on the Roof" and then "Peter Pan."

During a break in her "Peter Pan" career, she went back to school and received her master's in counseling.

She wants to work in schools.

"What 'Peter Pan' did was expose me to children," Sagardia said. "A lot of young people come to the show. I wanted to be a therapist before, but after meeting so many kids it switched me to thinking about working with young people instead of adults.

"I love seeing the faces of the children. They are so in awe, so excited and innocent."

For the past year she has been tutoring children, teaching them to read. She is not married and has not children of her own.

"But I feel that I have so many children," Sagardia said.

She says she probably won't give up her performing career.

"If I were working in a school counseling position and a part in a show came up like Wendy or the mistress in 'Evita,' I probably would audition just for the heck of it.

"Performing is so much fun. I love singing and being onstage -- the muscial theater world is its own little world."

Because "Peter Pan" is so popular with children, Sagardia says a lot of responsibility goes with the performance.

"Our director said that for a lot of children this will be their first theatrical experience," Sagardia said.

"It's an exciting responsibility. We have a duty to the children, not only to entertain but to introduce them to this powerful new medium."

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