Every day for a month, 5-year-old Fredy Ruiz visited his public library to rent the movie Little Shop of Horrors. As he watched it over and over, he marveled at the acting, thinking, “How can I do that?”
So it’s no surprise that Ruiz, who that same year came to Orlando from the U.S. Virgin Islands, also became obsessed with Raul Julia, who played Gomez Addams in The Addams Family. “As a child, I really saw myself reflected in him,” recalls Ruiz. “He has inspired my career to this day.”
At age 10, he made his stage debut as “an elf that illustrated the storybooks, and I was hooked.” Ruiz later got involved in the theater program at University High School and continued to pursue his passion at Valencia College and the University of Central Florida.
“I always say I’m a forever student,” says Ruiz. “I continuously want to sharpen the tools for the craft I love so much.” That said, he likes a challenge and seeks characters that test his limits and roles that are “fresh and new.”
Some of his favorite parts have been as George Berger in the 1970s rock musical Hair, as Usnavi de la Vega in In the Heights, and—for three stints—as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family.
Coming up: Ruiz will tackle the role of “the man, the myth, the legend,” Dracula, in the Orlando Shakes’ production of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. His previous shows at the company have included Man of La Mancha and Native Gardens!
The witty vampire spoof—which is slated to run from September 23 to November 8 at the Goldman Theater—draws upon the broad and bawdy humor of Monty Python and Mel Brooks. And Ruiz plans to rise to the occasion, promising to deliver “a level of absurdity that really relishes the chaos of farce.”
Children younger than age 5 won’t be admitted to the PG-13 performance, which will contain sexual innuendo, gender bending and comic violence.
The Goldman Theater is located at 812 E. Rollins Street, Orlando, in Loch Haven Cultural Park. For more information, visit orlandoshakes.org or call 407.447.1700.
