Couple finds love on stage in Utah

Now pair together in hit `Mamma Mia!'

Nathan Balser and his wife, Suzie Jacobsen Balser, were married at gunpoint more than 30 times before they tied the knot for real.

The couple met playing opposite each other in a Tuacahn, Utah, production of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." Those 1999 staged shotgun weddings paid off with a marital union that has lasted through major career changes.

When the Las Vegas company of "Mamma Mia!" was formed, both husband and wife auditioned for roles, but only Nathan, 31, made the cut for the original cast.

They had both found jobs with a cruise line show where they could work together, but Suzie, 25, knew "Mamma Mia!" was an opportunity her husband could not pass up. So she moved to Las Vegas, unsure if she would ever find work.

That leap of faith was rewarded in February when Suzie finally took her place on the "Mamma Mia!" stage in a principal role as Sophie Sheridan, the young woman seeking the identity of her father on her way down the wedding aisle.

Suzie didn't always have such warm feelings for her husband. On the day they met, she hardly gave him a second glance. A mutual friend introduced them at the audition for "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." Nathan was immediately smitten, but Suzie blew him off.

"She was completely focused, in audition mode," he said.

"It wasn't that I didn't find him attractive, it's just that I was not there looking for a date. I was looking for a job," she said.

The actress had another job that kept her from "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" rehearsals for a week. So Nathan acted with an imaginary mate while he waited.

"I had spent a whole week alone, so I was really excited when she finally got there," he said.

But when Suzie arrived, she again ignored her partner's subtle flirting as she focused on catching up with the rest of the cast. Once the musical was under way, she finally warmed to him.

The couple dated all summer and then pursued a long-distance relationship the following year while Suzie worked on her bachelor of fine arts degree in musical theater at Brigham Young University and Nathan finished up his master of fine arts degree in modern dance performance an hour away at the University of Utah.

A year after they met, the two united in a June 2000 wedding without a shotgun in site. "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" director Derryl Yeager still takes credit for bringing the couple together.

Once they were married, the Balsers returned to Tuacahn, where they again played opposite each other in "Annie Get Your Gun." Then they auditioned for and secured jobs with the Holland America Cruise Line. It was during a three-month hiatus before setting sail that the couple auditioned for "Mamma Mia!" on a whim.

"We never thought we were headed here. We were headed to New York -- Broadway," Suzie said.

The cruise gig was set to begin in December. In November, Nathan got the call to join the ensemble for "Mamma Mia!"

"When we got that call, it was the hardest four days of our lives," he said.

Suzie said she knew if she moved to Las Vegas, a town with pretty much only one permanent musical theater-style show, she might be risking her career.

"But I knew it was such an amazing opportunity for Nathan," she said. "We couldn't pass it up for a cruise ship show. This was our foot in the door."

Once she arrived in Las Vegas, the actress didn't hold still. She found work teaching dance and musical theater at The Studio. She filled in part time instructing at the Fern Adair Conservatory of the Arts and she took every opportunity she could to stay on stage with roles in "Oklahoma!" at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park's Super Summer Theater and back in Tuacahn as Molly in a production of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."

She spent the holiday season on the Starbright Theatre stage in Summerlin as the Ghost of Christmas Past in "Scrooge."

Periodically, the actress would get a call back for additional "Mamma Mia!" auditions. She usually read for the roles of Sophie's friends. During rehearsals for "Scrooge," she got one last call back.

"I thought it was routine," she said. "I didn't know that Jill (Paice, the previous Sophie) was leaving. None of the cast knew. So when they asked me to read for Sophie for the first time, I was surprised. It was different."

When the one-year anniversary of the Las Vegas show arrived, Paice wasn't the only cast member to move on, Suzie was joined by new cast members Lewis Cleale playing Sam Carmichael, Michael Pemberton as Bill Austin, Justin Brill playing Pepper and Dennis Kenney as Eddie.

Many company members remained, including Tina Walsh as Donna Sheridan, Jennifer Perry as Rosie, Victor Wallace playing Sophie's fiance, Sky, and Michael Piontek as Harry Bright. Reyna Von Vett was promoted to the role of Tanya.

Suzie never saw herself as a Sophie. Traditionally, the role has been filled by a high, clear classically trained soprano. Balser is more of a mezzo soprano/alto pop belter.

"I never thought I could sing the part, honestly," she said. "But when they asked me to read for Sophie I thought, 'What the heck. Here's what I've got.' I was surprised. It just felt comfortable.

"Since I got the part, I've had to stretch to make my vocal chords reach those notes. It's just like going to the gym to work out. Your muscles can learn to stretch. Now it's comfortable."

"Mamma Mia!" publicist John McCoy said the cast faces challenges uncommon in other shows in town.

"Most shows in Las Vegas are around 90 minutes. In this show, they're on stage 2 1/2 hours. They're working a lot harder than any other production on the Strip and they do it eight times a week," McCoy said.

Another challenge the Balsers face is stage kissing. In every show, Nathan is two feet away from his wife while she's locked in a passionate embrace with her co-star, Wallace. Both husband and wife insist, stage love is nothing like the real thing.

"You don't love it. And you try not to think about it." Suzie said. "Victor is very respectful, but we try to make it appear and feel as real as it can."

Nathan is the understudy for Sky, so occasionally he, too, will have the opportunity to kiss his wife on stage.

"I hope I don't laugh," Suzie said.

The actress never pictured herself married to a performer.

"I wanted it to be my thing," she said. "But now that it's worked out that way, I don't know how I could get through otherwise. It's good to be with someone who understands."

"I always wanted to marry someone in the field," Nathan said. "It takes a performer to understand the demands of tech rehearsals, the long days, no vacation. That's just how it is."

That understanding comes in handy when it comes to keeping up the family's new home in Aliante. The Balsers found time to lay in slate tile by themselves and they make time to pamper their golden labrador.

"But as far as cooking, no one cooks," Nathan said. "We can cook. We just don't."

"Last night's dinner consisted of beef jerky," Suzie said.

The couple still dreams of Broadway, but for now, Nathan has an open-ended contract, and Suzie has made a one-year commitment.


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