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Jul. 19--As if Cary Lantz didn't have enough to do.
Just because she is now a doctor, Lantz doesn't see any reason to set aside all those singing, dancing and music-making talents she worked so hard to pick up.
At 34, she has her own internal medicine practice. But she also plays flute in conductor Bobby Hodges' Charleston Neophonic Orchestra and, when Hodges asked her, in the pit orchestra for the Charleston Light Opera Guild's spring show, "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum."
She has performed in both Guild productions at the Clay Center, as Marian the librarian in "The Music Man" and as the dancing fork in "Beauty and the Beast."
Now Lantz returns to the stage when the Guild opens "Guys and Dolls," the Frank Loesser classic, at 8 p.m. Friday for a three-weekend run at the Guild's Tennessee Avenue home. Lantz plays the part of Sgt. Sarah Brown, a beautiful but innocent Salvation Army missionary who wants to lead a bunch of rough-talking but otherwise contented gamblers to a better life.
"I like to be busy," she said. "I like to keep my schedule full."
Lantz took her first dance class at age 3. At 12, she performed in her first Guild show as an orphan understudy in "Annie." She stayed up until 1 a.m. during what performers call "tech week" when a show adds lighting, orchestra, sets and costumes during the last few days before the opening -- but went on stage just 10 minutes of the whole run.
At 14, she started singing in the church choir with her parents at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. At 17, she took voice lessons from Deborah Lucas, whom Guild performers go to when they realize they need to learn something about singing. She danced with Nina Denton's Appalachian Jazz Youth Ballet. She took Suzuki flute class with June Warhoftig, making all-state three years and first chair her senior year.
Her father is Clifford Lantz, a retired lawyer and former tax commissioner under Gov. Hulett Smith. Her mother is Barbara Lantz, a homemaker whose quilts and wall hangings annually earn a spot in the Cultural Center show.
Cary said she and her mom are the compulsive ones. "My dad is laid back, very slow moving. My mom and I are very fast moving."
She likes to cook, especially marinara sauce and pizza. She makes ice cream. Brownies, too. "That's my signature item. There are always brownies around the house. I generally have to have one every day, if not two or three. Everything in moderation."
Lantz went to Denison University, where she played in a town-gown orchestra and took voice lessons, for a while toying with the idea of a performing career.
She minored in music, majored in biology, graduated summa cum laude, went to West Virginia University medical school for four years, took a three-year residency in Charlottesville, Va., and returned to Charleston to join a group practice in 2001.
She has now set up her own practice next to Thomas Memorial Hospital. "I like being my own boss for a change."
In addition to her practice, she does disability exams for the state, and one night a week works as the physician at Physicians Weight Loss Center. She works out five days a week at the YWCA, 45 to 90 minutes a session. "I plan to start rollerblading this summer. My boyfriend is going to teach me. So far, I've made it around my parking lot a few times."
Didn't her mother ever tell her she couldn't do more than three activities? "She tried," Lantz said. "But I obviously didn't listen."
She gets by on five or six hours sleep a night. "I don't need much." In her spare time, she reads crime-solving novels. "I do that while on the treadmill. I get lost in that. It takes me away from all the stress of daily life."
Except for the insurance forms and the long lists of insurance-approved drugs, she likes medicine. "Sometimes you can't heal, but you can make them feel better and provide them with that compassionate sense of human contact. Plus it's fun. It's like a puzzle. I've always liked to problem solve and medicine is the ultimate in problem-solving."
What keeps her coming back to the stage? "I'm trying to put off growing up as long as I can. I'm a lot like Peter Pan in Neverland. I do think kids have more fun."
To contact staff writer Bob Schwarz, use e-mail or call 348-1249.
If you go
The Charleston Light Opera Guild stages "Guys and Dolls" at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, July 29, 30 and Aug. 4 and 5 at the guild's West Side home. Tickets are $14; box office open 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday or call 342-9312.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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