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THE LEADING MEN: Burstein, Chase, Sieber, Creel, Steggert, Batt, Montalban and More
By Tom Nondorf
05 Oct 2009
Chats with Will Chase, Christopher Sieber, Gavin Creel, Bryan Batt, Paolo Montalban and more.
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Due to the rain, our annual trek to the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Flea Market and Grand Auction in Shubert Alley made a slight detour to the friendly confines of Roseland Ballroom, where the organizers did not miss a beat, raising over $400,000. Head to www.broadwaycares.org to see the details and contribute if you weren't able to make it.
I had the pleasure of possibly saving Elizabeth Ashley's life when she missed a stair and fell right into my arms. The ironic part is, she was only coming down to chat with me in the first place, so I might have been to blame had I not caught this lovely legend. But it's Leading Men you come here for, so I chatted up quite a few at the event, everyone agreeing that Broadway Cares is a vital godsend to the Broadway community and beyond.
DANNY BOY
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Danny Burstein
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
Danny Burstein has a well-deserved rep as one of the coolest guys you could ever meet. South Pacific's Luther Billis brought his two boys out to the event and signed at a table next to his wife, the lovely Rebecca Luker.
Question: What does it mean to be at this event with your family by your side?
Danny Burstein: It means everything to me. When I grew up in the business, AIDS was ravaging our business and indeed, the entire world. I never forget all the good friends I lost. I do this in memory of all those people that meant so much to me, and still we are living with the disease today. Basically, my first friend in college was named George Bogeazis. I was 18 years old, and he was the first person I knew to die of AIDS. I always think of George when I do anything like this. I expose my kids to these kinds of things because I want them to know it is important to always give back.
Q: Still having fun with South Pacific?
Burstein: I love South Pacific. You know, I love doing longer runs because you hope that when people come back to see the show, if they've seen it earlier, they will think the show is even deeper and better and real and rich. That's what I work on all the time. I try not to get bored with it by really investing in the work.
Q: Some shows are easier to do that with than others?
Burstein: I guess so. I've been very lucky. With Drowsy Chaperone right before this, I just kept trying to find new things…Beth Leavel and I would just play endlessly to try and find new funny moments. With this show, I keep trying to do the same and there's so much to pull from.
[South Pacific plays the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th Street. For more information go to www.lct.org.]
GLOVES ARE OFF
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John Glover
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
John Glover managed to playfully grab Burstein's derriere as we spoke, so I roped the "Smallville" villain in for a chat. Glover is currently in The Royal Family on Broadway.
Question: What does this event say about the Broadway community?
John Glover: I'm finding as I get older and older, this is what it is all about, the community. I went out to Los Angeles for awhile, did a lot of film and stuff, but I've always been able to come back here. I started out here. I came to New York when I got out of school…It has always been a kind of family, but this organization has really heightened and deepened that feeling of family in theatre in New York. To be a part of it is to be a part of the family, which is what the play I am doing right now is about—it's about a theatre family.
Q: You worked with Mr. Burstein in The Drowsy Chaperone.
Glover: I've always wanted to be in a Broadway musical, but I don't sing, you see. So there was a part that was perfect for me. I only got to do it for four months because I had to go back to "Smallville," but it was one of the best four months of my life.
Q: You were also in the film version of "The Chocolate War," which I love.
Glover: I remember it very well. Keith Gordon, who is a wonderful actor, got that movie made himself. He adapted the book and got a budget of half a million dollars and made that movie on a shoestring out of passion and love, and he got an incredible group of actors together and we worked for peanuts. I remember I was doing the film "Scrooged" at the same time, and I wore a belt in "Scrooged" that cost more money than I made doing "The Chocolate War," but it was an incredible experience. Those are the best jobs, the ones you do for free, for love. [Sings] "What I did for love…!"
Q: Who said you don't sing?
Glover: [Laughs] I share a dressing room with Tony Roberts right now at The Royal Family, and he points out to me that I always sing off key. So at least I am consistent.
[The Royal Family opens on Oct. 8 at the Friedman, at 261 W. 47th Street. For tix, visit www.Telecharge.com or call (212) 239-6200. ]
CUT TO THE CHASE
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Will Chase
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
Will Chase was a part of the short-lived The Story of My Life, and now is in the smash, Billy Elliot the Musical. Had to ask him about both ends of the spectrum.
Question: You just dove into a pretty big show…
Will Chase: It feels so good to be in a big fat hit and one that I really enjoy being in. I'm in love with the people in the show. I don't sing a whole hell of a lot, but it is kind of fun to go out and chew some scenery—if Greg Jbara has left me any scenery to chew!
Q: How in awe are you of the kids in the show?
Chase: It's weird. I hadn't seen the show till I got asked to do it. I was blown away. It is like they are playing Lear every night, but with dancing! It is epic.
Q: I enjoyed The Story of My Life. What is your post-mortem?
Chase: It sucks to pour your life into something like that and then have it pulled out from under you. I don't know why we can't have a two-person musical. We have two-person plays. That said, Neil Bartram and Brian Hill, the writers, are not hurting, and that musical is going to be done everywhere on the planet. I just wish more Broadway audiences could have seen it because it was very special — an actor's dream.
[Billy Elliot is at The Imperial Theatre, 249 West 45th Street. Tickets are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.TeleCharge.com. For more information, go to billyelliotbroadway.com.]
SIEBER'S SOCKS
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Christopher Sieber
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
Christopher Sieber, currently Lord Farquaad in Shrek The Musical, was not only signing for fans but was also the emcee for the Grand Auction.
Question: You really seem to be having fun here.
Christopher Sieber: The Flea Market is a hoot. It makes me laugh every single time. It's so much fun because you get to come out and see Broadway fans, but you also get to sell some of your junk. People get to come and pick through our Broadway junk [laughs].
Q: Have you ever thought of selling something odd like one of your socks?
Sieber: People buy weird stuff. They will buy stickers and buttons. They will buy an old sock. If it was from a Broadway show, they'll buy a sock. And that's great. As long as you sign it, it's fantastic. The bottom line is it is all for a good cause. If you are buying a nasty old sock, that is money that is going to help people.
Q: Still loving Shrek?
Sieber: Yes. Like any long run, there are times when it is trying, but I am still having a blast.
[Tickets for Shrek The Musical at the Broadway Theatre are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com. Visit www.shrekthemusical.com for more information.]
THE CREEL DEAL
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Gavin Creel
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
Hair Tony nominee Gavin Creel is still as fervent as when last we spoke, the true believer and Man With a Cause has helped charter 23 (at last count) buses to D.C. for the National Equality March on Oct.11.
Question: Your Broadway Impact organization has been a big part of organizing support for the march. Are you proud of the response?
Gavin Creel: It was Sutton Foster's idea. Jamie McGonnigal, Phillip Brock and Ryan Mayes have all taken the ball and run with it. I'm helping facilitate what I can with Broadway Impact and getting everyone there. I'm proud of us, I'm proud of the community. It's not about me. It's not about you, it's about all of us being together, and it is going to be so great to be standing [in D.C.] with hopefully hundreds of thousands of people shoulder-to-shoulder, all believing in the same thing. That's what I'm excited about.
Q: This many months into Hair, your fire still seems bright.
Creel: The more I do the show, the more inspired I get. The audiences come flooding up onto the stage, and they are jumping, grown men are crying. I realized it's not about the show, it is about people who want something to care about and believe in. It is neat to be in a show that does that. And our producers are total f*&&ing rockstars, cancelling a show so we can go down to D.C. and sing. We put up a huge banner during the dance party now, saying "National Equality March." Our tribe is not only doing 16 shows in a row, adding a show on Monday, not having a day off for two weeks, going down and marching, [but] they also raised $2,900 to pay for a bus. We are also sponsoring 56 marchers who couldn't afford to go. The band, the producers, the crew, everyone has pitched in.
Q: One would be hard-pressed to find a show where everyone involved was on the same page like that.
Creel: It's amazing. But look, an event like this Flea Market—Broadway Cares' executive director Tom Viola is the reason Broadway Impact is succeeding. Every step of the way BC/EFA has taken us under their wing. They basically put together the huge rally we did with the mayor, the governor…Tom Viola is not human, I think.
Q: It's like a new age of Broadway activism…
Creel: I want to be on the front line of that. You gotta watch out for Hair because when Gypsy of the Year happens and we start raising money, look out. We're coming after you, Rent tour!
[Hair is playing the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 W. 45th Street. For more information, go to www.hairbroadway.com. Check out www.broadwayimpact.com for more info on the march.] Continued...
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