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THE LEADING MEN: Angel of Music
By Wayman Wong
02 Aug 2004
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Jai Rodriguez
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| photo by Wayman Wong | It’s an August occasion to celebrate when these "Leading Men" perform: Jai Rodriguez (Rent), Barrett Foa (Avenue Q) and Scott Coulter (The Duplex).
GLITTER AND BE JAI
Ever since Bravo TV’s "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" came into his life, Jai Rodriguez’s world "has not been the same, and all things just keep getting better." The sweet and charming Puerto Rican-Italian actor from Long Island has become a pop icon, thanks to his gig as the Fab Five’s "culture vulture," though he quips, "I’m more of a culture hummingbird." Rodriguez and his gay caballeros just received an Emmy nomination, and their "Queer Eye" book is a N.Y. Times best-seller.
For the next two weeks (Aug. 2-14), though, the 5-foot-10 entertainer returns to the role that launched his career: Angel in Rent. Rodriguez is having a blast on Broadway with co-stars Melanie (Scary Spice) Brown and Frenchie Davis: "There’s such a fun energy. It feels like opening night every night." His other stellar stage credits include starring in the Off-Broadway musical Zanna Don’t and playing opposite Hope Davis in the critically acclaimed play Spinning Into Butter. At home, Rodriguez keeps pet fish and adores his Yorkshire terriers, Nemo and Dorrie. Currently single, he’s "looking for someone real, attractive and funny. Funny is a big thing."
Question: Congrats on returning to Rent! You were only a 17 year-old high school senior when you started. How’d it happen?
Jai Rodriguez: I had a friend who recommended me to her agency, Abrams Artists, and there I met this lovely woman, Ellen Gilbert. She had me read some sides and asked if I could sing. I sang two lines of "One Song Glory" from Rent. And she picked up the phone and called [casting director] Bernard Telsey and said, "I have this kid in my office, and you have to see him now!" So I got in a cab and went there. I ended up getting a callback on the spot. Three weeks later, they offered me Angel in the Toronto company. Yay! That was exciting, except I hadn’t come out to my mom or told her I’d be playing an HIV-positive transvestite. Thank God, she suspected about the gay thing, so we got that right out of the way. (And Ellen’s still my agent.)
Q: You later made your Broadway debut as Angel, and you’ve played him many times now. How has your portrayal grown?
Rodriguez: When I first got Angel, I was 17 and a virgin. I had never even made out with a guy. I was concerned with looking pretty and sounding like a girl. Now I’m 25, and my take on him has matured. I play him more upbeat, a little like Puck from Midsummer’s Night Dream. Mischievous and lovable.
Q:What do you enjoy most about the role?
Rodriguez: I like bringing smiles to people’s faces. I love telling the story of someone who’s terminally ill, but still is gonna enjoy every minute of life. I lost two family members to AIDS, Aunt Joanne and cousin Rico, and I felt they chose to live their lives that way, so [my doing the show] is almost a tribute to them.
Q: What other Broadway roles would you like to play?
Rodriguez: Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. The role is such a tour de force that it makes you forget about the book, which is questionable. You get to make the audience laugh and cry. They approached me about taking over the role. It was on the table, but unfortunately they decided to close the show [with Hugh Jackman]. It’s really sad. The Producers also approached me, but the only age-appropriate part is Carmen Ghia, and I’m not interested. I’ve done the gay, over-the-top guy. I want to jump into another show where I wear pants for the majority of the time. If they wanted to turn Link Larkin in Hairspray into a La Bamba character, I’d do that. The number of Latino roles is very limited, and it’s unfortunate there isn’t more color-blind casting. In five years, I’d like to play Bobby in Company.
Q: Congrats on your Emmy nomination for "Queer Eye." Was coming out an issue for you when you got the show?
Rodriguez: I was raised thinking I’d burn in hell for being gay, but I didn’t have a choice. It’s just who I am. So when my agency told me I’d have to be openly gay to do ["Queer Eye"], it was a decision, but it was like, "It’s Bravo. Who watches Bravo?" I’ll just deny [I’m gay] if I get a bigger role. [Laughs.] But once the show took off, I realized that everyone wants a best friend like Will Truman, and they saw that in us. It soothed any anxiety I had about coming out. Now we’re syndicated in 98 countries, so I pretty much can’t hide anywhere. [Laughs.] We’re like the gay Beatles. I feel so humble to be part of something so majestic and larger than myself.
Q: What "Queer Eye" fans might not know about you is that you’re a sensational singer. Tell us about your nightclub act.
Rodriguez: I did covers with a rock band at xl, and it was awesome. I did everything from Christina Aguilera to Billy Joel to Cher. So I made a single ["Love Is Good"], and I’ve been looking forward to doing an album, but it’s been really saddening to see how many doors have been closed because of the gay thing. "We don’t know how to package you." I thought it was about the music.
Q:Finally, is there a Broadway star you’d like to make over?
Rodriguez: Yeah, but for all the wrong reasons. It would be evil of me to say I’d like to make over Norbert Leo Butz, but it would probably be just because I wanna see him in his boxers. I’d love to make over all the attractive and amazing leading men, like Brian D’Arcy James, Adam Pascal and Will Chase.
GRIN AND BARRETT
Barrett Foa is a bright Broadway actor who sings, dances and plays piano, but he literally never had a hand in puppetry until he joined the incredible cast of Avenue Q. However, director Jason Moore believed Foa could understudy John Tartaglia, the Tony-nominated star and seasoned "Sesame Street" puppeteer who plays Princeton and Rod. Because the pool of puppeteers isn’t deep, Avenue Q sought actors it could teach to puppeteer. Moore says: "We’re thrilled to have Barrett. He’s a very gifted singer and comedian, and like Johnny, he brings lots of youthful energy and heart."
After working with Avenue Q’s puppetry whiz Rick Lyon, then-stage manager Evan Ensign and Moore, Foa went on in January: "It was scary. I had three-and-a-half weeks to learn this bear of a role and to learn a whole new skill that all these people had been doing for years. It was daunting. But now I’ve gone on about 30 times, and I’m working on getting the smoothness and the nuances. It’s like acting through your hand. It’s strange. It’s akin to dancing. On this beat, you have to move here."
Foa, who normally works backstage in the Avenue Q ensemble, will fill in for Tartaglia, who’s going on vacation, Aug. 5-14, and Princeton and Rod are in good hands. Tartaglia says, "Barrett and I have jelled as friends really quickly. It’s very hard to teach someone a skill that takes years to learn, but Barrett’s done a great job. A couple weeks ago, I got a throat virus and did only three songs, so he took over for me [after "Mix Tape"]. I couldn’t sing, but we could laugh about it." Foa adds, "People were probably wondering: ‘Why is Princeton suddenly blond?’ But the switch was announced at the intermission and the audience cheered, which was nice. Johnny is a joy to understudy. There’s no Eve Harrington thing between us. He’s so kind."
Born in Manhattan, the 5-foot-11 blond ("I don’t dye my hair") went to the Dalton School and graduated from the University of Michigan. His Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include Mamma Mia!, Cupid & Psyche and Godspell ("That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience with comic geniuses like Chad Kimball and Leslie Kritzer"). Regionally, Foa, 26, has done Much Ado About Nothing with Karen Ziemba at the Hartford Stage; Camelot with Brent Barrett at Paper Mill Playhouse; and Henry Krieger and Bill Russell’s Kept at TheatreWorks. On Dec. 6, he’ll make his Broadway Spotlight debut at the Ars Nova.
As for Avenue Q, Foa has been encouraged to bring his own take to his characters, but "the voices are not negotiable. Rod’s voice is like this. Princeton’s is like this." He’s even gone on as Nicky and Trekkie Monster. And Foa’s presence hasn’t gone totally unnoticed. RuPaul, who loved the show and the cast, wrote in his Web site blog: "I was distracted by the huge ‘opening act’ that Barrett Foa was featuring in his pants. I couldn’t keep my eyes off it." Foa’s reaction? "It’s ridiculous and I discounted it. But the next night when I did the role, I thought: ‘Maybe I shouldn’t wear those underpants anymore. Am I dressing a little bit to the right?’ It was hilarious!"
For more information, visit www.barrettfoa.com. Continued...
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