Before he spent five years as time traveler Sam Beckett on the TV series Quantum Leap (earning a Golden Globe Award and four Emmy nominations), Scott Bakula was charming Broadway audiences, most notably in a Tony-nominated turn in 1988 in the intimate musical Romance/Romance, which also time-traveled from turn-of-the-century Vienna to modern-day the Hamptons.

Although he is best known for his work on the small and silver screens—including It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, NCIS: New Orleans, Behind the Candelabra, Men of a Certain Age, Looking, Star Trek: Enterprise, Only Murders in the Building, Divinity, The Informant, American Beauty, Life as a House, Lord of Illusions, Sibling Rivalry, Back to the Minors, A Passion to Kill, Color of Night, Basmati Blues, Elsa and Fred, and more—Bakula has often returned to the stage. He played Hapgood in a sold-out, thrilling concert staging of Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle in 1995 that co-starred Bernadette Peters and Madeline Kahn.

The Missouri native also played Nathan Detroit opposite Ellen Greene's Miss Adelaide in the acclaimed Hollywood Bowl staging of Guys and Dolls; made his U.K. stage debut in Saul Rubinek's Terrible Advice at the Menier Chocolate Factory; and appeared in Dancing in the Dark at San Diego’s Old Globe, Jane Anderson’s Quality of Life at the Geffen Playhouse, No Strings at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, and Shenandoah at the Ford’s Theater.

And, luckily for New York theatregoers, Bakula has recently appeared in back-to-back musical productions: MCC Theater's 2024 mounting of the Jason Robert Brown-Jonathan Marc Sherman musical The Connector, and, currently, Classic Stage Company's limited engagement (performances continue through December 21) of the little-seen Stephen Schwartz-Joseph Stein musical The Baker's Wife.

In the latter, Bakula plays amiable Baker Aimable Castagnet opposite West Side Story Oscar winner Ariana DeBose in the title role. The cast also boasts Judy Kuhn, Robert Cuccioli, Kevin Del Aguila Sally Murphy, Nathan Lee Graham, and more. Bakula, who previously played the young suitor Dominique in a 1980 Cincinnati Playhouse production of The Baker's Wife, brings great heart to the Baker, whose joyful affection for his new wife is palpable and his torment following her departure even more so. 

In the interview below for the Playbill series How Did I Get Here—spotlighting not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians, and others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is live theatre—Bakula reveals the voice coach that was his secret weapon, his favorite moment in Baker's Wife, and why beginning actors should start in the theatre.

Where did you train/study?
Scott Bakula: I started doing theatre at age 13, in Amahl and the Night Visitors. By the time I left high school, I’d performed in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fiddler (a very skinny Tevye!), and Godspell. Before I left St. Louis to come to NYC, I added productions of Cabaret, Man of La Mancha (Quixote at 21) and musical-directed Seesaw and Fiorello! Once I got to New York, I studied acting at HB Studios with Aaron Frankel; ballet, jazz, and tap with Robert Audi; vocal coached with James Gregory; dialects with Robert Browning (followed up with Jessica Drake in Los Angeles). I did not attend college for acting, other than a very brief semester at University of Kansas.

Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
My vocal coach, James Gregory, was the perfect fit for me when I got to New York. He played any style of music, in any key, and came to big auditions with me. I auditioned for a wide variety of musicals back then, and I had a lot of different types of audition songs that we arranged together, that hopefully stood out because they were different. Plus, to have an ally in the room to start out the stressful audition process, always felt like an advantage. If they asked for something else, we always had 20 options ready because he knew me so well. He was like a secret weapon!

What's it been like revisiting The Baker's Wife a few decades after your first experience in Cincinnati?
So much fun and so different, as Stephen Schwartz and Joseph Stein have worked a lot on the show since 1980. Aimable interacts with everyone in the show, whereas Dominique really only worked with Genevieve. It’s a lot more fun and feels like a big ensemble piece now, which is a blast to be a part of. Especially with this kooky cast of super talented folks!

Do you have a favorite moment in the show for Aimable? What makes that part special?
I suppose at the moment, my favorite part of the show is the end of the first act and the song, “Any Day Now Day.” I get to run the gamut from sad, to drunk, to belligerent, to funny, to petulant, to bad baking, all while using the entire set to dance around and try and survive in one piece! Then there are two gorgeously well-written scenes in the second act that I look forward to every night.

Years ago, you shared the stage with Bernadette Peters and the late Madeline Kahn in a thrilling concert version of Anyone Can Whistle. Can you share a memory from that performance?
What an honor that was. I was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing. The good news was that I knew Bernadette already, so that helped a lot. She is the greatest (still!) and was so easy to work with—she was my port in the storm. To be in the same room with Madeline and Angela Lansbury, Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, and Herbert Ross and then perform at Carnegie Hall, was almost more than I could handle. For some reason, I was not able to get to the first week of rehearsal, so I joined the last week and felt behind the whole time. I don’t recommend that anyone do that…ever... if you can avoid it. Oh, and we made a live recording of the show on top of everything else. It was quite a week!

With the exception of The Baker's Wife, do you have a favorite stage production you have been a part of? What makes that show stand out?
I would say that the production of Man of La Mancha that I did two summers ago with The Peterborough Players stands out right now as my favorite. I hadn’t played Quixote since I was 21 years old, other than a famous Quantum Leap episode that starred John Cullum (one of my heroes!). This time around felt so unique because of the way it all came together. It reminded me of the movie White Christmas. The theatre, an old barn in the woods of New Hampshire, was in trouble. The board of directors brought back Chuck Morey, a long-time artistic director at The Players, to put together a season that would save their beloved summer stock institution that had been around since 1933! He picked Man of La Mancha as the final show of the season. 

My buddy, James Whitmore Jr. (whose father, the great James Whitmore Sr., had been involved with the theatre since 1947) called me and my wife, Chelsea Field, and asked if there was any way we could do La Mancha that summer and help save what had become his family’s artistic haven. We jumped at the chance. Happily, Chuck agreed to hire us, and his wildly successful summer culminated with a magical two weeks of sold-out performances that indeed went a long way towards keeping the doors open. The whole experience felt bigger than us, and we definitely felt the ghost of James Whitmore Sr. looking down on us, figuratively and literally, as his ashes rest on one of the crossbeams in the theatre to this day!

Throughout your career, you've managed to juggle both stage and screen, returning to the theatre on many occasions. Has that been a purposeful occurrence?
To be totally honest, when I left St. Louis to go to New York, I never intended or dared to dream that film and television would be in my future. I was scared, but determined to discover if I could make it in the theatre, that was my sole focus. As my career evolved and I ended up in Los Angeles, doing a musical, Nite Club Confidential by Dennis Deal, all of a sudden, the television world opened up and I stayed in L.A. I have always said that I wanted to end my career back on stage, that the theatre is my first love, and I feel extremely grateful to be having these opportunities at this point in my life.

What do you consider your big break?
I guess you could say that getting a job the third day after I moved to New York was a pretty amazing break for me. Not the job itself so much (playing Sam in a bus and truck dinner theatre production of Shenandoah in North Carolina, non-union, for $100 a week plus room and board), but what it meant to me down the line. First, it was a big confidence boost, it got me an agent when I returned to New York, and I suddenly had a group of friends when the tour ended. As I’m writing this, I’m realizing that the character name of “Sam” has played a large part in my career. First job and then later, Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap.

What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
I always tell people starting out to get involved in the theatre at any level. Performing live is great training for a young actor, and being connected to the community that surrounds live theatre is invaluable. You learn to appreciate all aspects of production, often wearing many hats to get the show ready for opening night, and you learn to take care of yourself, you props, your wardrobe, etc. There is a great sense of teamwork and collaboration that the theatre insists on, and if you’re lucky, ultimately the process can be a magical and often transformative experience. There is nothing like live performance. Yes, AI looms, but I believe it can never replace the thrill and the surprise of seeing real people create art in front of you!

What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
Just to do everything you possibly can to enjoy the ride. I wish I had been more present at times and better equipped to take in the moment. I wish I had asked more questions when I was working with legends in my business. Often times people in our industry are so busy trying to get somewhere, they miss the little "wins" along the way. At least, when I was starting out, we didn’t have cell phones and computers in our pockets that distract so easily. I do wish that young folks would put their phones down more and take in what’s going on around them. I know that’s old-fashioned to say but…I’m old.

In such difficult times in this country and around the world, how do you think theatre can play a positive role, either for yourself and/or the community at large?
I am so proud and fortunate to still be active in the theatre. I think I was drawn to the theatre as a young person because I subconsciously sensed that, ultimately, there was some kind of an unspoken agreement that everyone could play together, equally. That was the goal anyway. I continue to see the community tirelessly pushing that notion forward, as there is always more work to be done. To be a part of an art form that not only entertains, but encourages feelings and new ideas and hope is a great privilege. To sit in a theatre and escape for a few hours is such a joy, never forgetting that what we create can change someone’s life. And that...does change the world.

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Photos: The Baker's Wife Opening Night at Classic Stage Company

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