Johnson has appeared on Broadway in Catch Me If You Can (Frank Jr. Standby) and Hair (original revival cast, Claude u/s).
Other theatre credits include Wild Animals You Should Know (MCC), Working (Prospect), A Chorus Line (Mark), Pirates! (Frederick), Pool Boy (Nick), Hairspray (Link), West Side Story (Baby John) and 35mm: A Musical Exhibition.
| Full given name: | Jay Armstrong Johnson |
| Where you were born/where you were raised: | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Zodiac Sign: | Virgo through and through |
| What your parents did/do for a living: | Mom was a middle school nurse and now works for the city of Fort Worth. Dad owns his own BBQ catering business in Dallas. www.fastfreddiesbbq.com |
| Siblings: | I have a sister who is one year older and studying psychology. |
| Current audition song/monologue: | A bluesy version of "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson arranged by my friend Caleb Hoyer. I have never been asked to do a monologue in an audition, but if I had to it would be from Romeo and Juliet. |
| Special skills: | I can pop my tongue really really loud. Only to be matched by Matt Doyle. |
| Something you're REALLY bad at: | Remembering people's names who I've just met. It's a problem. A serious problem. |
| First Broadway show you ever saw: | It was either 42nd Street or Thoroughly Modern Millie. |
| If you could go back in time and catch any Broadway show, what would it be? | The original company of Hair |
| Current or recent shows you recommended to friends: | Musical: Once Play: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike |
| Favorite showtune(s) of all time: | "The Quartet"- West Side Story "How Glory Goes"- Floyd Collins "Without Love"- Hairspray "Sunday"- Sunday in the Park with George |
| Some favorite modern musicals: | The Last Goodbye, Floyd Collins, anything by Ryan Scott Oliver |
| Some favorite classic musicals: | West Side Story, Singin' in the Rain, Company, South Pacific |
| Broadway or screen stars of the past you would most have loved to perform with: | James Dean, John Wayne, River Phoenix, Marilyn Monroe |
| Your personal vocal idols, living or dead: | Gavin Degraw, Frank Sinatra, Norbert Leo Butz, Gavin Creel, Marc Broussard |
| The one performance — attended — that you will never forget: | August: Osage County |
| Music that makes you cry, any genre: | Bowling for Soup |
| MAC or PC? | MAC |
| Most played song on your iPod: | "Belief" by Gavin Degraw |
| Most-visited websites: | The New York Times Yoga to the People Steps on Broadway New York Unemployment... hahah |
| Last book you read: | "Catching Fire" |
| Must-see TV show(s): | "Girls" "Friday Night Lights" "Bob's Burgers" "Mad Men" "Breaking Bad" There are just so many good ones. |
| Last good movie you saw: | "Argo" |
| Some films you consider classics: | "Harry and the Hendersons" "E.T." "Hocus Pocus" Shut up, they're totally classics! |
| Performer you would drop everything to go see: | Norbert Leo Butz |
| Pop culture guilty pleasure: | "Call Me Maybe" |
| Three favorite cities: | Portland, San Francisco, Chicago |
| Favorite sport/team/player: | All Texas teams: Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, Dillon Panthers, Dallas Mavericks... etc. Football would be my favorite, though its a tough call between that and baseball. My favorite player? It's a tie between Saracen, Riggins and Smash. |
| First CD/Tape/LP you owned: | Embarrassingly enough, I think it was Reba McEntire. |
| What are some of your most memorable roles as a kid or teenager and how old were you? | Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream- 12 Peter Pan- 13 Jesus in Godspell- 14 Baby John in West Side Story- 14 Gideon in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers- 16 Don Lockwood in Singin' in the Rain- 17 |
| First stage kiss: | I think it was with Katie Caruso in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. |
| Moment you knew you wanted to perform for a living: | When I stepped out on to the stage for the first day of tech for A Midsummer Night's Dream. Lights, haze, music... magic. |
| How you got your Equity card: | I was cast as Mark in a regional touring production of A Chorus Line at Casa Mañana. |
| Favorite pre-/post- show meal: | Either miso soup, salad, Manhattan roll and a spicy crunchy tuna roll at Kodama or two veggie spring rolls and a large pho at Saigon 48. |
| Favorite liquid refreshment: | COCONUT WATER! |
| Pre-show rituals or warm-ups: | 25 minutes of yoga, push-ups at the 5-minute call and a moment with the boys in my dressing room at places. |
| Most challenging role you have ever played: | Matthew in Wild Animals You Should Know at MCC. |
| Craziest audition story: | Auditioning with three other people who were up for the other roles in the piece and essentially having to make out with total strangers. It was awesome. |
| What has been the biggest challenge about this project? | Standing |
| What has been the most fun or fulfilling aspect? | Being part of a piece that celebrates and honors my people. Texas forever! |
| Worst flubbed line/missed cue/onstage mishap: | I forgot my ENTIRE monologue in A Chorus Line on the first national tour. Just stood there trembling and speechless for about 30 seconds, which felt like 3 hours. |
| Worst costume ever: | My dancing fork costume in Beauty and the Beast at Casa Mañana. The fork part kept breaking and became a weapon of culinary destruction whenever I would do a turn. Thanks for reminding me. |
| Worst job you ever had: | It wasn't terrible, but one of my best friends, Mary Michael Patterson, and I worked at a grocery store as cashiers. |
| If you could trade roles with anyone in the cast for a week, who would it be? | Jacob Ming Trent, who plays Ronald. What a sweet track! Great song, lots of down time and an intense scene to wrap it all up. |
| Leading man role you've been dying to play: | Bobby in Crazy for You |
| Leading lady role you'd like a shot at: | Cassie in A Chorus Line |
| Something about you that surprises people: | I think it surprises people that I'm a dancer, but maybe not. I just haven't done a big dance show in the city. |
| Something you are incredibly proud of: | My work ethic |
| Something you're embarrassed to admit: | I feel like I single handedly keep Starbucks and Kiehl's open. Just ask my accountant. |
| Career you would want if not a performer: | I'd want to be a director, choreographer, producer, etc... you'll never find me doing anything not tied to the arts. |
| Three things you can't live without: | Yoga, bacon, and my friends |
| "I'll never understand why…" | … funding for the arts is the first thing to get cut. Music is math. Theatre is English. Tech is science. Dance is physical education. The arts are everything. |
| Words of advice for aspiring performers: | If you have the love matched with the drive, the sky's the limit. Never stop working. People in most jobs work at least 8 hours a day, why shouldn't artists? Whether it's reading a book, going to a museum, taking a class, or having a full day of auditions, study hard, work hard, and then work some more. |
