Rossmer has appeared on Broadway in Peter and the Starcatcher, Fiddler on the Roof and Titanic.
Other theatre work includes V-DAY (co-author); Don’t Quit Your Night Job (co-creator); Authorial Intent; Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh; Blow Me; I See London…; That’s Life and Spain.
| Full given name: | David Louis Rossmer |
| Where you were born/where you were raised: | I was born at Lenox Hospital in Manhattan. |
| Zodiac Sign: | Sagittarius |
| Special skills: | I have a NY State driver's license. |
| Something you're REALLY bad at: | Driving |
| First Broadway show you ever saw: | Cats |
| If you could go back in time and catch any show, what would it be? | I saw Blood Brothers three times, but I'd see it again. |
| Current show other than your own you have been recommending to friends: | Anything Leigh Silverman is directing. And Almost, Maine at Transport Group. |
| Some favorite modern musicals: | Anything by Michael Friedman. |
| Some favorite classic musicals: | Fiddler on the Roof is perfect. Follies hits me in a special place. Is Once On This Island a classic yet? |
| Your personal vocal idols, living or dead: | Tom Waits |
| The one performance – attended - that you will never forget: | My most memorable theatrical experience was a Broadway play called Solitary Confinement by Rupert Holmes. It remains one of the most ingenious shows I've ever seen. |
| Music that makes you cry, any genre: | "Auld Lang Syne" |
| MAC or PC? | I'm a born-again MAC. |
| Most played song on your iPod: | The new Broken Bells album. |
| Most-visited websites: | MapQuest. And the one for my fantasy baseball. |
| Favorite Tweeters: | One of these days I'll know how to answer that. |
| Last book you read: | "A Hundred Years of Solitude" (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) |
| Must-see TV show(s): | Looking for something good on Netflix? Watch "Lights Out." It was on AMC for one season… I believe Warren Leight created it. It's fantastic. Enjoy. Let me know what you think. |
| Last good movie you saw: | "Her" |
| Some films you consider classics: | "The Natural," "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and anything with Indiana Jones |
| Performer you would drop everything to go see: | Charlie Pollock. But I wouldn't drop everything. What if I was holding a baby? |
| Favorite sport/team/player: | Been a Yankees fan all my life (even when they were bad). |
| First CD/Tape/LP you owned: | Steely Dan, "Pretzel Logic" |
| First stage kiss: | I was Barnum in Barnum (thank you), and I kissed Mrs. Barnum. It was awesome. |
| Moment you knew you wanted to perform for a living: | The first day of chemistry class. |
| How you got your Equity card: | I'm almost positive it came in the mail, but I might have gone to midtown. |
| Favorite pre-/post- show meal: (note where) | I'm addicted to Chicken Bar on 45th. If you get just the right mix of barbecue and honey mustard on the original chicken sandwich, it's better than Le Cirque. |
| Pre-show rituals or warm-ups: | My pre-show ritual is simple: I look in the mirror and convince myself I don't need to shave. |
| Most challenging role you have ever played: | In college, I had to play a Nazi in Cabaret. I found that relatively challenging. |
| Biggest challenge about this current project: | We knew we would be adapting an intimate show to the Paper Mill Playhouse, which is beautiful… and big. The outcome is amazing. I mean the light show alone. |
| Most fulfilling or fun aspect about the project: | There's a one-eyed dog that runs around backstage. |
| Favorite Neil Diamond tune of all time: | "Walks on Water." Now it's gonna be in my head all day. |
| Worst flubbed line/missed cue/onstage mishap: | I dislocated my shoulder on stage during a Broadway show. I was actually singing a solo, and there was no curtain. For a moment, I thought, "I'm going to pass out in front of 1,400 people and they're going to watch me lie there, and then get taken off in a stretcher." I managed to finish the song, and as the scene progressed, tried to re-locate my shoulder... which I did. When the scene was over, I stepped offstage. And went to the hospital. |
| Any upcoming or side projects you can talk about: | An original musical I wrote with Dan Lipton called The Blonde Streak will be opening Off-Broadway this fall. |
| If you could trade roles/tracks with anyone in the show for a week, who would it be? | I could never do what any other person in this cast does… they each play like forty instruments. I'd play it safe and switch with Kevin McCollum, who does a voice over. |
| Leading man role you've been dying to play: | Jean Valjean |
| Leading lady role you'd like a shot at: | Desiree in A Little Night Music |
| Something about you that surprises people: | These boobs are real. |
| Something you are incredibly proud of: | My family |
| Something you're embarrassed to admit: | You realize by me admitting something here, I would in theory no longer be embarrassed to admit it. Did I win? |
| Career you would want if not a performer: | Zoologist |
| "I'll never understand why…" | … anyone would stand in Times Square on New Year's Eve. |
| Words of advice for aspiring performers: | All I can suggest is to read. Anything. Whatever interests you, read it. Reading voraciously has made me a better writer and a better actor. And a slightly improved plumber. |
