Patrick brings us another phenomenal episode! This week’s
guest is the amazing Anthony Rapp! Aside from being a phenomenally successful
Broadway star, Anthony has starred in many well-known movies (Adventures in
Babysitting, Dazed and Confused) and had numerous TV spots (Psych the Musical,
Law and Order: SVU). He is also one of a
small number of actors who was able to successfully transition from child star
to adult.
One of the best things about this interview is the way that
it begins. Patrick’s passion for theatre
is apparent in every interview, but the way he tells the story at the beginning
of the podcast, a story of the first time he saw Rent on Broadway and what it
meant to him, was moving. It is such an
iconic musical and the way he describes every detail of that night, it is
simply phenomenal!
Patrick delves right into the interview, asking Anthony
about his current starring role as Lucas in the musical If/Then. He stars alongside his former Rent co-star
Idina Menzel in a musical which he says “can be very moving for people, and it’s
also very entertaining. It is unusual in
so many ways, and one of the ways in which it is unusual is the way it feels
very personal and relevant to people’s real lives that they really live in the
real world in ways that you don’t always feel when you go to see a musical
theatre piece.” They also discuss the ambitious
nature of the musical as an original piece and the form it takes in terms of
jumping between timelines, and the talented and hardworking creative team and
crew who have worked to make it a success. And of course there was discussion
of the talent and powerhouse that is Idina Menzel.
A great question posed by Patrick was how the New York presented in each show (Rent and If/Then) felt different to Anthony. He answers by discussing how New York
has changed and evolved from the city that took center stage in Rent to the
place that is alive today and serves as the setting of If/Then.
Getting back to basics, Patrick and Anthony discuss how a kid
from Joliet, IL was able to make his Broadway debut at ten years old. His work in community theatre eventually led
to his Broadway debut in a show that never officially opened, and then a part
in the tour of The King and I. He did
eight shows a week as a kid and even became emancipated in high school so that he
could continue to work.
Anthony discusses his experience of doing John Guare’s Six
Degrees of Separation as an eighteen year old.
He goes on to discuss the shows and movies he completed in his career between
Six Degrees and Rent which includes many wonderful productions, some with impressively
big names attached to them.
Rent was a huge success and changed the lives of all of the
cast members. Its reputation as a
phenomenal piece has stood the test of time and continues to resonate with
fans. As such, Anthony has been asked a
multitude of questions over the years about his experience in the show, but
Patrick asks a new one: where would Mark be now? Anthony says he hopes that
Mark’s film would have been good and that he would have continued to make
meaningful pieces. Further discussion
about Rent includes: the formation of the show in the workshop and working with
Jonathan Larson, his first encounters with some the songs from the show, his
process of writing his book Without You.
Make the 44 minutes to listen to the podcast; you won’t
regret it! It is great and Anthony is a great actor with an amazing career and
story!
Go see Anthony (and
Idina) in If/Then at the Richard Rogers Theatre!
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