Every third Wednesday of the month, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer fills out contributor Tom Mizer’s nosey little questionnaire and offers a glimpse of what he looks like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. For May, we’re bending over backwards for a handsome, talented (and flexible) performer…

Philip Rosenberg. Photo by Katia Kosova.

Name:  Philip Rosenberg

Hometown:  San Francisco, California

Current Show/Role:  Pippin /  Player and Acrobatic Captain

The best part of the show I’m working on now is:  I have to say that the best part of Pippin is getting to work with such an incredibly talented cast. I don’t think I ever in my career worked in a show in which every single member of the cast brought such such energy, creativity and skill to the stage. I normally work solely with other circus artists, so the whole world of musicals are generally new to me. Coming into the project, I knew little about singing or dancing in the style of Mr. Fosse, but I feel I couldn’t have been luckier to be introduced to this by my fellow cast mates, most of whom are Broadway veterans. We couldn’t ask for a better group of circus artists as well.  In my opinion some of the greatest talents spanning the globe. So I guess I have to say that it is extraordinary people in this show that really makes Pippin extraordinary.

The most challenging job in show business I ever had was:  One of the most challenging jobs I ever had was also one of the most rewarding. I was working with a small canadian circus called “Vague de Cirque” touring across the country in a small circus tent. Every town, with a group of about 15 people, we would set up the tent from early morning to night. If it was hot outside, it was miserably hot inside the tent, and if it was cold, freezing cold inside. We slept in little trailers surrounding the tent, and spent the greater part of our days preparing for the show. It was hard work, but an experience and new family that I will never forget.

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Faith Prince. "Total Faith"

When I was a young stagestruck lad, Faith Prince WAS the sound of musical theater to me. I’d been obsessed with the cast recording of William Finn’s Falsettoland, including Prince as the deliriously conflicted ex-wife of a gay man, and my first Broadway show was the revival of Guys and Dolls,  featuring her Tony-winning Miss Adelaide. Comically precise and boldly colorful, she was musical comedy perfection.

And now that hooting belt and brassy coo are back, with her first album in 13 years, Total Faith. Not that she’s really been gone. Since her stardom exploded in the 1990′s, she’s done extensive television work and has appeared in a number of Broadway shows including a Tony-nominated performance in A Catered Affair. Yet this album, recorded live  in 2010 during a cabaret performance at Palm Beach’s Colony Hotel, feels in some ways like a staking of claim, a flag stuck in the music theater landscape reminding everyone of the territory she owns.

The album includes stories and songs — she’s in great voice throughout — that lightly skim over the breadth of her career, an opening medley alone covering some of her biggest hits. She tells of near misses (having to turn down the female lead in Little Shop of Horrors) and heartfelt choices (deciding to leave the theater and head to Hollywood so she can be more present for her son) that reveal a lot about the roller coaster of a long career and about the woman behind the boopie doop laughs. Sure, some of the jokes in the patter are pitched for vacationing retirees — she knows her audience at the recording — and a few times her signature vocal hiccups feel more expected than organic to character. But when she tears into material that is comedically and musically sophisticated like her take on “Somewhere That’s Green” or when she finds surprising depth in a straight forward belter like “If He Walked Into My Life” from Mame, there’s no denying how singular and thrilling a talent she is. It’s great to have her “back” singing Broadway, right where she belongs.

Every third Wednesday of the month, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer will fill out my nosey little questionnaire and offer a glimpse of what they look like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. This month, we’re going to need a cold April shower after meeting this handsome, charming and talented performer…

Name: Colin Elliott Cunliffe

Hometown: Littleton, Colorado.

Current Show/Role: Pippin / Pig, Head, Player.

The best part of the show I’m working on now is: This job is truly a dream come true.  Fosse has always been where my heart is. While never feeling like I could ever perfect his style, it’s always been where I feel most comfortable.  Fosse was also the first Broadway show I saw. It starred Stephanie Pope and Brad Musgrove, both of whom I adore and am working with now. I also saw a show called La Vie about 6 years ago from Les 7 doigts de la main that changed my life. Gypsy Snider is one of the founding members of this troupe and is responsible for the circus choreography in Pippin. It was the most amazing circus I had ever seen — a bit more narrative, sexy and creative then what I had experienced before. It became my dream to do or create a show like that but never thought it was possible as most of these people had trained in circus their whole lives. I had also auditioned for Diane Paulus back when The Donkey Show was here (I think I was too hairy for the rollerskating fairy) as well as for Hair, where I totally bombed. So, when I heard about Pippin there was almost a sense of calm through the crazy audition process, almost being guided into where I know I needed to be. Now I am living out all of those dreams while beginning to colloraborate with my new AMAZING circus family. Where I am today feels right and am very grateful for it.

The most challenging job in show business I ever had was: Dance Captain for a show where there was an extremely high turnover rate. I will forever value the job of the Dance Captain and can not give enough props to the good ones. Two of the best that stick out in my mind were our BRILLIANT dance captain, mother, dancer, singer, actress, swing, equity rep, sex pot Jennie Ford from Evita, and the insane, handsome, fire-filled, talented, watch dog, multi-tasking, hilarious Brad Musgrove currently doing everything and more in Pippin.

If I wasn’t an actor, I would be: A Roller Derby Champion.

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Every third Wednesday of the month, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer will fill out my nosey little questionnaire and offer a glimpse of what they look like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. For March, we’re revving our engines for a visit to the Motor City…

Grasan Kingsberry. Photo by Kristopher Kelly.

Name: Grasan Kingsberry - named after my grandfather’s middle name Gray, and great-grandfather’s first name Sandy.

Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Current Show/Role: Motown the Musical/Four Tops, Jackson 5 (Tito), Contours

The best part of the show I’m working on now is: Being able to listen to and perform with a 19-piece orchestra playing Motown music!! And then seeing the audience go bananas! It doesn’t get much better than that.

The most challenging job in show business I ever had was: I’d have to say was when I did the out of town try-out for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in San Diego.  At the time I had just started dating someone back in New York.  It was only my second show but my first being a part of an original production.  I knew no one in the cast. So being away from home, my boyfriend, and in an unfamiliar environment amidst new and interestingly dynamic personalities in the cast made it a challenging experience.

If I wasn’t an actor, I would be: An athlete. I once had a dream to be an Olympian.

Places, Intermission or Curtain Call? Places!!: It’s when all of those jittery emotions and nervousness have to hone in as you ready yourself to take that journey. And as soon as that curtain rises it’s GO time! As my friend Jerry Mitchell would say, “FULL OUT!”

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Cabaret. Image via Warner Bros.

Within the first half hour of the multiple Oscar-winning film Cabaret, there’s a brief moment in which a young British man new to Berlin (played by Michael York, so fresh and tightly wound his skin shines) visits the Kit Kat Club, a grubby Weimar Republic hot spot. He finds himself in the men’s restroom and, as he stands at the urinal, he notes that a statuesque “woman” in a frizzled blonde wig and party dress is standing at the one beside him. Brian keeps his obvious surprise contained and then, furtively, glances over and down to check out this person’s equipment.

My partner, watching the film beside me, couldn’t contain himself and said with eyes wide, “I didn’t realize this movie was so envelope pushing. Even for today.”

And he’s right. The movie feels ahead of our time. In current films, this scene would be played for gay panic laughs or as brushstroke sign of the cabaret’s frightening decadence. But director Bob Fosse lets his scene play without judgment, sexually exciting, humanely funny, a little dangerous and above all else real.

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Every third Wednesday of the month, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer will fill out my nosey little questionnaire and offer a glimpse of what they look like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. For February, we’re making a leap with a buff who is jumping from one blockbuster Broadway show, Newsies, to another…

Ryan Steele.

Name: Ryan Steele

Hometown: Walled Lake, MI

Current Show/Role: Ensemble in Matilda. (In rehearsals)

The best part of the show I’m working on now is: Well it’s still pretty new, but so far one of the best parts is the excitement that EVERYONE is feeling. It’s amazing to walk into work knowing that every single person in the building is SO happy to be there. That’s how it feels over at the Shubert. We’re all having a blast.

The most challenging job in show business I ever had was: When I swung Billy Elliot. I had just come from a show that I had done for almost two years in the same track. It was a crazy feeling to suddenly have 12 tracks to learn.

If I wasn’t an actor, I would be: Some sort of teacher.

Places, Intermission or Curtain Call? Some of my favorite memories from Newsies were during intermission. It was normally 15 minutes of laughing at some crazy mishap that took place during act 1.

The best post-show cocktail in New York City is at: My boyfriend and I always seem to end up at Nizza on Ninth Avenue. Our friend is the bartender, so consequently, we’ve made friends with the rest of the staff. It’s a nice, chill vibe. I also really like The New York Beer Company.

Ryan Steele. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

After you’ve hit all the traditional sites of New York City, you should totally go to: My roommates and I have a few restaurants that we would drop everything to go to. Pipa on East 19th and Scarpetta in the Meat Packing district.

Ryan Steele. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

If I could live anywhere else in the world it would be: Right now, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I do love New Orleans though. I haven’t traveled internationally as much as I’d like, but I imagine I would love Italy.

When I travel, the one thing I can’t leave home without is: iPod and comfy clothes.

My workout “secret” is: Oh gosh….Ummm. I don’t go to the gym haha. I try to eat healthy, and I’m lucky enough to have a job that does the working out for me.

When I’m looking for a date, nothing attracts me more than: Having a passion for something.

My favorite website to visit that you may not have heard of is: Thought Catalog. Some of the articles are duds, but most of them crack me up.

Board shorts, speedo or skinny dip? Short board shorts?

People would be surprised to learn that I: I have an app on my iPhone called Atomic Farts.

When I was 10, I wanted to be just like: The older guys at my dance studio.

Ten years from now, I’d like to be: Happy

When I feel a case of the wintertime blues coming on, the first thing I do is: Eat something super unhealthy. Food can do wonders.

Ryan Steele. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Heather Headley in "The Bodyguard". Photo by Paul Coltas.

Regal. That’s the word most people associate with Tony and Grammy winner Heather Headley. And who can blame them when you consider her graceful beauty and her commanding voice, not to mention her star-making Broadway roles as a Nala in The Lion King, and the titular royal in exile of Aida.

But to those who know her, and I consider myself lucky enough to have spent some personal time with her as a fellow alumni of Northwestern University, she is also a wickedly funny friend, a loving wife to her college sweetheart (former New York Jet Brian Musso) and a devoted mom.

After too long an absence from the theatrical stage, she is making her long-awaited return in the West End adaptation of The Bodyguard. The musical features a hit parade of songs made famous by the original film’s star, Whitney Houston — including “Queen of the Night.” Taking a few moments from her busy schedule, we exchanged emails (emoticons and all!) to talk about making the role her own (The Telegraph called it “a thrilling star performance,”) her toughest times and her dreams of coming back to the New York stage.

Many of us hoped we’d see you in a musical on stage again. What about The Bodyguard made it the right property for your “return”?

The story. The music. The girl. For the past few years we (my husband and I, and my agent) have been looking for the “right” role. Aida was very good to me; I had such an amazing time playing her, and being a member of that cast. So, I really was on the lookout for a role that would at least come close.  I read through the script of The Bodyguard, and loved the story and the characters. Rachel is a lot like Aida: flawed, obstinate, needs and longs to be loved, and when she finally finds love, loses quite a bit and has an amazing change in her life.  Who doesn’t want to play that girl?! Read more…

Martin Moran in "All the Rage". Photo by Joan Marcus.

A person telling a story. Whether around a fire, perched on the edge of a child’s bed or striding on a stage, it is an elemental human experience. Some would say that the act of storytelling itself is what makes us human. So it is movingly appropriate that Martin Moran, in his new one person play All the Rage, attempts to get to the heart of what, if anything, connects us by standing alone in the light and telling us “what happened next.” Nothing more. Nothing less.

Though it requires no previous familiarity with Moran’s work, the play is a continuation of sorts of Moran’s acclaimed memoir and play The Tricky Part, in which he revealed his sexual relationship at 12 years old with a 30 year old man and his later attempt to confront his abuser.

This deeply searching yet surprisingly funny new work finds Moran struggling to answer a question he hears again and again after performing the earlier play: “Why aren’t you angry?” The journey to access his rage or explain its absence takes him (and his rapt audience) to a Vegas confrontation with his step-mother, a Colorado hike with his seething yet poetic brother and across the world to the cradle of human life itself. At the play’s tender heart lies his burgeoning friendship with an African refuge, whose story of torture and escape binds them together—and leads the way to understanding.

As anyone who has heard the same joke from two people to very different results knows, it’s all in the telling. And with Moran (whose Broadway credits include Spamalot and Titanic), you have a storyteller of such ease, humor and open heartedness that, even when a particular episode feels less organic and more meandering, you go with him. You want to spend the evening with him. Heck, you want to go for a long walk with him after the show and just see where life takes the two of you as you chat and listen. That kind of warmth and spontaneity is not easily captured on stage and, in fact, requires the skill of a seasoned performer and the encouragement of a delicate director—here the unfussy, sure-handed Seth Barrish.

In the end, this soft-spoken, involving and worthwhile play arrives at flashes of insight, moments of loving clarity about our interconnectedness. The lessons learned may not be fresh, but they are freshly felt—freshly, deeply, humanely felt.

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Every third Wednesday of the month, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer will fill out my nosey little questionnaire and offer a glimpse of what they look like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. For January, who says dancing in a Broadway show isn’t brain surgery?

Peter Nelson. Photo by Michael Cinquino.

Name: Peter Nelson

Hometown: Highland, Utah

Current Show/Role: Cinderella/Ensemble, and a super-secret-surprise feature.

The best part of the show I’m in now is: The incredibly talented and kind cast/crew. Every person involved is working tirelessly to make the show a special piece, and I’m convinced it will show. Also the haunting musical score. I grew up on the Rodgers and Hammerstein movie musicals, and this one has some of my favorite tunes. It’s a dream come true to be in an original production of one of their works.

The most challenging job in show business I ever had was:  I’d say my current role in Cinderella is. In addition to Josh Rhodes’ smart and intensely athletic choreography, I’m on stilts for a portion of the show. Come and see, in my humble opinion it’s well worth the effort.

If I wasn’t an actor, I would be: A neurosurgeon. My undergrad degree was in neuroscience, and I anticipated a career in medicine my entire young life. I’m still passionate about health and wellness and see these interests playing some role my future.

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Photo by Lance Bellers

Is there anything better than a perfectly written and performed Act One closing number — that thrilling high that sends you off to intermission in a euphoric state of satisfaction mixed with anticipation?

Well, I don’t know if I can provide that kind of tingle (at least without buying you dinner first), but welcome to The Broadway Blog’s Act One closer.  After two years of planning and viewing and writing and hair pulling and tears and truly spectacular theater, today is my last day as editor of this blog. The bad news: I won’t be sharing my love of theater with you every day. The good news: I’m taking a step back so I can devote myself more fully to my own theater writing.

But never fear, this isn’t one of those new fangled, intermissionless shows designed for the ADD-generation; The Broadway Blog will return in the New Year for Act Two! And leading the kick-lines will be the deliciously talented Matthew Wexler as your new editor-in-chief.  I’ll still be around, too, adding my two cents as an ongoing contributor. In fact, I like to think this is just the fulfillment of the mission statement I shared on the first day: to capture that sense of family in the theater world with celebratory, fizzy, fun coverage. Just think of this as an expansion of our family and pull up another chair.

Before I “go” I want to say a big thank you to Robert & Don at Passport Magazine for supporting this crazy endeavor and being my biggest cheerleaders. Most importantly, thank you to my regular readers; it has been a pleasure raising a post-show Manhattan (top shelf, up and extra cherry, please) with you. Here’s to more unforgettable nights at the theater.

Now, on to the Act One closing numbers; I couldn’t choose just one favorite…

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