Christopher Fitzgerald...How I love you!

[GreenSkinnedWitch]

Eponine said:

Yay! thank you!
He played Candide?! Thats sooo cool!


When you have time for part two... ;D

Actually, there are 3 parts. Llam, the second one will be up soon. I'm almost finished...I think.

MimiRocks, I sent you a PM.

[GreenSkinnedWitch]

PART 2
SETH: Okay, so wait. Beauty Queen of Leenane. So then your first big show in New York was Saturday Night, which I saw you in, where you did your signature ass shake. Do you guys remember that, turning around and shaking the ass? Uh, so, oh, did you ever meet with Mr. Sondheim?
CHRIS: Uh, yes, he was around.
SETH: Speaking of cranky asses, what was that one like?
CHRIS: Yeah, he's a very interesting individual. He's um, he's uh, very quiet. Well, the only time I really had a-a-a real conversation with him, I was uh--we were recording the album and it was in the sound factory, which was this huge massive studio. And I was singing my song all the way at the end of the studio where--away from the little booth, and so I sang through the song. And then (he makes a sound of a door opening) I see the door open and then (sounds of footsteps) and in was walking Sondheim, all the way back to talk to me, and I was kind of like, Oh god, he's going to come, and say, you know, what is he going to say, and how do I-how do I start the conversation with him, and like--you know, so, he literally came around this little glass barricade that you were singing behind and I was like, "What do you got for me Steve?" It was awful, and he was like, "Uh--oh, uh, you're-
-you're not singing the-the notes that I wrote." I was like, "Oh, I-I--where-where in the song, I mean, do you want to plunk it out for me?" He was like, "You can find someone else to do that."
SETH: Alright. So Sondheim and Lapine hate you, it's fascinating!
CHRIS: It was awful! No, but he was--then he said, uh--
SETH: "Good job, I guess."
CHRIS: "N-nice job."
SETH: With eyes averted?
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: Excellent. But weren't you nominated for a big fat award for that? Drama desk or something?
CHRIS: Uh, yes, for Drama desk award, yeah.
SETH: That's good for your first musical! Brava. Um. That was your only actual experience with him. And who wrote lyrics for that? Oh, Sondheim wrote lyrics and music.
CHRIS: Yeah, he wrote both.
SETH: And who wrote the book?
CHRIS: Uh, Jules Epstein.
SETH: Wasn't it written in 1950 or something?
CHRIS: Yes, it was written by the guys who wrote Casablanca.
SETH: Really? The movie?
CHRIS: The movie.
SETH: And are they still around?
CHRIS: They're still around now?
SETH: Were they still around for the--?
CHRIS: Uh, one was still alive but very sick, and the other had died.
SETH: Ouchie wowwie. And what was it like working with, what's his name, who was supposed to be the hottest singer in New York and gave me a splitting headache? You know--what was his name, you know--
AUDIENCE: David Campbell.
CHRIS: David Campbell.
SETH: Yeah, what was that like?
CHRIS: (Laughs) I feel the need to be so diplomatic here!
SETH: He's a great--
CHRIS: He's such a great human being. No, he is, he's a nice guy. Uh, he..uh, I don't know, I think he had higher aspirations for himself, ultimately.
SETH: Well so did his publicity people.
CHRIS: And so, I think he was kind of ready to move on to.. "rock out!"
SETH: (laughs) And, cut! Okay, Saturday Night's over. Um, so, first of all, I never asked you before the show, but what was your worst audition ever? Just out of curiosity.
CHRIS: Um, I mean I think the Lapine one I told you about was--would be one of them.
SETH: You never went in for RENT, did you?
CHRIS: Nope.
SETH: How come?
CHRIS: I don't know. Things kind of just started and I, you know..what's interesting is I thought I was gonna to come to New York and do musicals. And I've done more plays than musicals, which is so weird. I don't know.
SETH: Yeah, but cut to you're starring in a musical right now, so I guess, right back at you.
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: Okay, so now, talk about Amour. So that was the work--you got the workshop, you had to actually audition for it, right?
CHRIS: Yup. I auditioned for the workshop.
SETH: And what did you sing for the audition?
CHRIS: Um..I think I sang, I probably sang . You have to help me find a new audition song.
SETH: I guess I do!
CHRIS: I don't really--I don't really have any good audition songs. I don't. But then I always--but then I sang like a Harold Arlen song which I like, you know, that's like my, you know.
SETH: Your standby standard.
CHRIS: It's my secret standby.
SETH: Yeah. And did they--did you--did they call you back or did you get it right away for the workshop?
CHRIS: Uh, apparently James Lapine's very--like, he auditions people over and over and over again. But I just went in once.
SETH: Oh that's all you had to do?
CHRIS: But it was only for the workshop, and then, then we did the..
SETH: And you had to audition again for the Broadway show?
CHRIS: No, no.
SETH: Oh, you just got it right away.
CHRIS: And then we did the..
SETH: See what was the problem with that show? Why was it a big hit during the workshop and then it fell flopped on Broadway? I loved Amour, when I saw it. I was ready to hate it, and I actually wound up loving it.
CHRIS: There are--there were a lot of really great qualities to it, I found.
SETH: It was really funny, which no one acknowledged.
CHRIS: The cast was-was out of their minds, and that's what what made it--that's what what made it fun. Um, Norm Lewis, uh-uh..
SETH: Nora Mae Lyng.
CHRIS: Yeah. Sarah.
SETH: Everyone was so funny.
CHRIS: And so, uh, but and the music--some of the music is beautiful. I mean, Michel Legrand who is an amazing character.
SETH: You can't tell anybody.
CHRIS: He's got the biggest eyebrows.
SETH: Oh, cuz he's French. They're not into grooming.
CHRIS: (Imitates Michel Legrand, I'm totally not able to transcribe this part, but it's this really fast jabbering in 'French'.)
SETH: Is that him talking to you? Or is that him singing?
CHRIS: That was him singing. He would always sit, and yeah, he would always sit and jazz out. Like he loved to just-- And James would be in the middle of rehearsal, like "Can we go left?" (Does the French again) Like, "Mi-Michel, please."
SETH: (Laughing) It's tech rehearsal. It's so annoying.
CHRIS: And over and over. And, so--but he--Michel and Jeremy Sams were not in rehearsal for the first 6 weeks of rehearsal, the writers of the-of the show. So I feel like, what ended up happening was, in an all-sung musical rhymed all-song musical you know, with that lyrical sense, I think that's--it was a very challenging thing to try to pull off, for Broadway. I thought.
SETH: Maybe it should have been Off-Broadway. Now what were--what did the reviews say? Why was the show busted? Cuz I don't even remember.
CHRIS: It really--uh, I just feel like the story wasn't totally constructed. You know, it wasn't that--
SETH: Clear?
CHRIS: Yeah. And it had a sense--and I think it was too much for Broadway; it should have been an Off-Broadway, little charming, little chestnut, and it tried to kinda--put it out there.

[GreenSkinnedWitch]

SETH: What happened when you got the bad reviews? Like, did you guys have an opening night party with the better reviews?
CHRIS: Well what was weird is, some of the reviews were bad. Some of the reviews were really good. And-and like the New York Times review was very, kind of like..you know, so we were all kind of, you know, like, All right, well, here we are. You know, uh, I think I remember like--yeah, like, yeah, We'll see what they're gonna do now. And then we got to, uh, they called a meeting and Jerry Schonfeld was like, "We're really sorry."
SETH: So how long did you actually stay open after you opened?
CHRIS: 2 weeks. It was so weird. It was so bizarre.
SETH: And it was like Christmastime, wasn't it?
CHRIS: Uh, I don't remember, I think it was--
SETH: I remember it was cold when I went to go see it.
CHRIS: Yeah, I think it was--yeah, I think it was maybe right before Christmas? Right after?
SETH: Such a downer! So just 2 weeks? And you had an amazing song in Act II, did it always bring down the house like I remember?
CHRIS: It always brought down the house--No, I don't know!
SETH: Well, I just happen to have, maybe a bootleg? (Chris groans.) Well I haven't even watched it yet, I really haven't, but I've got a crazy bootleg, so let's see what it looks like.
CHRIS: You're terrible!
SETH: Not that I would ever show a bootleg, cuz it's illegal. But this is Chris playing a lawyer, and--(to audience) Did you guys see this show? Anybody? Anybody? (The audience applauds) You guys-- wow, see the dedicated.
CHRIS: I know. We're on the wall at Joe Allen's, which is kind of interesting.
SETH: Oh you're really on the wall at Joe Allen's?
CHRIS: Yup, it's great. I love it.
SETH: Um, so yeah he's sort of an inept uh, lawyer and here he-he proves it.
CHRIS: Eh. This is terrifying.
SETH: Have you ever seen this?
CHRIS: No.
SETH: Okay. It'll bring back memories.
CHRIS ON TAPE: (singing) Monsieur le President, Monsieur Dusoleil,
It's with diffidence I rise today
And very nervously 'cause the fact is
This is my first time in the world of crime.
So today is a big day for me.
Now I should be cool and I should be calm,
But I'm wobbly as a potted palm
As you can probably see cause
I've never been in court before and
I'm thirty-four.
So today is a big day for me.
Yesterday at last, at last I passed,
Passed the bar exam.
Here I finally am, timid as a lamb
And I'm sweating and I'm scared.
The fitting word is "merde."
I'm feeling rather unprepared.
So I'm not much use as a barrister
And I couldn't feel embarrassed-er.
I'm sweating like a pig in a wig.
So kindly hear my plea,
Set my client free
'Cause today is a big day for me.
(The audience applauds.)
SETH: It even brings down this house, Chris! Isn't that adorable? That show should not have closed. It should have ran at least three weeks. Um, okay, so hold on. Okay, where was I, okay so how did you meet your lovely wife Jessica?
CHRIS: Dun-dun-DUM!
SETH: Match.com!
CHRIS: Jessica Stone, uh, we are married. We got married on August 23rd, which was wonderful. Um, we met doing Babes in Arms at City Center Encores.
SETH: So you actually met during rehearsal?
CHRIS: We met during rehearsal, yeah. I remember the first (laughs) She's here. I remember the, uh, first uh, moment, we were going around the room in the circle saying our names and who we're playing and I remember like her going, "Jessica Stone." And then she didn't say her character, no, um, whoever, Dolores, right?
SETH: Did you think, like, "I'm going to marry her" or you're like, "She seems stuck-up."
CHRIS: I thought--no, I thought she was, uh, I thought she was really cute. What was the interesting part was, so we-we started working that day together, singing some songs and what-what have you, and then, we had like a break, kind of towards the end of the day and we both kind of uh, sat down on this couch and we were talking and um, we were gonna like--and she like kinda laid down on the couch to take like a little nap, you know, as we were in the middle of rehearsal--or I did actually, I laid down to take a nap. And she kind of laid down, next to me--
SETH: Wait, does the word 'tramp'--?
CHRIS: Wait, but no-no wait-wait-wait-wait-wait! At the other end of the couch! And then, and then, I felt her head kind of like, touch my head a little bit, and like, put a little pressure. And then that's how, like, the signal was first passed. She might dispute that, but, that's what happened.
SETH: Jessie?
JESSICA: (From audience) He's totally lying. It happened in reverse.
SETH: His head touched your head?
JESSICA: Yes.
CHRIS: No, I got-I got some sweet moves from you first.
SETH: Heeheehee. This is adorable. I'm staying out of it. Um, so then you guys started dating during Babes in Arms?
CHRIS: Uh, after Babes in Arms ended, yes, we began to.
SETH: And how long til you got married?
CHRIS: (Hesistates) Four years? (laughs)
SETH: It's okay. And wasn't the wedding announcement totally over the top?
CHRIS: It was insane.
SETH: What was--what was your picture?
CHRIS: It was from Babes in Arms. Well, that-that particular Encore show they did an exposé..
SETH: Oh, in the Times.
CHRIS: In the Times, where they talked about it. And they talked about the fact that also, on our first day, when they were choreographing the number we had to kiss for eight counts of music. And so we had just met, and then we had lunch together, thank god, and we were like, you know, "I'm from Maine...Vaudeville" you know, "what about you?" And she kind of--
SETH: "Rochester. LA."
CHRIS: (laughs) And then, uh, we had to kiss for eight counts. So they wrote this little article, and in-in the article they put this part. So. Of course, as we're getting ready to get married, my mom thinks it's a brilliant idea to bring that to their attention. It was so weird, like so my mom took it on as this project to get the announcement in the New York Times, like it was a major, like thing. And so she sent in a packet of information to them.
SETH: A publicity packet?
CHRIS: Literally like a-a like a whole, you know, packet of like, resumes and also like a letter, and in it was that picture. And uh, so they--I remember they called me and said, you know, we're gonna run this little thing, and so I was like, Great, and they were like, But we need another picture of you. The wedding page is not an arts--what did they say, Jess? It's not an arts--?

[GreenSkinnedWitch]

JESSICA: (I can't hear what she said, but it evoked a lot of laughter.) "This is not an arts promotional page."
CHRIS: Yes, this is not--I was like, Whoa! Okay. So-so we found this other one, and meanwhile I called my mom and I was like, and this was like, you know, a couple months before the wedding, and I was like, "So mom, they're gonna--they're gonna put the little thing in the paper." She was like, "You made my year!" I was like..
SETH: You didn't know she had been behind it the whole time?
CHRIS: No, I knew she had been behind it, but I'm like, we were gonna get--that-that made your year??
SETH: (Laughs) Not the marriage.
CHRIS: Not the marriage, not the wedding. No. But anyway. So, uh, and then we opened it up that morning and there it was, like, the crazy clowns of New York.
SETH: Okay she he tried out for the lead in Seussical, which I cannot believe he didn't get because it's really the role of a clown, and he did not get the Cat in the Hat, but I'm obsessed with, um--I don't really remember, but you did something where you had like a fly? You showed me like, years ago. It was like, a fly in your mouth?
CHRIS: Oh. Yeah. There's um, there's this movie called Funny Bones, has anyone ever seen this movie? Yes, he does that--you know that bit with the fly? I-I when I first saw it I dedicated myself to try to learn how to do it.
SETH: Oh just do some of it, do you remember any of it? It's so funny.
CHRIS: I'll try. The idea of it is, it takes awhile to get used to what's happening. But the idea is that--well, you'll see. So, um, oh god, I haven't done this in awhile. It might not work. It might not work. (He does it; I'm not sure what he actually did but there's a noise like a fly; has anyone seen that movie? llam)
SETH: And they had the nerve not to cast you! Did they ask you to at least stand by for it?
CHRIS: Uh, they did, yeah.
SETH: And you turned it down?
CHRIS: And I turned it down.
SETH: How come, Mr. Too Big For Your Britches?
CHRIS: I think there was--I was doing another play or something, at that point.
SETH: Sorry. Okay, so, Wicked. How and why? You were not in the San Francisco production.
CHRIS: I was not, no. Um, but I--backing up a little bit I was in a play called Corpus Christi at Manhattan Theatre Club.
SETH: Were you naked? Were you naked? Were you naked? Were you naked?
CHRIS: I was not naked, no.
SETH: Alright, go on.
CHRIS: But Jesus was naked.
SETH: How appropriate. The Passion of the Christ! Okay, go on.
CHRIS: Um, and I met Joe Mantello, uh, doing that.
SETH: 'Cause he directed that.
CHRIS: He directed that. And uh, so, and then also, more recently, Jessie had done a play that he directed called Design For Living. And so I got back in kind of, a relationship with him. And so then, they were doing Wicked and uh, it was coming to New York, and he just called me--we were up in Jessie's mom's cabin in Maine--and uh, he asked me, oh, he actually called her and said, "You're going to be mad if.." you know, because the rehearsals started the day--two days after the wedding.
SETH: What about the honeymoon?
CHRIS: Aha! But having a friend as the director is a great--you know, so I basically, you know, I was like, "We're getting married, and we want to have a honeymoon, how can we work this out?" and so basically, it was amazing, I got to have this amazing wedding, I went to two days of rehearsal when I got back, then I went--they gave me ten days off, and we went to Greece, to Santorini, and to Athens, and it was amazing. And then came back, and was in, you know, a huge hit.
SETH: And you were like a new person, you're the only person who was new and yet you were the only person who didn't have to actually rehearse? It's so rude! (laughs)
CHRIS: The other cast was very--skeptical--the rest of the cast, I think, after those two days, they were like, "Who is this guy?" There was a couple other new people, also.
SETH: Well, Joel Grey.
CHRIS: Joel Grey.
SETH: And then, what did you like, bring your tape recorder to Greece and like listen the whole time? *Spoiler*"It's due to her I'm made of tin.."
CHRIS: I did, uh, I did, yeah, I practiced, very little.
SETH: Jessie, how annoying was he?
JESSICA: He was not annoying at all.
SETH: Really?
CHRIS: The only annoying thing was at our wedding--13 people from our wedding, we had about 100 people--got violently ill, when we got back.
SETH: Really? Well thank god I didn't go! (Chris laughs) No, I had to be--
CHRIS: I know! He was invited.
SETH: Wait, why, what happened? What did they eat there?
CHRIS: I don't know, we don't know. We don't think it's the food at the reception. The people that got sick were all staying at this one inn.
SETH: Oh my god, you're so lucky, so you guys didn't get sick.
CHRIS: I did.
SETH: Oh, you did?!
CHRIS: I got violently, horribly ill. So I had the wedding, felt great, the next day came back, towards the end of the day, it was like, ehn, the next day started feeling terrible. But it was that feeling terrible, like, just awful. And I went to these two days of rehearsal, and at the end of the second day, that evening, we were leaving, right? And so um, I-I came home and we were getting ready, the car was picking us up at 6 and the plane was leaving at like 8:30 or something, and the car was outside like (honking) you know, the car, and I was sitting, and I was like, I just feel--and just--the worst most violent attack of throwing up ever. And then--and Jessie was like, we're not going to be able--we're going to have to, you know, go a day later, or whatever. But that moment, I started to feel--I was like, we gotta go. We're going. We're going. And from that moment until we got into the hotel in Athens, I had progressively felt better and by the time we got there I felt fine.
SETH: Oh, so you didn't have--you didn't have the airplane--?
CHRIS: No. I slept. I slept. When we got--when we got to Paris, which was the layover, I, uh, I could not stay awake, like-like physically couldn't, I was so weak. And also because of the adrenaline, the wedding! Like, it's such a, you know, it's such a huge moment, and all family and friends, like so intense. Like there's pictures, Jessie took this whole montage of me like... Like, literally at like a restaurant, like, like ordering like, a Coke and then the waiter leaves and I was like..mm (falling asleep).
SETH: (Laughing) Oh my god. Wait a minute, speaking of vacations, please just tell everyone about when you went to the crazy island place with the crazy "We're going to live outdoors, for nature reasons!" and the amazing insect.
CHRIS: Uh, we went to Belize, has anyone ever been to Belize in South America? Well we went a couple years ago. Central--? South? (Everyone laughs) Central America. And we stayed in--
SETH: Wait Jessie, come up for this story, 'cuz it so includes you-- Oh, come on! No? (She says something, I can't hear her, ahhh) No but it so includes you! Alright, well, Jessie by the way, he's the carraige, she's the hero of the story, so keep going.
CHRIS: Yes. (Pause) Wait.
SETH: Yes. Yes.
CHRIS: We have this on video, we actually should have brought that. We stayed at an eco lodge, and uh.
SETH: Which means like--you know--it's in the outdoors.
CHRIS: It's in the rainforest, yeah. And so they're these little huts that don't have any screens on any of the windows or doors. And in the middle of the night, it's like a--you know, progressively like, bugs, when it rains, it gets so, we were sitting there like playing cards or reading then all of a sudden it'd be like "bzzzzz" you know, and we kind of jumped up, and kind of freaked out.
SETH: Course there's like no real--like the roof was like that, and there's a hole in the roof for like, anything to sort of come through.
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: Yeah. Keep going.
CHRIS: And then--and so, there was one--first a beetle came in and we kind of freaked out. And then Jessie fell asleep and I was like, reading, and uh, then just suddenly out of nowhere it was like (he makes this bug noise that's like impossible to transcribe) and I just, I was like "AHH GET OFF! BUG BUG!" And she had that crazy like, where she woke up, like "What's happening?" and I was like "BUG! BUG!" and like, she fell out of the bed, like, so then, but then finally like, we were like, let's just go to sleep. Let's just relax. So I-I laid down and I had the sheet and you know, there's noth--and you're in the middle of the rain forest in Central America. And uh, it just like.. not a noise except for (monkey noises). You know, just like--and I kept feeling like there were bugs on me; it was awful. And it was like, dark and I-I won't be able to do it justice, but..I was literally laying there for like an hour, just like, ohhh..ohhh...and then all of a sudden (sound of wings flapping) "YEAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" Like, I--it was a--it was what locals call a rat bat, had landed on my face. And that's the one where I went--I screamed and ran into the bathroom, and then--
SETH: Ran into the bathroom and left Jessie in the bed!
CHRIS: No, she didn't stay in there, she fell out of the bed. I screamed so loud she literally fell on to the floor. And then we ran and then--we grabbed the video camera. And so we have us trying to--we have the rat bat on video.
SETH: Ohhh, oh my god!
CHRIS: And us like, trying to get it out of the room and like-- you don't know what to do! It was amazing. You know have you seen that commercial where that couple like, wakes up in that thing, you know.
SETH: In the mosquito netting?
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: And they didn't have netting around your bed?
CHRIS: No.
SETH: Why?? if you're outdoors in the rain forest?
CHRIS: Well we were-we were indoors, but it was like a--
SETH: Not economy, eco. Okay, that's devastating.

[Galindaba089]

Aww Chris! The whole how-he-met-his-wife story is just too cute!!

[GreenSkinnedWitch]

Ah! Thanks SaSa for editing the spoilers...it slipped my mind somehow. Thank you.

[Nancy]

Ahh - Eponine, I ADORE your banner!

Anyway, back to Chris.

[Eponine]

Aww thank you Nancy! I made it myself!

[Eponine]

GreenSkin I hate to bother you but you wouldn't happen to have the transcipt for the last part of the interview would you?

Then again you've done more than enough for me already

[GreenSkinnedWitch]

Sorry about that Eponine...school started again. Grrrr. I'll keep working on it though, and post it when it's finished.

[caitlinda4L]

wow marisa thanks so much for typing out that whole interview!! that was great!! i was wondering..does anyone have any pix of chris out of costume? thanks!

[GreenSkinnedWitch]

Hi Caitlin, no problem, glad you enjoyed it.

Alright. Here's a bit more. I apologize this is taking so long! School will be out in 3 weeks guys so just...hang in there. There are more spoilers in this part, so um...I'm going to try and do my best with the blackouts.

Part 3 (right after this is blacked out, btw, I wasn't just having fun with the enter key.)
SETH: (singing) "Wickedness must be punished!" Um, okay so first of all, I just saw it again for the second time, it turns out it's not you in the chair, that gets wheeled. Is that--?
CHRIS: I'm not--I can't give away magic!
SETH: Oh come on, I've never seen anything more obvious before in my life. (Chris laughs) Okay, cuz I was like, "That's not Chris!" Okay, whatever.
CHRIS: It's bad it--when the guy who usually does it is out, 'cause the other guy is like--
SETH: Black?
CHRIS: Yeah, he's literally--he's literally like, six inches taller than me.
SETH: Oh really? Ouchie wowwie.
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: Um, okay so first of all, how crazy is it that Idina's only missed once? Is she like, always the same performance every night?
CHRIS: She's made of steel.
SETH: Like, the show frozen. She like, doesn't change. She's like, the most consistent?
CHRIS: She's incredibly consistent. And she's like--she's like amazing. And the reason why she missed was because she was working on something else, I think. She wasn't sick.
SETH: It's crazy she hasn't hurt her voice yet because it's like the hardest score in the world to sing.
CHRIS: But she's got one of those like--she's got crazy protoplasm, I mean she's got--she's like one of those like, just crazy people who, are made of steel.
SETH: How'd you think--you have some little comedy bits throughout the show, which of course I was laughing hysterically when I saw it, so did Joe give those to you or did you make them up or are they in the script?
CHRIS: Uh, I just--I don't know. I just tried to..
SETH: "Just keep it, it's funny."
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: Did you ever go too far?
CHRIS: Uh. Yes. What did Joe--yeah Joe at one point--I was doing a scene, and uh, it was the scene where I push off the wheelchair and I had this whole, um, uh--when I ask Nessarose out to impress Galinda and I was pushing her and I had a whole like bit where I was looking back and waving and Joe from his chair in the middle of rehearsal goes, "Keep milking it, you'll make cheese." (The audience laughs)
SETH: You just want attention, is that so wrong?
CHRIS: I just want attention!
SETH: Is that so wrong?
CHRIS: But he's a friend, so I can, you know, can take it.
SETH: Okay uh, Stephen Schwartz, any contact?
CHRIS: Uh, yeah, not really. He was around a little, I wasn't--I wasn't in rehearsal that long! Like before I knew it I was in tech, like, I was only in rehearsal for, like a week?
SETH: In a Broadway show.
CHRIS: And then I was like in--it was so crazy. Especially after the planning and getting ready for getting married. And then, having kind of--out of the blue, him just calling and saying, "You do want to do this?" So it was such a, like a whole, like "whooo."
SETH: What's the hard thing about doing the show?
CHRIS: Uhh, uhuhuhuhuh. Um, I think-- I've never been in a long run before. So, and because there's so many little bits, it's hard to keep spontaneous, I think. And because it's so big, there's a--the relationship with the audience feels like, it-it-it works better with the kind of larger stuff that's happening, like a number, or a--something. So you don't get a lot to like, I find that relationship isn't, um.
SETH: 'Cause you're doing little small comedy bits you think?
CHRIS: Yeah. And it's like--it's not like you can get on a roll with-with what I'm--I feel like I can't like kind of, participate always in how it's--in the goodness that it is.
SETH: Cause you don't have Defying Gravity. And I was going to say you don't have any big crazy high notes. Except for, "today!" Uh, how about putting on the annoy--putting on the annoying tin man costume? How much do you dread it every night?
CHRIS: I hate it.
SETH: I knew it. I mean, at first I go, at first I'm like, "This is so cool!" and then it's like, "You know what? If I have to put this f---ing costume.."
CHRIS: It's un-- I have two dance belts on at that moment, by the way.
SETH: Really?!
CHRIS: I have a dance belt on, and then a leotard, and then a cod piece that has a g-string. So it's like, two g-strings.
SETH: Who does your laundry? Top privately? And then what about the annoying--you have to put, you have to put?
CHRIS: I have to put silver stuff, and then glue prostetics to my nose and to my chin. Then I have to put on--this is the worst part--like this wig, and then they have to put this--the hat, the funnel hat on. And they have to put these things in to like, hold the wig on, and the funnel hat. So I have like little sores all over my head, like little bumps.
SETH: Really?
CHRIS: Yeah. And then put on the crazy thing and then walk--and then my dressing room is so--it's like--so far.
SETH: Like, three flights up.
CHRIS: (Laughing) It's like three flights up.
SETH: That's so annoying.
CHRIS: And then to come out and be like (he makes these weird noises) and then that's it, and then like (more noises). And it's crazy.
SETH: Do you bow as a tin man? I don't remember.
CHRIS: No, I bow--I, I have just enough time to go all the way up to my dressing room, shower, and then put on another costume.
SETH: Oh, you're so lucky.
CHRIS: It's great. 'Cause then I can come right off and like, get my clothes on.
SETH: Oh so in the final number you're not the tin man, you're like, uh, "Glinda!" You're one of the townspeople.
CHRIS: No. I'm not one of the townspeople. I just, I just--I put on like an old Boq costume.
SETH: You go back to being Boq?
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: For the final number? For like--?
CHRIS: No I'm not in the final number.
SETH: Oh you're not? Oh! So you just come out for the bow.
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: And what about poor Idina, what the hell is she wearing? Is she wearing green all over?
CHRIS: Yeah.
SETH: Really?
CHRIS: They paint it on with like a paint brush.
SETH: Ugh, see don't you just want to go like, can I just (?) today and just like (? sorry I can't pick it out!) You know what I mean? It just must be so frustrating. How was Eden when she went on?
CHRIS: She was great.
SETH: Did she sound ah-mah-zing?
CHRIS: Amazing. Yeah.
SETH: Have your parents seen the show?
CHRIS: Yes.
SETH: What was their reaction? Tears or a lot of notes?
CHRIS: A lot of notes.
SETH: Really? Are they those kind of parents?
CHRIS: No, no. Uh, they liked it. I'm trying to think. Yeah, they-they enjoyed it.
SETH: Hm. (Chris laughs) Passive-agressive enjoying.
CHRIS: Well I had my-my--I'm trying to think--yeah my dad came to see it. My dad still lives in Maine. My mom now lives in--and my mom, my stepdad and brother all live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
SETH: Oh they're--not together anymore?
CHRIS: No. But they're all now, remarried and happy.
SETH: Uncomfortable. Okay, don't you have the gig coming up over the summer?
CHRIS: Uh, possibly. Yeah.
SETH: And where would it be?
CHRIS: Uh, in Williamstown. Williamstown Theatre Festival.
SETH: With--playing opposite Jessie, or no?
CHRIS: Uh, no, same show, different-- but not opposite. But we would deal with each other onstage.
SETH: Oh wouldn't that be nice if you got it. Who do you have to uh, who do you have to (?) to get out of Wicked?
CHRIS: (pause) David Stone.
SETH: (laughing) The producer. We'll see about that. Okay so Chris brought an embarrassing video, which of course--the best thing about embarrassing videos, the kind of videos where you think you're amazing and then there's a certain time period that you get to where you go like, "You know what? I was a total (?)" and that's like my jazz dance video, I'm like "I'm the best dancer in the world!" 5 years later, "Wait a minute, those leg warmers don't look good." Um, this is Chris's--I guess his college audition?
CHRIS: Yeah I guess I was a junior in high school. I was auditioning for a--some kind of scholarship, not for a particular college, but for like a national scholarship for theatre. I actually never ended up sending it in. But it was early in high school, wasn't when I was like a senior, I think I was like, sophomore or junior.

[ElphabaRox43]

omg, mar ur crazy! did you type all that up??? that mustve taken awhile!!!!!! ;D i luv the ratbat thingie. AUGHH! Chris did the best imitations of bugs and flapping wings; i just dont know how he does it!

[bubbles_n_brooms]

Wow i can't believe u typed all that. Thank you sooo much i loved reading it.

~chele~

[ElphieatShiz]

Playbill.com just announced that Chris is leaving Jan. 9, along with Idina and Joey. His replacement is named in the article.

www.playbill.com/news/article/89724.html