From television to theatre, award-winning actor John O'Hurley dances his way to Broadway, starring as lawyer Billy Flynn in Chicago. Many of you know him as J. Peterman, the owner of a catalog sales company, on "Seinfeld" for which he won a SAG Award for "Best Ensemble." O'Hurley is no stranger to the industry. His career began on daytime television in "The Young and the Restless," "All My Children," and "Santa Barbara," just to name a few. On Thursday, O'Hurley sat down with BroadwayWorld.com reporter, Nick Orlando.
Nick Orlando: John, congratulations on your Broadway debut. How is the show going?
John O'Hurley: It's going phenomenally well. The cast is extraordinary and the audience is really responding well. I never felt more proud than I do at this moment. It has made me love Broadway all over again.
Nick Orlando: What was the casting process like?
John O'Hurley: I called Barry Weissler [the producer of Chicago] and he said meet me for a glass of wine and that was it.
Nick Orlando: What is your favorite moment in Chicago?
John O'Hurley: I like these monologues. I love the music; the kind of Dean Martin feel to the music. This entrance is the greatest entrance any man has made on Broadway. A good exit too and in between it's a good Dick Tracy cartoon.
Nick Orlando: Did your experience on "Dancing with the Stars" help you for Chicago?
John O'Hurley: Yes, absolutely! It helped me personally and gave me much more confidence. Movement with music is an extraordinarily important thing and that's what the show gave me.
Nick Orlando: Talk to me about the training? You basically became a new person, dancing gives you a great workout, you are in better shape.
John O'Hurley: We had six weeks rehearsal before the first show with our partners. I had 12 or 13 weeks with no days off, rehearsing four to five hours a day. I took it very seriously. I had no dance training prior to the show. You are learning it at a competitive ballroom dance level, not at a wedding reception level.
Nick Orlando: You were originally scheduled to perform in the show until March 26th, but your engagement was recently extended through April 16th, what's next?
John O'Hurley: The dance DVD is coming out. It's a 3-part dance instruction with my partner, Charlotte, and I. You can visit dancefitness.biz to find out more about it. I'm also in the middle of writing a follow-up CD and I will be executive producing three movies. I'm talking to the people of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to do that show. My first book is almost finished and will be released in November (it's a light humor, based on the premise that everything I learned in life, I learned from my dogs).
Nick Orlando: John, I must ask, in 2005, you were named one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive," how does it feel?
John O'Hurley: I no longer need the Oscar, Emmy, or the Tony. I not only was nominated by People magazine, but I was also a Halloween costume. Regis [Philbin] and about 15 other people imitated me. In that case, I think they were weighing in more on the alive part, than the sexy!
For more information on Chicago, visit www.chicagothemusical.com. For tickets, call Telecharge at 212-239-6200, or visit www.telecharge.com.
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