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BWW Interviews: Andrew Keenan-Bolger Talks MARY POPPINS Tour
By: Michael L. Quintos Feb. 05, 2010
It was day one of a week-long, seemingly endless marathon of torrential rainstorms that Southern California hasn't seen in quite some time. A few miles away in Beverly Hills, stars of film and television are getting inconveniently, unnecessarily damp while walking the red carpet press line for the 2010 Golden Globe Awards.
Me? I was bundled up, excitedly driving north on the 405 from behind the Orange County line to visit with actor Andrew Keenan-Bolger, who has spent the last year touring the country as Robertson Ay in the hit Disney/Cameron Mackintosh stage musical extravaganza MARY POPPINS. February 7 will mark the show's last performance in Los Angeles, after spending three magical months at the Ahmanson Theatre to record-capacity audiences. On the very same day, Bolger will also bid the show itself farewell.
While he'll certainly be missed after putting his stamp this year on a role that had audiences howling with laughter eight shows a week, he's admittedly excited about what the future holds. This includes, naturally, more personal musings through his very popular video blog, which has, for several years now, given his long-time followers (myself included) glimpses into an actor's life behind-the-scenes (which, before MARY POPPINS included roles in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Beauty and the Beast, Seussical and the Nickoledeon series Naked Brothers Band). He's calling L.A. home for now, as he readies himself for what the city's TV industry calls "pilot season."After a surprisingly easy commute up to the Music Center (rain is normally not a friend to Southern California drivers), I made my way down to the Ahmanson's stage door. Up until this point, I've only ever been an appreciative audience member at this theater. So, as a self-professed musical theater fanatic-turned-correspondent, I was doing everything I can to not, you know, geek out as I stood there by security. Bolger showed up, though, a mere 30 seconds after I got there, and he escorted me down to his dressing room for a chat during his free time between that day's earlier matinee and the evening performance that will happen hours later. Our interview was giddily interrupted by a few pop-ins from fellow castmates (who clearly treat each other like a loving family). All-in-all, our informal indoor Q&A made for a lovely afternoon, despite the nasty weather outside.
It's funny...you know, I think every area in the country sort of reacts to the show a little bit differently. I feel that the one [common] thing about MARY POPPINS is that almost every age group has some connection to it. The older members of the audience may have read the books growing up, and then there are our parents and grandparents who have seen the movie and have raised their kids with [that movie]. It's really a show for everyone, and they can all bring their own little piece of history to it. But doing the show out here in L.A.—just because there are so many "industry" people out here—there is such a great appreciation for actors. They seem so much more valued out here. L.A. is just a very good theater-going audience...people who see a lot of things. We've performed at some places where they see one or two shows a year; and then contrast that with L.A. where there are constantly things happening. So, I think you get a very educated theater group out here.
Have you gotten star-struck, then, when you see celebrities out in the audience watching you?
I have! There have been a lot of famous people, actually, who have come and seen us. Last week we had Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes! [They] came with [their daughter] Suri. They went backstage and brought us cupcakes! [Laughs] They went above and beyond, and were some of the sweetest celebrities to ever come see us. And then I was personally excited when Lauren Conrad from The Hills on MTV came. I was truly excited about that! Yeah, she's originally from the O.C., where I live!That's right! I think some people in our cast weren't as excited about her because they didn't really know who she was... but I was holding down for the reality show demographic! [Laughs]That's awesome! Okay, so tell me a little bit more about your character, Robertson Ay on MARY POPPINS. For people who've only seen the movie, he's someone new. Yeah, he's actually not a character [that was featured] in the movie. He's taken from the original P.L. Travers books. He's kind of this bumbling, boyish servant who works in the Banks household. He sort of gets everything wrong and is constantly breaking things. He's a bit of comic relief...along with Mrs. Brill [played by Jane Carr], who's the maid. Together, we're both sort of these vaudevillian characters that come in.So, without any prior visual references to draw from—since the character never appeared in the film—what sort of preparation did you take on in order to shape your performance?
The only source material I really had were the books, so there were a lot of things in there that I found [helpful]. Together with the director [Richard Eyre], we kind of developed a character using some things from the books and some things I was able to bring to the table, like just random little "-isms" that defined who this character is. But, I think, at the end of the day, this character was a lot of fun to play around with, and so a lot of the development of the character just happened as we were rehearsing the scenes—it really grew out of that. It also grew out of what developed in the relationship between Mrs. Brill and [my character].
Cool. So the show's been playing in L.A. for a few months now. Have you developed any local favorite spots or hangouts now that you've been here a while?Oh, absolutely! I am in love with Los Angeles. I'm living in Silverlake right now which—especially for someone who [normally] lives in New York—is like a little slice of New York! It feels very West Village-y. It's kind of like in this area where people can walk around, so I have my own little favorite coffee shops that I frequent and a few vintage clothing stores that I love...Do you get recognized?[Laughs] I got recognized once at Trader Joe's! Some of the cast and I were shopping in there and this guy checking us out was, like, "you're in MARY POPPINS, aren't you?" Describe a typical tour day for you...Well, the great thing about being an actor in a show [like this] is that we have most of the day off. So we have time to just explore the area... and then our call time isn't until 7:30 p.m. every night. So basically for me, throughout the day, I've just been exploring Los Angeles. This city is so huge! We can go to the beach in the morning and then eat lunch at whatever area we're in... and then do a show at night.
So you don't feel very hurried getting things done in your day, then.Yeah. It's been such a "luxury" job, I would say. The nice thing about being on the road is that you sort of have time to yourself. In New York, you're constantly going out to other auditions, or meeting up with agents, or taking meetings...things like that. That's one of the really nice things [about being on tour]. My only responsibilities are to myself and to my friends who are on tour with me. I love that this allows me to be a little bit more like a tourist, which is cool. After L.A., what's your next destination?I'm actually going to be done with the tour after Los Angeles. But the show goes on to Tempe, Denver, Cincinnati then Washington D.C. They have a whole bunch of tour stops still to come.Oh, well, I'm sure a lot of your fans will be disappointed not to see you in the role anymore. Why did you decide not to continue on with the tour?Well, actually today is my one-year mark since joining the tour! So, I felt that a year was great... it was an awesome experience. But... just right now...being in L.A., it seemed like an awesome, amazing opportunity. I mean, my stuff's already here, so I can just kind of stick around for a while... at least through the end of pilot season. Cool! So you'll be auditioning for more TV shows and stuff?Yeah! Actually my sister just moved out here as well with her fiancée....so it's nice that I'll have family out here now too. So, yeah, it's a sad thing to be leaving this company. I've really made amazing relationships with a lot of people here, but I'm definitely going to go out and visit them. And for those of you reading this, you should absolutely come out and see MARY POPPINS in whatever city it goes to! It's a really wonderful production!
Prior to MARY POPPINS, a lot of people knew you for being in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee national tour. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience?It was amazing! It was a very different show, certainly, from MARY POPPINS. Spelling Bee was very different every single night because we had different words given to us each night [to spell] and we worked with different audience "volunteers" every night! That was kind of an atypical situation, in that you didn't really have to do anything different to keep the show fresh. But, yeah, it was very different every night with many curve balls thrown at you every single second! So it gave you a lot of chances to work on your improv skills, then, right?Yeah, it did! It was a really amazing experience as an actor to get to be a part of a project that's constantly shifting, bringing in new energy and things like that. It was a national tour, much like MARY POPPINS, but the tour stops were a lot shorter, so we would do usually a week in every city. Whereas with MARY POPPINS, we would do the show for a month...up to....three months in every city. And so, I got to see a lot more of the country [with Spelling Bee]. But, I don't know...I sort of prefer the MARY POPPINS way of touring, just because you can actually get acclimated to your space, relax, and feel like you're in a...home. Do you think down the liNe You'd want to tour with another show?Yeah, sure! I mean, if it was the right opportunity... I'd absolutely say yes!Cool! So you've developed quite a fan following over the years thanks to your popular online video blogs. How did those come about?It was so random, actually. It wasn't even my idea! I was doing the show High School Musical, the regional theater premiere production at the North Shore theater in Massachusetts. The guy who's the artistic director suggested that I should do a blog for them. I was playing the character of Ryan, and they were like... "Here's Ryan Evans! Doing a little backstage blog!" They wanted to have it to sort of try and build a fanbase for the show. I figured it would be watched by, like, oh 10...15 people. You know, some of my friends will watch... and, maybe, it'll get a couple of subscribers... But then it sort of became a lot bigger than I thought it would! People started randomly showing up at the stage door and were, like, "We love you! We love you in your video blogs!" A few people would even bring me bags of Cheetos and stuff! And, so, after HSM ended, I thought, well, I didn't really have an excuse to do [them] anymore...I wasn't doing a show where someone's asking me to do [videos] for them. But then my friends and I... we love to sort of have these video diaries to remember our fun times. So I decided to keep doing them. And then when I joined Spelling Bee, the [producers] were very excited to have me do these videos for them as well. So, I did a Spelling Bee blog and then, now, with MARY POPPINS, I've been doing some video-blogging for them as well.
And now you're doing a video blog for one of BroadwayWorld's partners, MTI ShowSpace!Actually, one of my best friends, Benj Pasek, who's a composer-writer, is signed with MTI... his show Edges is licensed with them. They were talking to him about doing a video series, and he just dropped my name to them and said, "Oh, you should get with Andrew... he's really big and very into that musical theater world!" And so now... it's really great! I have another excuse to make videos! Someone told me recently, "oh, well, now you've got a deadline to make videos" instead of just randomly picking up the video camera. It's really fun!Well, that's awesome! Now you've got another outlet for people to watch your stuff! But, tell me, since you're leaving MARY POPPINS, what are your next videos going to be about?Well, I have a few in the can for MARY POPPINS—some backstage, fun things that we've done. And then I'm going to just continue [the video blogs] with a bunch of my actor friends...Speaking of your famous actor friends... You and a few of them took part in that awesome web series The Battery's Down, which, I'm sad to say, is...awww...done! Can you talk a little bit about that?
Sure! It was created by one of my friends, Jake Wilson, who I went to school with...and it was basically a bunch of kids in my class who were kind of looking for a fun thing to do with YouTube. It was right when YouTube was becoming very popular, and Jake was trying to think of a way to....well, he basically was not getting any work. He was auditioning a lot, but not getting cast. And so he was, like, "you know, if I'm not getting cast, I'm going to make my own project!" And, so he developed this idea that we were first going to do a pilot for just a musical web series. There was nothing else like it on YouTube at the time. He enlisted a few of our writer friends to write some tunes for it, and we called up a few favors from some Broadway actors. Then it sort of just took off! The first episode was a big success and then we became a partner on YouTube. So, then Jake was starting to finally make some real money doing all the stuff that he loved. And it just grew from there! Basically it was our fanbase that supported us, and created a space for us to produce this kind of do-it-yourself filmmaking. It was just wonderful and really cool to be a part of that.I bet. I mean, the caliber of talent that was featured during the life of the series was just staggering!I know, right? I was shocked at how many people would just agree to help us out. When you're trying to do something creative, I've found that the theater community is so supportive, and everyone was jumping at the opportunity to help out a fellow actor do something fun on their off-time. All of that was done during [the actors'] spare time! A lot of times, we would just go into people's dressing rooms in between shows to maybe do a cameo or they'll run outside really quick, put on a wig and figure out something...even for just little bit parts in the show. I think that's really what got the show off the ground was having people with some kind of name recognition [appear on the show]... and then, they would see the rest of the show and see all of the musical numbers, and that would get them [to want to be] even more involved. That made people want to keep watching every episode.
So did the success of the series translate into a gig for Jake?
It has! Originally, I don't think anybody had any idea who Jake was. But now, just from literally working with so many people, he has a reference point. We had a bunch of casting directors who made cameos playing themselves... so now he has personal relationships with people like Bernard Telsey and Tara Rubin... all these cool people! So do you think, speaking from a theater actor's perspective, that doing auxiliary projects like video blogs and web shows are now a necessary part of being in the industry? Oh, yeah. I think there's so much that is out of our control as actors, and it's just really hard to market yourself in such a huge industry. There are so many actors that are out of work or are looking for jobs, and so I think that the internet has really brought a new level to people being able to market themselves virally, and do it in a way where you can both be creating something that's artistic and meaningful to yourself, as well as having people learn who you are and learn additional talents that you may not have been able to show during an audition. So, yeah, I think it's definitely necessary. My group of friends and I graduated from college at a time when it was really relevant to have [clips on] YouTube and the inter-web as sort of a tool to build your career. I think there's not a single one of my friends who cannot give at least some credit to the online world for giving us the opportunities we have today. You and some of your peers, then, were sort of pioneers in a way for this trend! I mean, before you guys, it was almost unheard of to see so much self-produced material from any actor that's so easily accessible. Now it seems like every show has some kind of online behind-the-curtain vlog or extra little clip to fuel fans.Definitely, yeah! I mean, I think a lot of it has to do with timing. When YouTube came out, I remember I was a sophomore in college. It was just this random little web site... So my friends and I just started putting up, like... "oh, let's share a couple of videos from this concert I directed!"... that had us and some friends from other schools like Carnegie Mellon and CCM. They couldn't come to see our concerts, so we decided to put them up online for our friends and family to see. And then it sort of grew into this cool thing! I mean, I got asked to do concerts based on people who've never even met me, but have seen some of my things on YouTube. My friends were getting recognized basically by people just stumbling upon their videos [on my channel]! At the same time, though, I do think it is sort of a dangerous tool too, because... you put something up there and everyone can see it. We've definitely put some videos up [in the past] way before we realized that, oh, maybe agents were actually going on the internet and typing in your name! [Laughs] So after a while, we had to start putting videos on "private." But, yeah, I think as far as for actors that are looking to market themselves virally, I think it's a great tool. Just be really conscious of what you're putting up. Just know that if you put something up, anyone can see it and it can be the best representation of you.
Great advice! Now, let's dive into your background a little bit. You talked briefly about your schooling...Now, I think there must be something in the water there... [Laughs] What is it about the University of Michigan that makes it so successful in producing some of Broadway's biggest talents?It's a wonderful school! The faculty there is amazing and it's really one of the warmest environments in the world. Now, I know that with a lot of programs, people can be made to feel that they have to live up to a certain potential at a really early time, and really just come in and be as close to a "finished product" before they leave. But I feel Michigan was amazing in that we were told right at the beginning [of the program] that who you are is going to be the most important thing that you have that you can bring to the table, and so, you shouldn't be trying to make yourself into other celebrities that you really want to be like. At the end of the day, it's going to be YOU who gets the job. And, so, I think it was just a really warm environment that celebrated our differences and celebrated who we were... and I think that's what made the most interesting people and, thus, interesting actors. I mean, even when we first started there, we were, like, "oh this school is sooo great!" But by the time we had left, it seemed like all of these people [that previously graduated from the school] really came into their own, and so we sort of entered into the field with this amazing reputation.Did that give you confidence when you went out there for auditions?
Oh, I'd say absolutely! Not to say that what school you go to defines who you are as an actor, but it was definitely helpful. When people see "Michigan" on a résumé, they usually go, "oh, you went to Michigan! That's wonderful! I know such-and-such on the faculty, and such-and-such actor... We love you Michigan kids!" [Laughs] Actually, for Spelling Bee, that was one of the big things that, I think, was a selling point for a lot of us. I think there's been, like, 16 Michigan graduates who have done versions of Spelling Bee that were in either the San Francisco, Boston, Broadway or national tour companies! I don't know what it was about that school that had everybody from Michigan getting cast in it. I think it's probably because we can be a little bit oddball sometimes...So, as a young child growing up, did you know that this career was the thing you wanted to do?I think so, yeah! My older sister Celia is an actress as well. She's a little bit older than me. So, in my formative years, she was always performing and we would always go see her do things. And so, that just made me want to be...like her. Maybe if she was an Olympic swimmer, I would probably be an Olympic swimmer by now as well! [Laughs] But I really just wanted to be a lot like her and saw that what she did was so fun. So, yeah, with both of my siblings—my other sister Maggie is also an actress now—we have this kind of showbiz family, which is strange because our parents are not at all theatrically-inclined! Besides your sisters, who were you most influenced by?Honestly, I was influenced a lot by the shows I went to see my sister in. We found all these home movies from way back—past Christmases where we would perform things. I would always used to sing a song from whatever show Celia was doing, and I always knew every word to the entire show! So, I grew up listening to a lot of musicals... we lived in a very cast recording-friendly house! On all of our long drives, Celia would find whatever new showtune at the library and know every lyric. So musical theater has always been a huge influence.Of your past shows, which one(s) have been your favorite(s)?
Well, actually, the show I did right before MARY POPPINS. It was Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas. That was really fun! It was kind of a crazy experience because we were doing sooo many shows... up to, like, 15 shows a week! So it was very different. It felt a little bit like we were on a theme park schedule, but in a huge, crazy, spectacular show! And that was cool, just the whole spectacle of the whole thing, much like MARY POPPINS. It was amazing to be a part of things like that. Before that, I did a lot of things I loved at school...like the old standards and the classics. An amazing thing about doing productions at school is being able to play roles that you might not necessarily be able to play until much later in your life. So it was fun being able to do the standards like Rodgers and Hammerstein...Now, you look pretty young... Do you find yourself going for more of those [younger] kinds of roles when auditioning?Oh, definitely, yeah. I'm always amazed when I'm able to play someone even close to my age! Hey, then maybe you should audition for one of those teen shows on the CW like 90210![Laughs] Yeah, maybe!Alright, then...we've put it out there! So, speaking of teens... as far as kids who are now in school who dream of someday doing what you're doing now, what's your one piece of advice to them?I would say that... it's really easy when you're young to just be only focused on theater, if that's what you want to do. But I think that everything else that you do contributes to who you are as a person and as an actor. So, I would say that if you are really into, let's say, soccer... you should play that! If you're really into...economics! Then, take a class in that in college! You're only as good an actor as you are as a person. So I really think that broadening your spectrum of things that you learn about is going to make you a better actor. I think it's really easy—especially kids who are just going into college—for them to look for programs where they can just say "oh, I just want to dance!" or "I just want to take acting!"... Just 24/7 theater. If you do that, I think you will really miss out on a lot of life experiences and a lot of ways to make you become a better actor. In your experience, do you feel that going that route yourself worked particularly well for you?I definitely do. In Michigan...it's a university, so I was able to take a lot of different classes. I took things like... Greek History! Why? I don't know! But I found it interesting! [Laughs] I took African-American Studies and Creative Writing... things like that. It's funny how many times I'll be going in for an audition and I would be like "Wait! I know about this! Because we took a class and we talked about that!" I think it just informed who I am as a person.
Alright. So now we're going into the Oprah/TMZ-like portion of our interview...Uh-oh. Okay...Oh, don't worry. Nothing bad. So... like actors Cheyenne Jackson, Alan Cumming and Gavin Creel, you are one of the many out actors working in theater today.I think we're lucky that we're growing up in an age where it isn't as big an issue. I mean, of course, it certainly is... but I feel like the people who are able to own who they are, are usually the most "free" actors, and the most willing to take risks. I feel that being comfortable—being yourself—when you walk into an audition room is a really important thing. I think being able to own every aspect of your life is only going to make you be more comfortable in front of a table of people you don't know. Understandably, the Broadway community is likely to be more welcoming an environment for someone to come out. So, for you personally, was this a conscious decision to be open about that part of your identity?It honestly wasn't. I think having a video blog and a Twitter feed—things like that—I've always just been an advocate of being open to my fans. Okay, well, I don't want to say "fans" because I'm not, like, Jennifer Anniston or anything... But, you know, there are people that may look up to me in, like, Kansas City... I have always had an openness with the rest of the world. So I never really grappled with a decision or anything. This is just who I am. If someone doesn't want to cast me because of it, then I wouldn't want to do that part anyway.Like many in the Broadway community—and even a few of us non-celebs—you're probably just as appalled with California's Prop. 8. Thoughts?I think it's horrifying that we live in a country where we can hold everybody to the same laws, but yet we're not willing to grant everyone equal rights. People can all be forced to pay taxes, but yet they're denying a whole group of people equal human rights. I'm really excited that this trial is happening right now and I hope it goes all the way to the Supreme Court. I mean, sure, it's a little tricky because, yes, it was decided by popular vote, which is a disheartening fact. But when you look back in history, if [certain laws] were decided by popular vote, they would have never passed. Civil rights would have never happened if they were up to the majority. I think that's why it's so important that this goes to the Supreme Court. In matters of the constitutionality of things, you can't necessarily rely only on popular vote. If we did, we would have never had women voting. We would never have interracial marriage. There's an obvious injustice here.
Okay, let's change gears here. I'm going to throw a few random quick questions your way. Just say the first thing that comes to mind... What's been your favorite movie of the past year?Well, my favorite movie this year was Up In The Air. I think, especially after being on tour for the past three years, you get so familiar with this weird, sort of isolated feeling of like just living out of a bag... You almost get comfortable with that sort of isolation and being away from friends. So that movie really spoke to me in a way that I was not expecting. And then, of course, just the performances were, I thought, incredible.Favorite musical?
I think right now probably Caroline, or Change?—which is horrible because I've never even seen a production of it anywhere!Oh, really? That played right here at the Ahmanson with Tonya Pinkins!I know! I've never seen it, but that cast recording to me... I will literally sit down and listen to the entire thing straight through, and then cry by the end! I think it's so beautiful and just an amazing piece of theater.What song do you belt in the shower or when you're all alone in the car?Omigod! [Laughs] Um... I've been very into the Glee soundtrack lately, so anything off of that... like "Bust Your Windows"... that will often be belted on a road trip! Or... "Don't Stop Believin'." So what do you think about this whole Glee phenomenon?I think it's so incredible, I love it so much! When it first came out, I was, like, hoping that it wouldn't be just this "fringe" thing with a cult following. So the fact that it's gotten as huge as it is... like, tonight, it's getting recognized by the Golden Globes! I think that's amazing. And anytime musical theater is able to be brought out to a broader spectrum... I think that's so cool because, you know, we live in luxury, living in cities like Los Angeles or New York where we get to enjoy [musical theater] a lot of the time. But there are a lot of other cities where kids who are into musical theater don't have an outlet to go see their favorite shows. And so having such a widely-viewed show like Glee is really cool.Well, so... since you're staying out here... do you think maybe Glee is something you'd be interested in doing?Oh, sure! [Laughs] Hey, if someone wants to call me up to be on Glee, I certainly won't decline!You read it here, folks. Make it happen! Okay, who's the person you admire the most?
Well, it's between my two sisters. I look up to them in so many ways, and each in such different ways. And my sister Maggie...she's such an activist. She's always out there finding ways to use theater as a tool for social change. I just really admire that she's been able to take something that she loves so much and do good with it. And then, of course, my older sister Celia...I just admire who she is as a human being and the way she treats everyone else she works with... and, of course, her talent as well. What's your one guilty pleasure?Oh! Flaming Hot Cheetos! That's my favorite thing in the world! [Laughs] Funny... I mean, I said it one time on a blog, and then people started giving them to me at the stage door. So then, I figured, I should talk about it some more, then people will give me more Cheetos! But, yeah, literally if I had to eat just one food for the rest of my life, it would be that! And they're so terrible for you! I don't even know what chemicals are in it, but I don't care because they're my favorite food since I was a little kid.What irritates you?What irritates me? Um... L.A. drivers! They're crazy! I mean, it's very different... I would never drive the streets of New York. I am petrified of New York drivers. They're very scary, aggressive drivers! But in L.A., I feel that people here are a little more chill... so they would be just really chill as they cut you off and not even notice! Not to mention when it rains! When it rains here [like today] people act like it's Deep Impact or something... [Laughs]What makes you smile?My family. Hanging out with my family and getting to see them as much as possible... never ceases to bring a smile!If you weren't an actor, what would you be doing?
I'd probably be doing something on the other side of the table... like, I would love to do, perhaps, film editing—that's one of my biggest passions. It's kind of something you do now [with your blogs]...Yes, right... but if I wasn't an actor, I would like to do some kind of editing job or maybe directing.So, with your last day on MARY POPPINS coming, care to share your future immediate plans? Any upcoming projects?
Nothing anything too long-term... I won this contest... the Lonely Planet contest. So, after I'm done here, I'm going to fly up to San Francisco and I'm going to be in workshop classes on how to make travel videos, and then they're going to have me make travel videos for them. I'm really excited about that. And then starting in May, I'm going to be directing a documentary for this New York-wide event called "Ultimate Block Party," which celebrates children at play. Kind of right now, for me, the new 'Global Warming'-type issue is Education in our country... so often, kids are not allowed to just paint or play with blocks. So much of it is focused on testing and getting kids into the right schools. I feel that a whole huge aspect of education is allowing kids to just create things and invent, and think for themselves. I think, down the line, we're going to have a lot of repercussions if kids are not allowed to become thinkers. So, anyway, it's this event that's going to be housed in Central Park... and it'll have people from all walks of life, like professional chefs teaching kids about cooking..which helps you with chemistry...which helps you become a...nuclear scientist! Then actors are going to be there with dress-up, which will teach kids about characters. My friend Benj and I are documenting the process of having it be put together and then eventually [cover] the day of the event. And then, of course, I'll be out there still auditioning! TV... Film... but, still, my biggest love is musical theater.
Well, thank you again for sitting down with me for this interview!Oh, you're welcome! This was a lot of fun!Photos: Top - Andrew Keenan-Bolger by Robert Mannis. Middle - Bolger as Robertson Ay in MARY POPPINS by Joan Marcus.
Bottom - Bolger backstage at the Ahmanson Theatre by Michael Lawrence Quintos.
----For more on all things Andrew Keenan-Bolger, including links to his online video projects, visit his website at www.andrewkeenanbolger.comThe West Coast premiere of MARY POPPINS opened Sunday, November 15, 2009 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre for a limited engagement through February 7, 2010 as part of the MARY POPPINS National Tour. The entire creative team has reunited to bring this magical story of the world's most famous nanny to audiences across North America. Original Broadway stars, Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee, reprise their roles as MARY POPPINS and Bert, respectively.MARY POPPINS, a co-production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened on Broadway on November 16, 2006. Based on P.L. Travers' cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, MARY POPPINS the stage play features the Academy Award®-winning music and lyrics of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The stage production has been created, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, by Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who has written the book, and the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, who have composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.The Los Angeles engagement of MARY POPPINS is by arrangement with Center Theatre Group and is part of CTG's 2009-2010 season at the Ahmanson Theatre, located at the Los Angeles Music Center. Tickets for MARY POPPINS are available for the Los Angeles Engagement by calling Center Theatre Group Audience Services at (213) 972-4400, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office located the Ahmanson Theatre or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. For more information on the show's next tour stops, visit www.MaryPoppinsTour.com.
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