Interview: A New Kind of Art- Constantine Maroulis Is Ready to Make His Mark in Non-Musical Debut

You probably know him as the vulnerable musician with big dreams in ROCK OF AGES or perhaps the the most charismatic contestant of AMERICAN IDOL's fourth season. But Constantine Maroulis is much more than just a big voice, and this spring he's out to prove it.

Second Stage Theatre will begin the 2016 Uptown Series with the world premiere of Sofia Alvarez's FRIEND ART, directed by Portia Krieger. Maroulis stars as Nate, best friend of Kevin and Molly, who just broke up with Lil, his much younger performance artist girlfriend. The group is navigating Gotham living at varying levels of success, which inevitably means attending friends' basement art shows. In this comedy we're confronted with what it means to support the art and decisions your friends make, regardless of what it does to your friendships.

As he prepares to make his NYC non-musical debut, Maroulis is checking in with BroadwayWorld to tell us all about rehearsals so far. Check out the full interview below!

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You're already in rehearsals, correct?

Yes, and deep rehearsals. We just finished about week two and it's very exciting. It's a very intimate, very humble theater. It's sort of like getting back to my roots all over again. And there's nothing amateur about the way Second Stage goes about their business...it's just first class all the way. We got to DEAR EVAN HANSON the other night, and it was such a beautiful piece. Ben [Platt] is just incredible. I'm really excited to be a part of this family.

I think this was probably my first audition for them, ever. I've done some fun stuff with them, and we've always had a great relationship- I've done their bowling and their stuff and been to a lot of their shows. But this is the first time I actually went in for them, and here we are! I guess this is officially my first play- a non musical, and it's in New York. I'm very excited about it.

What's that like hopping into a play, doing something a little bit different?

Super exciting. I think there's a bit of a misconception that I stumbled into Broadway acting after American Idol, but of course it's been a passion of mine since I was very young. Growing up in New York, Broadway was really always my dream and something that I just knew had to work my ass off and train for and prepare for. And of course, after being on TV, I got more opportunities to do what I love. I grew up doing plays, I feel confident in my ability to jump in there and just play the scenes.

I very much relate to Nate, my character. It's great to be type cast sometimes, especially when you're working. I think every actor wants to play against it, but I'm like, "Bring it my way!" This is an interesting sort of rocker character. He's somebody who had a lot of success very early on, was in some kind of late 90s band, had a few hits, he wrote all the songs, and he made a lot for money. And then as it happens he just sort of sells out. He bought at the right time in Brooklyn, he's got a beautiful, big lofty home. But it's not much of a home because he doesn't really have anyone to share it with... no kids, plenty of money. There's a line in the show that he's "got enough money to do nothing," and that's sort of a creativity buzzkill.

What's that collaboration in the rehearsal room been like for you, with such an intimate group?

It's been lovely, really. Sofia [Alvarez] and Portia [Krieger] have been working on this play for a few years. Sophia works a lot in TV, I believe her father created THE WIRE, and she does a lot of TV writing and film writing. It's a very contemporary, current, natural dialog. It sounds like every conversation you would hear walking around Brooklyn these days. And as an actual Brooklynite, born in Brooklyn, it's funny. The borough seems foreign to me now, the new New York sort of passed me by, and now I live in "the country" in New Jersey.

[Laughs] I love that New Jersey qualifies as the country.

I know, it's funny. It's like I have to re-learn what it's like to be a Brooklynite again through this show. It is about friends and expectations and sort of being a appreciative of those relationships and those friendships. Sofia's been there in rehearsal and we've been changing dialog every day with new scenes and new pages. Everyone's been coming in just really amped to work. It's about putting on this great play and showing and living up to the prestige of Second Stage.

And this isn't the only exciting thing you have going on this week...

Yes, I was on the producing team of SPRING AWAKENING and it was just nominated for a Tony Award!

Congratulations!

Thank you. It's very different when you're nominated as an actor, and of course there is a huge team involved in producing these shows. Truly all the credit goes to Ken Davenport and Deaf West and certainly our director, Michael [Arden], who I've known for... jeeze a long time now, since about 2000 or 2002. I remember meeting him at Williamstown. I had just finished at Boston Conservatory and I met him and he was Julliard. He was just the golden boy- singing, directing, writing, acting, there was just nothing he couldn't do. We've been friends on and off all these years and when I heard about this production I just knew I wanted to be a part of it.

I think I was there on opening night, or maybe the second night, originally on Broadway. I was fresh off American Idol, and I was like, "Oh my god this show!" They were just busting the microphones out and these guitars and I was just like "Wow! This is an incredible piece" I'm just very excited to be a part of it for sure, this new, incredible production. And I hope to get it out on the road with these guys, as well.

That would be amazing.

Yes. I'm very honored to be just affiliated and to be part of the big change for sure.

So often shows that open in the fall or the summer get overlooked at this time of year, so I'm so happy that this one has been getting so much recognition. It clearly left an impression on people...

Absolutely. The only way we were able to do that show on Broadway for even six months was the incredible generosity of our principles. It was all about everyone doing it for the sake of the show and the art and the passion... for bringing awareness to actors with physical disabilities. And our fan base was incredible. We needed them; we loved them. My god, for a small, indie, Broadway musical, our fan base was tremendous. Only HAMILTON out shined our social media presence.

And it was so exciting that the cast was full of kids making their debuts.

The cast we put together... I mean look at the first cast of SPRING AWAKENING. They're all dominating TV, theatre, film, what not. Lea, Jonathan, not to mention the whole other level of kids. Everyone seems to work. Austin [P. McKenzie] and Sean [Grandillo] and Alex [Boniello], Katie [Boeck], and our all of the actors are incredible. It's a once in a lifetime thing. I'm just so honored to be a part of it and looking forward to getting involved in more producing.

What else is on the horizon for you?

We have this new album coming out. Two of the first new songs are available now on iTunes and Spotify and everywhere else. "Here I Come," and "She's Just Rock N' Roll." The balance of the record should be out by the end of the year as well. Plus I have some tour dates in the Fall.

What are you most looking forward to with Friend Art?

I think an opportunity to get to see me in a naturalistic way. Look, ROCK OF AGES was an incredible experience for me and the Tony nomination just made my life, for sure. I think when people think back now, 7 years later, we think "Oh the high notes! The hair! The rocker!" We kind of forget about the performance... the vulnerable acting performance. It's so easy to remember Constantine was this like devil horns and the hair and the tongue, rocking out. But it's actually very little of what I did in the show. It's just sort of helped to what sell the show and propel the brand and all of that. And I'm fine with that, believe me. But I'm excited for people to just see me truly in a very intimate phase, completely exposed, completely vulnerable, completely, hopefully, alive in the moment and the themes and the play with three other brilliant, young, hot actors.

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FRIEND ART will begin previews on Tuesday, May 17th and will officially open on Thursday, May 26th.

Maroulis is an accomplished actor, producer, singer and songwriter best known for his Tony-nominated performance in Rock of Ages and his epic run as a finalist during the heyday of "American Idol." Currently, Constantine is developing a number of creative projects in TV and film, notably having taken on the role of producer for the acclaimed show Spring Awakening, as well as recently releasing the singles, "Here I Come" and "She's Just Rock N Roll," from his upcoming album.

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