Interview: Two-Time Tony Winner Norbert Leo Butz Brings Three Decades of Broadway to Segerstrom Center for the Arts

From humble beginnings as the seventh of eleven children to a career spanning more than three decades on Broadway, Norbert Leo Butz has built a life defined by storytelling. Now, he brings that story to the Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, February 26–28, in an intimate solo concert that blends music, memory, and reflection.

One of only nine actors to have won the Tony Award twice as a leading actor, Butz will weave together personal moments from his life with songs drawn from his most career-defining performances on Broadway.

And there have been many. Butz originated roles on Broadway in The Last Five Years (Jamie Wellerstein), Wicked (Fiyero), Big Fish (Edward Bloom), and the 2018 revival of My Fair Lady (Alfred P. Doolittle), and earned Tony Awards for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (playing Freddy Benson) and Catch Me If You Can (playing Frank Abagnale Jr.). His film and television credits include Bloodline, Fosse/Verdon, Justified: City Primeval, and American Sports Story, created by Ryan Murphy.

Ahead of the engagement, Butz spoke with BroadwayWorld about how he shaped the concert, choosing songs that tell his story, and what he hopes audiences take away from the evening.

This solo show puts you front and center, without a character to hide behind. How does performing as yourself change the emotional stakes compared to a Broadway role?

I don’t know that it changes the stakes. Even when I am “in character,” it’s still ME. But I do feel the obligation to be honest and transparent and authentic. It’s all storytelling, just through a different lens.

Your career spans musicals and plays to film and television. When you build a solo concert like this, how do you decide which chapters of your life and career belong onstage?

I decide to use what’s most useful for a good concert. There has to be a mix of styles and tempos, ups and downs. Some things I’ve done-and loved- don’t make the set list because they don’t translate well to a concert setting.

With all that you’ve done (film, TV, etc.)—are you still a theater kid at heart?”

I guess I am. The theatre is where I’ve always felt the most at home. And the most useful.

Does this show reveal a side of you audiences might not expect?

I hope it does. I play guitar and piano in the show, tell some personal anecdotes about my upbringing and getting started in the business. Hopefully there is an element of surprise to the evening.

How much of the show is set, and how much shifts depending on the room and the audience energy?

I’ve been so lucky to work with composer and pianist Andy Robinson for a couple of years now: Andy is a musical beast, and we’ve learned a lot of material together. We have enough material that we can throw in surprise numbers at the drop of a hat. He’s a huge part of the show. Just a consummate musician.

As someone who’s sustained a long career in a tough industry, what perspective do you have now that you didn’t early on?

Nobody owes me—or any other performer for that matter—anything. I used to wait around for someone to say “yes” to me. I don’t do that anymore. I make my own work and my own music and I just keep showing up. Sometimes people notice and say nice things. Sometimes they don’t and the work goes unseen. Either way, I just keep doing my thing. It’s all about showing up for yourself.

When audiences leave this concert, what do you hope they feel they’ve learned—not just about you as a performer, but also as a person?

I hope they see a resilient person. A thankful person. I’ve been so blessed. And I hope they see an uncynical person. I talk about cynicism in the show and the constant struggle against it in this world. Music, theatre, Art is the antidote to cynicism. That’s what I want people to leave with. 

LIGHTNING ROUND! Answer these questions with the first thing that comes to your head:

First Broadway show you ever saw?

RENT. And then a month later, I was in it!! Ha!!!

Role you’d do again in a heartbeat? 

Uncle Peck in “How I Learned to Drive”, Bobby Gould in “Speed-the-Plough” and the role I’m doing now: Paul Child in Claudia Shear’s “The Recipe”

Role that scared you the most? 

Jamie in “The Last Five Years”

Go-To Karaoke song? 

“She’s Gone” by Hall & Oats

What your job would be if you hadn’t become an actor?

An organic farmer. Which I still wanna be!