Spotlight On NYMF: Tom Hewitt & THE GREAT UNKNOWN

A friendly giant known best for his devilish and, at times, demonic lead roles in THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW as Frank N. Furter, the eponymous DRACULA and the first replacement cast of THE LION KING as Scar - in addition to his current essaying of the role of the lecherous lawyer Billy Flynn in the smash hit Broadway revival of CHICAGO - time and perseverance has aided Tony-nominated actor Tom Hewitt in carving out a career on Broadway quite unlike most others in existence. In this comprehensive conversation we discuss his many marvelous stage performances on Broadway and beyond thus far, including his new lead role in the New York Musical Theater Festival musical THE GREAT UNKNOWN written by William Hauptman (PUMP BOYS & DINETTES) and Jim Wann (BIG RIVER) and directed by Don Stephenson. In addition to a thorough discussion of that new NYMF musical, we also talk about working with Julie Taymor on the PBS film FOOL'S FIRE and Broadway's THE LION KING, what the insane ROCKY HORROR LIVE experience was like from a stage perspective, his many stints in CHICAGO, as well as working with co-stars like Matt Morrison, Kelli O'Hara, Brenda Braxton, Charlotte d'Amboise and Chip Zien. We also discuss his feelings on Dan Savage's IT GETS BETTER campaign and what he thinks of GLEE taking on the garters, boas and stilettos of Frank & Crew when they do their ROCKY HORROR tribute later this month. Performances of the original bluegrass musical THE GREAT UNKNOWN have already begun so be sure to grab some tickets a the link below and catch the show on Sunday if you haven't done so yet!

Bless It & Let It Go

PC: I just interviewed Brenda Braxton about her NYMF show, TRAV'LIN. You two have done CHICAGO together a couple of times, right?

TH: Oh, Braxton and I have done it a lot! We also did a few weeks of the tour together, so that was awesome.

PC: What's the biggest difference between the Broadway and touring productions? They seem pretty much the same.

TH: Yeah, they really try to keep them the same. What's different is... (Laughs.) well, you know, since CHICAGO has been running in New York for so long, we have a large number of foreign, non-English speakers. So, the nice thing about the tour is that the people get the jokes! (Laughs.)

PC: They land!

TH: Yeah, it's fun. I remember we did the tour in Anchorage, Alaska. You know, going to the theatre there is still a big event so people get dressed up and stuff. The big difference is the audience. The show is pretty much the same, but the context is different.

PC: No bigger context difference than NYC and Palin country!

TH: (Huge Laughs.) Exactly!

 

PC: What's your opinion of Dan Savage's IT GETS BETTER campaign? Do you think it's a good thing or forces people to stay closeted?

TH: I don't know, that's a good question. (Pause.) I think it's worth a shot. I think if anyone out there watches those things and it gives them a glimmer of hope and gets the message to them, that, you know, "Stick around because it gets better!" I mean, I'm from a small town in Montana so I wasn't really traditionally bullied, I was bullied from the pulpit. You know, I found out what it was to be gay at an evangelical Christian meeting. I learned what I was and then I learned how much Jesus hated it. That whole meeting was about the horrors of homosexuality. That's how it all started. I was certainly called a lot of names.

PC: How painful.

TH: I felt like, "What's the point?" I felt like something was horribly wrong with me and entertained the notion of ending it. But, had I known at that time how much better things were going to be, I would have certainly dispelled those things and perhaps given those people less power in my life. So, this campaign may magnify things or it may not. In CHICAGO we did a series of those kinds of testimonials on video. Taking action is all good.

PC: Broadway is the most open community, at least compared to film and television. Of course, you've worked in all three arenas.

TH: I don't know if that's true because I think certainly people in all entertainment industries tend to be socially generous. I can't really speak to film and TV - but I just love like how the cast of HAIR got so on board with marriage rights.

PC: That was so progressive.

TH: Yeah! I just love that. I love the social enthusiasm that the Broadway community has. We all know each other. It's powerful when we get together to do something. Look at BC/EFA - that's an astounding organization now.

PC: You can say that again! Tom Viola just got a special Tony for it!

TH: It's all thanks to generosity of the community. There's something spiritual about performers: they get the human condition. Like so many kids, we are living our dreams. We are filled with so much gratitude, we have to give some of it away. We are always looking for ways to serve and protect because we have been given what we love to do.

PC: What was doing BOYS FROM SYRACUSE with Chip Zien like? He said you guys had a blast doing that show!

TH: Oh, my God! It was very fun. The most fun thing was our dressing room. It was me, Chip and Lee Wilkof - the original Seymour in LITTLE SHOP - and Jonathan Dokuchitz.

PC: Tell me about the movie you did with Julie Taymor, FOOL'S FIRE.

TH: (Long Laugh.) That movie was a little slice of Hell!

PC: Tell me more! I don't know anything about it, I've never seen it.

TH: I don't know if it exists on DVD. It was made for PBS, though it played some film festivals and it's really short. It's maybe a half-hour, forty-five minutes long. We were all encased in various giant latex contraptions. I was a giant fat king, so I spent most of the shoot literally encased in this giant fat latex suit. From head to toe! And, when we weren't, we had to manipulate things hidden from behind, so each of us had our own individual puppet hell!

PC: Puppet hell! Too funny.

TH: Yeah! One guy had to hold his arm over his head and talk, because his arm was like a really long neck and his head was attached to his arm. It was just crazy.

PC: I heard your co-star in that, Paul Kandel, is a crazy co-star.

TH: He's a cut-up! I loved him in that revival of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR.

PC: What was it like working with Taymor onstage in THE LION KING?

TH: The movie - the Edgar Allan Poe film - was much more intense. With THE LION KING, I replaced so I came in a year or so after the show had opened. So, I didn't get to work with her a lot on that. But, she came in on a couple of days and coached me and things. It was enormously challenging.

PC: I can imagine! Those costumes!

TH: She wanted, in a sense, naturalistic acting. I find that incredibly challenging to do in that context. How do you act in a naturalistic way when you have a giant evil lion strapped to your head? (Laughs.) It was difficult. But, a great thing she said to me, "Naturalism is just another style of acting." I thought that was an interesting thing to say. She wanted to keep it grounded. She wanted it to be more than voicing a puppet onstage. She wanted authenticity onstage. It was very challenging to do that.

PC: How did you become involved with the first Broadway revival of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW?

TH: The producer had done THE DONKEY SHOW previously, which was a very audience-participatory show where they would get up and dance and stuff. So, he was totally into audience participation and ROCKY HORROR was right up his alley. So, he wanted to produce it.

PC: What was it like changing it up every night in ROCKY HORROR, reacting to the audience?

TH: Alice Ripley said it best, "The audience is another character in the show. However, the audience didn't have to audition!" (Laughs.)

PC: That's hilarious - and true!

TH: Scenes are done in response to what they're yelling. You know, when I said (In Frank N. Furter Voice.) "Come, let's leave!" Some of them were genius. Then, you'd get some that were just loud and really sort of screwed up your timing. There were other nights it was just mayhem. I'll never forget the night that Lea DeLaria entered as Dr. Scott - and, traditionally, everyone throws rolls of Scott tissue in the theatre - but on this particular night it seemed like every single person, seven hundred people, had rolls of tissue paper! The stage was white with rolls of toilet paper! It made it impossible to change the set or do the choreography. We were like, "S***, what do we do now?" So, we tried to pick it up and throw it back at the audience but they just threw it back at us. It was insane. Insane.

PC: Sounds it! Other memories?

TH: Poor Jarrod [Emick] and Alice, doing "Over At The Frankenstein Place" - people would point squirt guns right at their heads! We had to find a way for people to participate, but not endanger themselves and others! (Laughs.)

PC: Definitely!

TH: So, they had those participation kits that allowed participation in a more humane manner.

 

PC: I still have mine!

TH: (Big Laugh.) You do?!

PC: Yeah, I can't believe Matt Morrison was in the chorus of that show!

TH: Yeah, Matt came in right after me and there was a little tiny overlap, I think. He wasn't in the original cast. I didn't work with him a lot, but I remember meeting him and thinking what a sweet guy he is. Then, suddenly, "Oh, My God", and now he's a superstar and he's in SOUTH PACIFIC and on GLEE!

PC: What do you think of GLEE doing ROCKY HORROR?

TH: Are they doing it?

PC: Yeah! Meat Loaf is guest-starring!

TH: What?! I am setting my DVR as we speak!

PC: Are you a GLEE fan?

TH: Yeah. I'm not a regular viewer, but it's so culturally popular you can't really escape it. My partner is a really big fan, though, he's a bigger fan than me.

PC: Tell me about working with Kelli O'Hara on DRACULA.

TH: Kelli's a force of nature. I just loved her. She's so sweet. She's an Oklahoma gal and carries that strength - her family, her values and all that kind of stuff. But, of course, she was buck naked in front of me every night!

PC: What a sight that was!

TH: Yeah! I was a good boy, though! I always kept eye contact. I drilled my Dracula eyes right into hers and made sure she got covered up fast. After all, I had to take care of my poor ‘lil Kelli O'Hara every night onstage!

PC: The score was pretty good, too. I really enjoyed your performance of "Life After Life".

TH: (Laughs.) Yes! I have several friends that, still to this day, say, "Tom, is there life after life? After life?" Is there life after life after life after life? (Laughs.)

PC: The special effects were very effective.

TH: That was a joy to do. I was proud to walk to my stage door every night. With a show that technical you really need a great crew. I had a great team. I loved it. In fact, Don Stephenson - who directed my new show - played Renfield in DRACULA.

PC: Tell me how you got involved with him on this new NYMF show, THE GREAT UNKNOWN.

TH: I've done a couple of plays as an actor with Don. We've done DRACULA and TRAVESTIES together. I love working with Don, I'm a fan of his. He called me last Spring and asked me to be in TITANIC that he was directing at the Muny. He asked me to play the Michael Cerveris role, the engineer. Don's really gifted. I mean, you have ten days to work at the Muny and get a show up. He put that show up in a magnificent way; in a very elegant and imaginative way. He still found time to inspire the kids and us and say wonderful things to us. So, when he called me up about THE GREAT UNKNOWN, I said, "Don, I'll do anything with you, again!"

PC: A great collaboration.

TH: He hasn't disappointed. It's very difficult material in a very challenging context. He and the choreographer Lisa Gennaro have worked miracles. I'm such a big fan of Don's now, I think he has an amazing future as a director. I think he's the shiz-nizzle!

PC: Most people doing the shows at NYMF are doing them for the love.

TH: Yeah. Totally.

PC: Where else are you going to see a thousand New York actors within a couple of blocks of each other, all doing shows?

TH: Exactly!

PC: Tell me what THE GREAT UNKNOWN is about.

TH: It's about the first exploration of the Grand Canyon, shortly after the Civil War. I play Major John Wesley Powell, who led the expedition. He was a one-armed Civil War veteran. It's this dude leading a bunch of guys down the Colorado River through the heretofore unexplored Grand Canyon with one arm!

PC: What a story! How do you do this onstage?

TH: Basically, we have five wooden crates and some fabric and we make the Grand Canyon, rivers, boats.

PC: Sounds very inventive!

TH: The music is by Jim Wann, who composed PUMP BOYS & DINETTES and Bill Hauptmann, who wrote BIG RIVER. Wonderful arrangements. The music is really bluegrass/country. It sounds really wonderful in the theatre.

PC: It sounds slightly BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON-esque.

TH: Right. A little bit. This is more old-school because they try to stay in a historical vernacular and all that kind of stuff.

PC: What's your favorite moment onstage every night?

TH: When we go through these horrible rapids in slow motion!

PC: Sounds crazy! Tell me more!

TH: My wife is singing this beautiful little ballad, but in the background we are side-lit with red lights and drowning in slow motion. It's beautiful and fun and very Theatre Workshop 101. I love it.

PC: Tell me about working with the rest of the cast.

TH: Everybody is great. It's a wonderful ensemble. Last night, we were joking about what we're going to do next because we became an ensemble so fast. I do want to single out Bobby Daye, he's just spectacular, so outstanding in the show.

PC: What's your favorite song to sing every night?

TH: (Sings.) "River Roll"!

PC: Keep ‘em rolling in the aisles!

TH: (Laughs.)

PC: Define collaboration.

TH: That's a wonderful question! (Long Pause.) I would say that it is the willingness to say no to your own ideas.

PC: Great answer. Interesting. Please elaborate!

TH: You know, you're saying, "I now agree to participate. I agree to be a part of a team." But, in that agreement, becomes the willingness to also give up my own ideas.

PC: What a way to put it!

TH: Yeah, you just gotta bless it and let it go, sometimes.

PC: When's the next performance of THE GREAT UNKNOWN?

TH: The next one is Sunday afternoon at one o'clock. I'm doing double-duty because I'm in CHICAGO, too, right now.

PC: Have you done CHICAGO with Charlotte d'Amboise before?

TH: Yeah, we sort of got put in at the same time. She's my Roxie, she's my gal. I just love being onstage with that woman.

PC: What's next?

TH: I have no idea! It's really fun when the phone rings and then your life is completely different. I look forward to whatever it is, but I have absolutely no idea what it is. I love being in the CHICAGO family because they plug me in for a week here, a week there. I'm very, very fortunate.

PC: Tell me about your voice work.

TH: My favorite thing is, if you go to Six Flags, you may hear me introduce some shows. (Announcer Voice.) "Ladies and gentlemen, Six Flags is proud to present CELEBRATE TEXAS starring the Dallas Cowboy's Cheerleaders!" and I also do documentaries for Discovery and National Geographic. (Different Announcer Voice.) "The Galapogos is a chain of islands in the South Pacific," and all that junk. I love it because I'm a Discovery channel addict, so I'm so proud to be doing that stuff.

PC: You should be proud of all the magnificent work you do! Break a leg tonight and this weekend - in both shows!

TH: Thank you very much! Say hello sometime! Bye bye.

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