Interview: Nick Arapoglou Talks Reprising 'Princeton' in AVENUE Q, Raising the Atlanta Theatre Bar, and More!

Nick Arapoglou probably had no idea he had struck gold when he landed his first professional lead in Atlanta theatre as Princeton in AVENUE Q at Horizon Theatre Company.

Now four years later, the actor has played the role in two subsequent, sold-out revivals, and he couldn't be happier. Below, check out my conversation with one of Atlanta's premiere leading men, as he shares about taking on an extra role for this summer's revival, how AVENUE Q has helped theatergoing in Atlanta, and more!

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This summer's run is your third time to be in Horizon Theatre's AVENUE Q, right?

Yes, this is the third time we've done it. We did it in 2011, 2012, and we brought it back to the park in June for just a week. That was super fun. And we're performing here at Oglethorpe til July 12, so it's six weeks of shows all in all.

That's definitely the longest run I've done, because in Atlanta, most of the runs are sometimes just three weeks, but most of them will be four, maybe five weeks. So your entire contract is usually anywhere from six to eight weeks. So that's the difficulty of it, because, you work for six to eight weeks and then, time to get another job. This is the role I've done most in my life, I'm sure. Over 120 times at this point, or something. Which, you know, for a long Broadway run is not even a dent, but for Atlanta, it's a lot.

So how has it been going getting back into the role of Princeton?

Well it was kind of wild, because a couple days into our park run, JC Long, our Rod, got hurt, so I had to learn his role, Rod. So that freshened everything up. In the original Broadway version, John Tartaglia, played both Princeton and Rod, but that's not how we staged it. I've always been just Princeton. So it's cool to have that under my belt. It's not cool that he got hurt, of course, because in addition to being a great puppeteer, he plays guitar for the band. So we missed him in more ways than one.

But it was really fun because I got to learn a whole different role, so the show kind of unlocked and became a totally different thing for me. So that was fun. I did that for a couple weeks, and now I'm back just playing Princeton. So actually, at this point, I've done more shows as Rod than just Princeton.

How did playing both characters affect your performance?

I think Princeton, I know like the back of my hand. I know everything he's going through and what his journey is, and Rod's the opposite track of Princeton because they're rarely ever on stage together, and they never talk to each other because on Broadway, the one actor played both roles, so they don't converse. If there was a character I knew the least in the show, it was Rod. It was pretty neat to see the show from his point of view.

So it was very cool to play another character in a show I love so much. And it was a bit of a challenge too, because vocally, I had to make him vastly different so I wouldn't confuse the audience, and also the puppet is different. Princeton has a single rod, so with my left hand, I control his left hand and arm, and Rod has two rods, so with one hand, you're controlling both of his arms. It's a totally different thing.

I feel like this is the role for which I know you the best because it ran for so long, and it got you your Suzi, right?

Yes, I got the Suzi Bass Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. It was really my first lead in a musical professionally. I had done a musical right before that at the Aurora Theatre, ACADEMY, where I had a solo, and I hadn't had a solo in a musical since high school. So I was pretty terrified when I got this role in AVENUE Q and had to learn to puppeteer, and I didn't really buy into myself as a singer very much at the time. So I took a lot of singing lessons, and took the opportunity very seriously.

From your perspective, what has this show done for the Horizon Theatre Company?

Well, my brother is not a huge theatre person, but he knew about AVENUE Q even before I did. I think it just reaches the non-theatre person like not too many other shows do. Along those lines, I had three of my friends from high school see the second run, and they had never come to see a show in Atlanta ever, and they came to see me in it. Then the next week, all three of them sent me a message saying, "We bought season tickets for Horizon because we had so much fun at AVENUE Q."

I think it's a show that's really accessible to people who do not consider themselves theatre people and people who do consider themselves theatre people. It's broadened the range of people who come to Horizon. So people who would have never thought to come hear about it by word of mouth, and it's created more theatre people out there in Atlanta.

That's so good to hear! Of course theatre is big and growing in Atlanta, but it's great to hear about something like this. I'm sure it's had an impact on Atlanta theatre in general.

I think this show really raised the bar and showed that we are a city that's capable of putting on a Broadway hit and having people come. And we get comments all the time that people saw the touring show and they saw it on Broadway, and they're always like, "We love this one just as much, if not more," and it doesn't feel like people are blowing smoke. It feels very genuine when they say it, and then they come back. There's a group that's come to see this 10 times. And they're like, "We're here again! We're here again!" It's exciting to be a part of, definitely.

And what do you have coming up after this?

I still have a lot of things up in the air. I have actually, four movies that are coming out next year, so I hope to go to the premiere of one of them. And I'm still trying to figure that out, but I'd like to be at the premiere of TABLE 19, which stars Anna Kendrick , Lisa Kudrow, and Craig Robinson. I just finished filming CONFIRMATION, a movie on HBO with Kerry Washington, who is an angel of talent. She's fantastic! So I'm really excited to see how all that goes. And other than that, I just signed with a manager that has offices in LA, Nashville, and Atlanta, so I'm going to get the ball rolling with them and just see where everything goes.

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Nick Arapoglou is thrilled to reprise the role of Princeton which won him the Suzi Bass Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Other credits include: My Name is Asher Lev, Gifts of the Magi (Theatrical Outfit), Bobby Strong in URINETOWN (Fabrefaction), Romeo in R&J (Shakespeare Tavern), and Spring Awakening (Actor's Express). On Camera credits: Over 30 National/Regional Commercials and TV appearances on AMC, FX, BET, OWN, and VH1. Look for his roles in the upcoming movies TABLE 19 and THE ACCOUNTANT (both starring Anna Kendrick), and MICHELLE DARNELL (starring Melissa McCarthy). Click here to learn more about Nick Arapoglou on Facebook.

Visit HorizonTheatre.com for more information on Horizon Theatre Company.