Interview: Mauricio Martinez of BACK ON 54TH STREET at 54 Below on July 21st

He's popular with the telenovela crowd, the musical theater aficionados, and the concert-goers, and with good reason - Mauricio Martinez is a well-studied and dedicated performing artist who takes all of his work seriously. That's not a big surprise, considering the caliber of work that he puts out and the reputation he has for professionalism. So when I had an opportunity to talk to the International star of every medium in show business about his July 21st debut at Feinstein's/54 Below, I was ready to talk training and technique, which Mr. Martinez has in abundance. Instead, what I got was a completely surprising and absolutely refreshing telephone visit with a man who laughs at almost everything, and gushes when discussing love. Oh, not romantic love, because we didn't even come close to that conversation. Mauricio is in love with his work, with the theater, with Manhattan, with music, with musicals... well, it seems Mauricio Martinez is just in love with life: it flows from him enthusiastically with every word, every sentence, every audible sigh and every giggle, with an almost childlike sense of wonder that adults lose as they walk the road we are all given. Mauricio Martinez eats life, and he's earned it, as I discovered during one of the most charming chats I've had, by way of a celebrity interview.

And tomorrow night, when he debuts BACK ON 54TH STREET at 7 pm, he's going to eat up the stage... and this guy's going to be there to watch and report. Come back on Thursday morning and read all about it.

This interview has been edited for space and content.

Mauricio Martinez, welcome to Broadway World - how's it going?

I'm good, excited for the show, very looking forward to it. It's been amazing to just be in a rehearsal room again and to sing again, and be in front of a piano - I can't believe it, it's almost too good to be true.

Did you not sing at all during the quarantine and the pandemic?

I did, but not in front of a piano because I was in lockdown, in my apartment, and always in front of a camera doing Zoom, you know? So it's definitely not the same vibe. (Laughing)

How long have you guys been rehearsing now?

We've been rehearsing for a little bit over two weeks - my musical director is Brian Nash and he's wonderful, I love him, he's worked with a lot of great people that I admire, and my director's Robbie Rozelle. It's coming along really nicely, but it's very different from my last show.

I must say, I was looking at the show page on the 54 Below calendar and it's wonderfully vague. Are you guys keeping it secret for a reason?

(Laughing) Yes, because it's a surprise! It's a lot of songs that you wouldn't even think that I would sing - it has nothing to do with the past shows that I've done and it is completely a pivot.

As an artist, what does it stir up inside of you to go out on a limb this way?

I think artists love... I speak for myself... but I think artists love to pivot because that's what we do best, you know? It's always a challenge, it's like a muscle, it's like not having abs, and all of a sudden you're like, "I want a six-pack," so you have to work for it, it's a challenge. But once you start seeing the results, it's like, "I like it!" So that's what's happening with these new songs and it's just a discovery.

(The call drops and a few moments later Mauricio calls back).

I'm so sorry, technology is not being our friend today.

Well, to err is human to really screw up you need technology.

(Laughing) Well, as I was saying, it's always a stretch and I like to experiment with new stuff, with new sounds - it's refreshing and it keeps my mind going, keeps me active.

When you're putting together a new show, what do you gravitate toward, first?

This time I gravitated towards songs that uplift me and that I like to sing - not that I didn't like the songs that I did before, but that show was basically about me and theater, me and my life, my journey with New York, the love affair that I've always had with New York, even before living here. It was sort of a journey throughout my years, as I became a man, and I moved to New York, and I studied, and I became a mature adult - how I dreamed about being on Broadway, and I finally got it. But this time, we're coming out of a pandemic, so I gravitated towards songs that I discovered during the pandemic, songs that I've sung during the pandemic, amongst friends, songs that make me happy and that uplift my spirits - some that I've never sung before that I've always wanted to sing... I'm even doing some pop and new versions of old standards. I gravitated toward whatever makes me happy and whatever feels right for this moment, because it's very specific, you know? It almost feels like we're coming out of a war. I think the audience is looking for things that uplift them and things that make them want to sing with me and get up and dance and celebrate! I read a lot of articles about the roaring twenties and how it was after the war, and I feel that we're going through something very similar. So that's what I gravitated towards. And I'm including instruments that I've never included in my shows - I've sung with cello and string in concerts but not at 54 Below and not in my own concerts, and I have a wonderful band - Brian and I really looked for the best musicians.

Will you be hitting the road with more concerts?

Yes! That's the plan! This is a show that I'd love to take out on the road, not only here in the U.S. but also Mexico, Spain: wherever they want me, I'll be there. I think it's a show that speaks and resonates with what people are looking for right now - positivity and hopefulness and literally uplifting your spirit and singing for the pleasure of it because you want to sing and be happy and share that happiness

Mauricio, are you making music the main focus of your work now? Or will you be going back into some acting?

Oh, no, I cannot live without acting, I'll always combine the two. I consider myself an actor who sings or a singer who acts, so I'm always juggling between the two. That's why I always enjoy musical theater because I can do both. As I'm rehearsing the show and planning it and selecting repertoire and auditioning musicians, I'm also like doing my self-tapes, doing interviews and auditions for acting gigs for film, TV, and of course Broadway. I'm always juggling the two; I think it's fair to say that sometimes they swap - sometimes I'm married to music and acting is my lover, and sometimes I'm married to acting and music is my lover, but I'm always a man of two loves in that respect.

Well, everybody loves a good threesome.

(Laughing) Exactly! And we're a thruple!

Do you remember how old you were when you discovered your love of musical theater?

I think I was about four or five when my mom used to play me movie musicals like The Sound of Music and Hello, Dolly! and I just fell in love with those movies... and it was later when I discovered that most of those movies came from the theater, and that those theaters were in a place called Broadway, and that Broadway was in New York. So I think I was a teenager when I discovered what Broadway really was, but it was around four or five when I fell in love with them, but always through movie musicals, not precisely the theater - theater came later, but I do have to say, when I discovered theater, I fell hook, line, and sinker for it. I will never stop doing theater or loving theater - it's definitely the love of my life, specifically musical theater.

You did On Your Feet! on Broadway and on the road. How did you like the experience of touring?

It was tough! I had never toured before, it's definitely a hard job to do because you're doing eight shows a week and you're traveling, and the only day off you get is when you're literally traveling, and you have to settle into a new city and go grocery shopping and do your laundry, blah, blah, blah. But once you're on stage, you forget about everything, and to get an opening night every week or every two weeks, and get a new audience and change theaters, it definitely keeps you literally, as the show says, On Your Feet, and it kept me on my feet and it was exhausting, but also rewarding. It's very different than doing a show on Broadway or Mexico City, where you say in the same city. It's definitely very different, but I enjoy both of them. If I had to choose, I would choose staying in one place and not traveling, but this was exciting. I got to see a lot of cities in this amazing country, I got to get my green card doing it; so I was literally living the story I was telling every night. It was very exciting to see life imitating art.

You do a lot of work with Jaime Lozano and The Familia. Are you guys working on anything right now?

Yes, we are and I'm very excited! Jaime is a very important part of my life, my musical life, my theatrical life - I owe a lot to him and we're going back to 54 Below two months after my new show, on September 23rd. We're working on the second album of The Familia, working on new songs... and we're going to Mexico in September to do a show in Spanish over there. We're all always developing things, not only as The Familia but Jaime and myself - we're developing Children of Salt, the musical, into a movie musical, and that's exciting; there's another beautiful musical called Present Perfect that I've been attached to for over two years now, it's a beautiful story based on true events, we're developing that. So we have our hands on a lot of things at the same time, multitasking, and it's always a pleasure to sing and work with him and the beautiful and talented actors and singers that are part of The Familia, that just keeps growing and growing and that's always a beautiful experience.

You mentioned your work in Mexico City, what's the musical theater scene like there, as opposed to here in New York?

It's different because it's not part of our culture. Mexico is a country where musical theater is not really a part of what we grow up with, as opposed to here in the states or London. We grew up with telenovelas and soccer - that's where the passion of Mexicans resides. It's not something that you plan - like here, people literally plan their trips to come and see theater - that doesn't happen in Mexico. But there is an industry and it's growing and growing; there's a lot of talent over there and the musicals that are there, most of them are great but it's very different because it's not really an industry, per se... it's almost like a luxury, and producers really risk. Do you think producers on Broadway risk their money or even their livelihoods... go to Mexico and you'll understand that's completely very different over there.

Since musical theater isn't an industry there, when you were young and you decided you wanted to go into musical theater, how did people respond to that decision?

I never thought that I would end up doing it in Mexico for so long - I always dreamed of being over here doing it - it really didn't cross my mind that I would be over there doing it. So I just took it as it came, one day at a time, and I crossed the bridge when I got there, and I was successful at it. It really did help that I was formed here, that I came to study here, that I came to AMDA when I was 18, that I was like the sponge, absorbing everything that I could possibly get my hands onto - I was always in Lincoln Center at the Performing Arts Library. I was always listening to jazz music, at a theater, not only Broadway but experimental theater. I was always watching off-Broadway shows, plays, student theater, I was enamored with watching theater and live entertainment in the three years that I lived here, when I was 18, 19, and 20. So when I moved to Mexico, I was so used to the hustle and the training that New Yorkers have - that is not common in Mexico - so I was a machine over there. That's why I think I was successful because I had all that stamina that a New York actor has, in a place where they're not used to that. I think that was key in my success at such a young age over there - I crossed over to TV and two albums, I became a recording artist and concert artist, as well as a musical theater - I did it all. It just came naturally to me, I didn't even plan it. I was just following my instincts and what I knew made me happy: I just wanted to be on a stage and singing, acting. I didn't really fit the mold of what a Mexican actor does - I was too Americanized for them, but that sort of worked for me over there, cause it was different. It made me different. It made me stand out in a way, similarly to what being Latino does for me here - that makes me stand out from the rest. It has to do with passion and that I followed my heart, I listened to my heart. Sometimes I succeeded more times than others, sometimes I didn't succeed as much, but I always got a learning experience out of it. Every project that I ended, I ended up being a better performer to some extent. That always helps me.

You've had a lot of success with telenovelas and with musical theater, both of which are extremely heightened dramatic art forms. Do you think that it's the heightened drama that appeals to you?

Yes, for sure! 1000%. I'm a very passionate person, not only because I'm Mexican and a Latino, not only because I do telenovelas and musicals - I think everything in my life is heightened. I like bright colors, I love the summer or the winter... I don't like mediums. I go for it all. That's how I am... sometimes people tell me, "I think you're too intense," and I'm like, "Well, go find someone that's less." That's who I am. I'm also a four-time cancer survivor, so that definitely has changed the way I perceive things and see life. Everything that's heightened in a way fits me more. Heightened personality: that's sort of my tribe, you know? That's where I fit in.

Your Instagram page actually mentions your four-time cancer survival. Does that inform any part of your life, other than your philosophy on living?

It took me a while to get there - it didn't come right away. The first couple of times, because I've dealt with it four times so far, the first couple of times, I didn't really know what to do with it. I just focused on getting better and being a survivor. But it really hit me afterward and I said, "Okay, now what do I do with all this information that I have, now that I've learned the hard way, how can I pass it forward and help? How can I help other people by sharing my experience?" And ever since I started doing that, being more vocal about it, more open about it on my social media, or even just talking about it in interviews, foundations, organizations, hospitals started to look for me and I have been doing talks, a lot of writing, doing lots of research, and I am part of a couple of organizations here in the U.S. and in Mexico to raise awareness about the importance of checking yourself and checking your body and going to the doctor whenever something's not right. You might look amazing on the outside, but inside you might be having "World War Three" as I call it. You may not even be aware of it until you go to the doctor, and I'm a living example of that. I think as I get older, I will become even more involved in that ... not only my fight with cancer but also with mental health, because I also dealt with anxiety and depression and I'm very open about that because I think it's so important to talk about that - people don't talk about that enough. It's always surrounded by this stigma or this taboo. No. You cannot put stigma on something that is literally life or death. So the least I could do is pay it forward, at least to my followers who have been kind enough to stick around for so long with me and the new ones that are just discovering me, that's the least I can do.

So you're a Latin man.

Yes.

And a cancer survivor...

Yes.

And a mental health advocate...

Also an openly gay man. (Laughing)

And a gay male. So that's a lot of activism going on, and there is your work, when do you rest?

I make sure that I have enough time on my own to rest and decompress and not look at social media and just listen to music and be by myself; or I get away with friends or family or read a book that has nothing to do with all the activism or my work, cause I think part of my work is also activism in a way. I think performers are, in a way, activists. I make sure that I decompress and go away for a weekend with friends or I go on a holiday, even by myself, or I go to the movies or just decompress and chill and not think about my day-to-day life. I'm a big sleeper. I have a beautiful roof garden now and I put on my swimming trunks and do some yoga upstairs and I fall asleep for two hours. So while I'm resting, I'm also getting a tan (Laughing). I do use sunblock! (Laughing)

You mentioned your love affair with New York city started before you moved here. Tell me about that.

Growing up, even before I knew that Broadway and musical theater came from here, I saw it so much in TV and film - all these movies that were located in New York - and I fell in love with it. I found it fascinating, so appealing and so liberating. So when I finally came, the first time, to New York... I was 18 - I came to audition for performing arts school. I arrived at two in the morning at Times Square, and I will never forget it. I was like, "Wow, okay, this is it. This is where I fit in." And I wasn't wrong. I think it was waiting for me. People that really know me know that I belong here and that I wanted to live here; it was very emotional and very special when I finally booked On Your Feet! and I was able to move to New York four years ago and decided to stay and make this my home. I could've gone back to Mexico, I could have gone to Miami, I could've gone to LA or Madrid, but I decided to be a New Yorker because I've always wanted to be a New Yorker, and live in New York as an adult. I wasn't wrong. And it's beautiful to know that that love affair that started at such a young age, watching film, is a reality.

When you were 18 and studying at AMDA, what was your first audition song?

"If I Can't Love Her" from Beauty and the Beast, which I got to do in Mexico when I played The Beast! I was a merchandise seller at the Palace Theater when I was at AMDA, as a survival job because I realized that New York was a very expensive city and I needed a job to survive. So it was my job to bring in that little cart right before intermission and I got to see the Beast belt this beautiful song at his castle. I was working on that song at the same time, so every morning I would come to the school and I tell my teacher, "The Beast did this and this and this," and I was so involved with this song... and then I got to sing it 10 years later. It's a very special song and show for me. It was a full-circle moment.

And now you are a New Yorker.

Yes, I am very excited to be, I love the city.

What's your favorite place to go in the city?

I love Central Park in the summer, I love running there. I love going to Soho with friends and going shopping or window shopping, or having a drink. I love the Highline. In the summer, I love to ride the bike by the river and go all the way downtown and back. I tend to stay in the Central Park area, whether it be East or West, but that's basically where I live. I love the theater district, I love Hell's Kitchen. I love this town. I love Lincoln Center, I love just walking by Lincoln Center, looking at the fountain, and just sitting there. I love this city.

You're a walking ad for New York tourism.

I am. They should hire me.

Everyone should.

Mauricio Martinez BACK ON 54TH STREET plays Feinstein's/54 Below at 7 pm on July 21st. For information and tickets visit the 54 Below website HERE.

Follow Mauricio Martinez on Instagram HERE.

Follow Mauricio Martinez on Twitter HERE