BWW Interviews: ERICH BERGEN Talks New CD and 'VENICE' Musical

Former JERSEY BOYS star Erich Bergen is certainly one busy guy. In support of his first soon-to-be released solo CD The Vegas Sessions, Bergen will be debuting his new club act at The Magic Castle in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, September 15. On top of that, he is currently in rehearsals for the new musical VENICE, which is set to open October 7 at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

Bergen, whose other stage credits include L.A.-area productions of Irving Berlin's White Christmas (at the Pantages Theatre) and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (at Reprise!), is best known for his three-year run as Bob Gaudio in JERSEY BOYS, where he stood out as part of the San Francisco, Los Angeles, 1st National Tour and (finally) the Las Vegas companies of the Tony® Award-winning musical. His debut album, which drops October 1, features new studio recordings of Bergen's original pop songs as well as selections recorded live during three sold-out performances in Las Vegas' Liberace Museum back in April 2009.

While enjoying a jolt of coffee on the morning of Labor Day—the day before he started full rehearsals on VENICE—Bergen chatted with BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos about the new album, his days on JERSEY BOYS, New York vs. L.A. theater, and the whereabouts of his Gossip Girl ascot.

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BWW: Well, good morning, Erich! So, congratulations, I hear you've joined the cast of VENICE! Can you talk a little bit about the show?

BERGEN: Yeah! Well, you know I'm just so excited, and I'm trying to figure out what to wear for the first rehearsal tomorrow! You know, it's a process I haven't been involved in for a little while. I mean, it's been... wow, I started JERSEY BOYS in 2006... that was the last time I did a full-on rehearsal [for a show]. I did Forum earlier this year, but that was sort of a "throw it together as fast as you can" type thing. This is going to be interesting for me because I haven't had that creative process... of jumping back into the full-on rehearsal process where I'm having to learn the dancing, etc. I haven't done that in so long that I'm just freakishly excited about it!

It's also interesting to me because everything up to now has sort of been "post-JERSEY BOYS"... you know, because [the show] was sooo big that—creatively and professionally—there has been this general feeling around that this is the stuff I was doing after JERSEY BOYS. [VENICE] is the first thing that I felt that doesn't feel like "post-JERSEY BOYS"... it feels like just this new show that I'm working on. I'm really looking forward to it. As far as the show goes itself, I know very little about it. Other than the plot, I know very little about how they're going about doing the show. I've only seen a little bit of the video clips from when they did the show at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, but it looks absolutely incredible. And if I am to believe some of the reviews of the show in Kansas City, I know I'm in for something really good.

What is the music in the show like?

Polka! [Pauses] No, it's Hip-hop and Rock. It is not, you know, Richard Rodgers, I'll tell you that much! The lyrics are great and the music is fantastic, but it is not what you're expecting to come from a theatrical production. There are elements of all kinds of different theatrical storytelling in the show, and it definitely comes from people who know classic theater. I mean, it is based on Shakespeare's plays—loosely based, I should say—but the music is extremely contemporary. The language is extremely contemporary.

Now, wait... are you going to be rapping in the show?

I hope not. I hope for their sake and for the sake of everyone who sees it that I do not. In the current script, no, I do not rap. But, you know, this a [continuous] creative process, so anything can change. So, I'm... uh, really hoping not.

So is the show hoping for a Broadway run later?

I think they would love that. Honestly, I've only spoken to the entire creative team at the audition and the call back, and that was very brief. But I can imagine... if you look at Broadway and you look at the state of Broadway theater currently, it looks like it could take the direction of a Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Who knows? BBAJ also debuted at the Kirk Douglas Theatre and then went on to the Public and will soon open on Broadway. VENICE is that kind of piece... it's definitely a commercial, theatrical piece, but it has a lot of experimental elements. That's why it's at the Kirk Douglas. This is a show in process. So, yes, I would assume it has New York hopes.

Cool. So you start rehearsals tomorrow?

I do, at 10 am... which is frightening! Again, it's really something to jump back into... it's not kidding around! I remember when I started JERSEY BOYS, the "get-up-and-get-going" in the morning, you were creatively charged, so it was easy. In New York, I would just jump on the subway and I was there in ten minutes. But this is a whole other spiel... I have to get in my car, I have to drive, spend a half-hour in traffic... this whole thing! So I'm just prepping myself. I'm going to go to bed at 7 o'clock tonight and just get ready for it.

Well, speaking of getting ready, you've also got a new club act coming up to promote your first solo album.

Oh, yeah, and there's that! [Laughs]

You call the album The Vegas Sessions. How did you arrive at the title?

What happened was, I was in Vegas for two years, and I ended up in this interesting place in my life. For self-therapy, I ended up turning to something I had done a lot when I was a kid—I'm talking 14 or 15 years old—and that was songwriting. And so I got back into it and I found myself completely falling in love with it. I became obsessed by it... and I wasn't writing theatrical music, but writing pop music and stuff you'd hear on the radio. I was really inspired by the music of the 60's and 70's. I fell for it all over again. I'm one of these people that when I get obsessed with something, I sort of don't stop. I forced myself to meet the right people and to get to know them, and so I sort of found myself in this songwriting world out here in L.A. that I absolutely love!

I did a couple of concerts in Las Vegas at the Liberace Museum and I recorded those. The original plan was to record all those concerts to release as a CD. In the middle of working on that CD, my whole life went... [makes explosion sound].  Well, Michael Jackson died and I ended up doing that huge tribute concert in Las Vegas. And then two weeks after that concert, JERSEY BOYS ended for me. So it was all thrown up in the air and the album was the last thing I was thinking about at that point. I was no longer in Las Vegas and so I could no longer work with my engineer.

So this led to me coming up with a different concept, which was to take a couple of songs from that [Liberace Museum] live show and pair it up with some new recordings of the songs that I had written. And, so, what you get is a little package of how I spent my time in Las Vegas. The first half are songs that I wrote while I was in Las Vegas, and the second half of it are songs that I did in my club act out there. I'll be doing a lot of those [in the show] at the Magic Castle.

Awesome! Well, when I got a sneak peek at the track listing of your album, I must say that I'm personally happy that you've included your cover of Britney Spears' "I'm Not A Girl (Not Yet A Woman)" that I've watched a lot since it showed up on YouTube last year.

[Laughs] Well, you know, I had to... it's like a "Greatest Hits" thing! Yeah, that song has been with me.... [Pauses] That song is very weird because when I tell people that I do it, they go, "excuse me?" [Laughs] But, it started because I was doing my friends' little benefits for things like the little theater in NYU. This was before I left for JERSEY BOYS. The whole concept [of this one benefit] was "Mis-Cast." Everyone was... well, you know, guys were doing girl songs, girls were singing guy songs... but they were all Broadway songs. I couldn't think of anything! I'm a person who thinks more... not just outside the box, but outside the room. So this just popped into my head. It was funny when I did it at the show, and it went over really well. Five years later, my friends who were in that benefit concert that one night are, like, "You're still doing that song!" You know, it still works! People still laugh... it's just not there when people don't get it. Like, if I do it for an audience that doesn't quite get it, it's extremely painful.

Then, you know, maybe you should wear that ascot you wore on that episode of Gossip Girl you were in while you sing the song!

[Laughs] You think? Um, that's been burned, unfortunately. That's been tossed in the fire.

Too bad. Well, getting back to JERSEY BOYS... Can you sum up how that whole experience was for you?

It's so weird looking back on it.... because it's a blur. A big blur. But I can remember it only if someone gave me a key word, then I can pull up a memory from it. I mean, I got JERSEY BOYS when I was 20 years old. I didn't know what I was doing! I got to rehearsal that first day thinking, "well, they're going to fire me because I'm a big fraud!" I think that's how every actor thinks when they get a big job. It ended up being this.... [Pauses] I can't even begin to describe it. I remember waking up the day after opening night in San Francisco. I remember walking down the street to the newsstand and there were six different types of newspapers... all six of them had pictures of us. It was one of those moments when you just go... woah. This is... a lot. And I hadn't even had coffee yet.

And that kept happening over and over and over again, in every city we went to, and it later changed my career completely in Los Angeles. The whole tour experience was fantastic, but then going to Las Vegas, we lost one of the cast members—one of my best friends—who passed away... The whole opening night experience in Vegas, and then becoming this kind of celebrity in Vegas, as part of this entertainment community... it was all very... wow. I mean, we did the Tonight Show... America's Got Talent... it just never stopped. And I think for anyone who is in JERSEY BOYS, it never does stop. It always feels like this whirlwind. But for us, the "originals" who came after the Broadway company, you don't really know where to start the story. Sometimes I'd see a photo of us in the rehearsal room over at 42nd Street Studios, and I'll be, like, "Woah! That's trippy to see that!" It brings back all the smells and what you were feeling during that whole rehearsal process... so it's all a big, giant, good blur.

So, is it safe for me to assume then that now you consider L.A. home?

Yes, yes it is! I'm very proudly an L.A. resident.

How are you liking the theater scene out here?

I love it! I mean, everyone has their opinion about Los Angeles for actors, as far as what you can and cannot do. "Oh, they don't like theater people out there!" That's bulls**t! They love theater people! I've run into very few of the stereotypes out here, good and bad. The people and the world I run with—film, TV and theater people—all sort of intertwine, very much like New York. The theater world out here is fantastic! I love the theater companies that I've been involved with, and spoken to, and have seen shows at... Reprise! is really fantastic and they've been able to get some great performers. There's even great theater at those 99-seaters in town! What more can you ask for? I mean, it's doing a lot better than Broadway! New York!

Why do you think so many East Coast theater actors are moving out west?

You know, I was just having this conversation with a friend of mine. I think New York is too much work for not enough payoff. I just think it's... [struggles, pauses]...

Listen. I was born and raised in New York. I'm from Manhattan. So, New York is home. It's... just too much. It's gotten to the point where... I mean, I had a choice! At the end of JERSEY BOYS, I could have gone back to New York, but I just kept seeing this image of pounding the pavement, showing up at rehearsals, showing up at dance calls at Ripley-Grier Studios... it just felt like going... backwards to me. Now, that's not a diss to anyone who's doing that in New York, but I just felt like, after all that I've been through, I wanted to continue going in this direction.

To me, [New York] felt like going home to start over something that I've already done. That's just what it felt like to me. And I think for a lot of people in New York, it tends to feel that way. In New York, they either get their occasional Broadway show, but what you mainly get are workshops and readings and demos and... blah blah blah. And then you do your occasional regional gig at the Papermills and the Goodspeeds and things like that. And so every time they get back from one of those regional gigs, they get back to New York and they just sort of go... "aaannnd, I'm back." That's what it feels like, personally.

And so... I think a lot of [theater] actors come out here because they want something new and want a better way of life. I mean, L.A. is a better way of life than New York. It just is. And I think there are a lot more options for other kinds of... other elements of show business out here. I mean, I couldn't really do the songwriter and the musician thing in New York, as well as I can do it out here. I can't come up with TV show concepts in New York like I'm doing out here. I think people get too bogged down by New York. I think people really want to just open up a little bit, and out here is a great place to do that.

Now, that's been my experience and the experience of other people I've been hanging out with. And there are so many of us. We all met in New York, we were all friends in New York... and we all ended up out here! And we all live, like, within a block of each other, which is even scarier.

Switching gears... as a child, did you know you wanted to become a musical theater actor?

Actually, no, I didn't. I knew I wanted to be... on MTV. I mean, I wanted to be Michael Jackson. I wanted to be a rock star... and tour the world.

I take it Michael Jackson is your biggest influence?

Yeah, Michael is really the biggest for me growing up. And, yeah, that's who I really wanted to be. I had no concept of theater. I didn't know what it was until my mom took me to see my first Broadway show which was Big: The Musical... in April of 1996. [Pauses] Yes, I'm a big nerd! And then my mother and father sent me to Stagedoor Manor, which was, you know, the big theater camp! I didn't really know what I was in for. They were really just sending me there because I was an extremely hyper-active child, who probably needed to be put in a straight jacket! They knew that [my] energy was, at least, creative. A lot of schools were referring to me saying "he's either troubled or gifted." But my parents just realized that they should just wait a little bit and that I'll get under control... and eventually I did. Stagedoor was a big help for that. And Stagedoor was what made me get interested in musical theater. That was what really got me going as a theater guy.

And then I just became obsessed with theater. I mean, I sort of lost track of the whole pop music world for a long time. I learned every Sondheim trunk song there was... all the cut songs from this flop show... so, you know, I was obsessed! So, yeah, it didn't happen until later for me.

Any specific shows that you really obsessed over?

Big, definitely! I still can listen to the score. I still can't understand why it closed so early. I still don't understand why people say it's a bad show. I don't get it. To me, it's still one of the greatest things ever written! But I also understand... it's probably because it's my first Broadway show and it means a lot to me. I think also it's because there were kids in it that I could see people my age performing on stage. It's hilarious because sometimes I'll do a show with someone who was in Big. I'm acting with them in the show, but all of a sudden I'll turn into a freaky, obsessive fan! I'll be, like... [breathlessly] "Ohmigod! I remember you! When you did that thing with the thing...!" [Laughs] I mean, my friend Joyce Chittick—who was in JERSEY BOYS with me—was in the ensemble of Big! I still have the signed poster on my wall, right next to my bathroom! [Pauses] So, yeah... okay, that's a little part of my life I don't tell anyone.

Well, now everyone's gonna know!

Oh, well. [Laughs]

Tell me about the your first time on stage.

Well, when I was four years old, I played the violin at Carnegie Hall as part of the Third Street music school, which I just found a tape of... this was, like, 1989. Other than that... Well... [Laughs] where I grew up in New York, it was this two-bedroom loft. There was this portion of the house that was sort of like a stage area. Because there was this big, giant open space, my mother had arranged the furniture in a way that there was this "play area," if you will. She didn't see it that way, but I certainly did. And, so, I would put on full shows every night, with sequined jackets and microphones... the whole deal! Oh, my poor mother's friends... they had to sit through my shows every night! I wasn't Union then, but... [Laughs]

Funny! Okay, so are there other roles in other musicals that you maybe want to take on someday?

Well. [Pauses] I have this recurring nightmare... I don't know why it's this show. I never remember dreams and I never remember nightmares... I never remember anything when I wake up. But there's been One Dream that, for whatever reason, pops in every now and then... that I'm playing Seymour in Little Shop, and...

Why is that a nightmare?

Well, no, it's not... it's just that I never remember any of my lines! I dream that I go on stage and I don't know a single line! It's like I know the songs but I never really read the script. It's horrifying! I wake up sweating! So I'd like to eventually do that role so that I can let that out of my system.

[Laughs] Okay, I get it.

But as far as other roles... My favorite kind of [shows]... uses great music. It's the reason why I have no problem with these jukebox musicals because everyone loves that music. I mean, I'm all for challenging people and bring them new things... but if they don't wanna go, they're not gonna go! They're not going to pay the price to take that chance. [People] go to JERSEY BOYS because they love that music. They walk out so much more fulfilled. There's a reason why that music has lasted for over 40 years. So, I would love to do a great new show that could introduce some great songs. There was a time when Broadway musicals introduced songs that ended up on the radio. And I would love to see that happen again, but I think people are going away from writing great songs. I think it's a problem, not just in the Broadway world but in the pop music world. And so, I'd love to be in a new show that could be responsible for introducing great new music... great, new, memorable, catchy songs in a theatrical nature.

Cool! Alright, before I wrap this up, I'd like to now get to my favorite part of an interview. I'll throw you some rapid-fire questions, and you just tell me the first thing that pops into your head, okay? Ready?

Oh, God.... okay, yes.

What's your favorite musical of all time?

Oh, gosh.... Company!

What song do you like belting in the shower or when you're all alone in the car?

[Laughs] Oh, there are sooo many! [Laughs] Um... probably... "That's What Friends Are For."

Who is the person you admire the most?

Hmmm. [Long Pause] Oh, God... Well... you know... I know what I'm supposed to say. I know I'm supposed to say my parents. But I'm always inclined... [Pause]. Wait... no! It is my parents! It's both my parents!

What scares you the most?

Oooh... free time.

Do you find yourself having a lot of that?

No, I'm pretty good filling it up.... but, you know, it's scary when I'm the one who has to fill it up. It's like in that Joan Rivers documentary. She shows these blank pages on her calendar. That's scary.

What is your one guilty pleasure?

[Heavy sigh, then monotone]: Donny Osmond.

What or who irritates you the most?

Oh! Unprofessional people in the business who think they are professional.

Hmmm. Care to elaborate a bit?

Truly, in show business, [there will be times] when you'll work with people you don't like. I've had arguments and situations with a lot of jobs, but at the end of the day, everyone's [mostly] been on the professional side. People have handled things that I don't like, and I've handled things not well... but we [both] try to be as professional as can be. I'm talking about people who literally should be banned from show business. But I won't elaborate more than that.

Okay, so on the flip side of that, what instantly puts a smile on your face?

Oh! A live symphony orchestra!

If you weren't an actor, what other career do you see yourself doing?

Probably... journalism.

Wait! You want my job?

I could never be an arts critic because I love everything! But, probably a column writer on culture... social things. Maybe an exposé journalist.

Cool. Now, a lot of our readers are young students who hope to someday do exactly what you're doing. What is your one piece of advice you'd like to share with these young musical theater students?

Pick up the phone and make the call yourself. I've done very well for myself, but it's not always attributed to people calling me and saying, "hey, you'd be great for this show!" It's very rarely that, in fact. More often than not, it's the opposite. It's making stuff happen on my own. I have friends of mine who don't stop working because they get called for this and they get called for that. But you can't count on that. I think most actors make the mistake of, "oh, that's going to happen for me, I'm going to make that happen for me!"

But the truth of the matter is, I have friends of mine that are famous and successful at what they do, and they've told me time and time again, that they still don't get the calls. That they are still the ones who have to pick up the phone and say, how about this? Most of the big things that have happened in my life professionally are calls that I made. JERSEY BOYS turned me down on the first round of auditions they were having. They didn't want to see me. They didn't think I was right for the role. But I called my agent back and said, "no-no-no-no-no-no... I want to do this! I want to at least go in for them! I want them to see me!"

So the next time the auditions came around, I heard about it, and I made that call. I made my agent get me in there. A lot of the times, you'll hit a wall, but in the few times, you know, that you have success—even marginally—it makes a huge difference. And as an actor, what's going to set you apart from the person sitting next to you? It's not going to be your voice or your acting skills, because everyone's good. Everyone's good! So, how do you do something a little different? You have to be proactive. You have to pick up the phone, because the phone's not going to ring. That's my little spiel.

Sounds like valid advice. Now, finally, as far as your upcoming club act at the Magic Castle, what can we expect from the show?

These are just the kind of shows I love the best. For this show in particular, because the Magic Castle has such a unique atmosphere and style, what I wanted to do was not a cabaret. You're not going to be hearing stories about my life and how I got to be where I am. There are no Sondheim medleys.... I won't be singing "Stars And The Moon!" It's a club act. This is a club act in the style of seeing Sammy at the Copacabana or whoever at the Sands Hotel. It's that type of atmosphere. I'm not really doing the music of Sinatra ... or Bublé... but I am trying to bring back at least that atmosphere. And the people who know me know that I have an extremely sick sense of humor... just a disgusting, vile sense of humor.

Yes, I know. I've read some of your tweets.

See? There you go! So, that's not going to change. That will be very present. We're doing some new songs off the album, as well as... songs that are new to me. I'm looking forward to it, it's really going to be fun! It's just weird because, you know, I'm trying to get it ready and get it going, but I also have this big VENICE thing. My computer screen is covered in Post-It® notes for jokes or things I want to mention in the show because I don't have the time to sit and write how I want to do it. But a lot of it is just going to be free-form and whatever pops into my head as I'm standing there anyway.

Well, you can be like Kathy Griffin and bring a notebook on stage...

Oh, does she do that? Well, see... I get a little high off of going on stage and not knowing what to say. Hmmm... maybe that explains my nightmare about Little Shop. I know the order of the songs... but in between, you know, I'm just going to go on a whim with things I'll notice in the audience. I looove that stuff. I like having a little of that vomit in the back of the throat of not knowing what to say. It's gonna be great! It's an old style of entertainment that I wish was still around.

Actually, I myself grew up in Las Vegas. I remember my sister sneaking me into these Downtown casino lounges when I was in high school to listen to some live music. I'm glad you're bringing back that sort of vibe.

The stuff that was so great about Sammy and Judy and all of those people of that era was that you felt like these were your friends, and they were talking to the audience. They were huge stars and there was an aura of celebrity around them... but they were right there. They were in the club with you. And it was so much about the music. The whole notion of someone singing a great song isn't around anymore, really. You're right, it still exists in Vegas to a degree, I just wish it was around a little bit more.... so this is going to be my whole attempt at doing that.

Performance photos by Bryan Putnam.

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The Inner Circle at The Magic Castle will host Bergen's California club act debut on Wednesday, September 15 at 8pm (doors open at 6:30pm).

Tickets are on sale now, at $15 for Magic Castle members and $25 for guests; there is VIP seating available for $50, which includes a copy of the CD, a post-show reception, meet-and-greet and a champagne toast. Reservations can be made at boxoffice@magiccastle.com or by calling (323) 851-3313, ext. 303.

Attire at the Magic Castle requires jackets and ties for gentlemen, and absolutely no denim.

Bergen will appear in the world premiere of VENICE, a new musical, with book by Eric Rosen, music by Matt Sax and lyrics by Matt Sax and Eric Rosen with additional music by Curtis Moore, at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre. Beginning previews on October 7 with an official opening set for October 17, the limited engagement will run through November 14 only.

Due to Bergen's participation in VENICE, his previously announced concert date at the Rrazz Room in San Francisco will be rescheduled for early 2011.

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