Interview: Nicolas Dromard & Desiree Davar on NIC & DESI: FROM BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD

Broadway stars and real-life couple and triple-threat performers Nicolas Dromard and Desiree Davar are making their debut at the Catalina Jazz Club with Nic & Desi: From Broadway to Hollywood on Thursday April 10. I decided to speak with them about their illustrious careers, how they met, and what led to bringing their new show to Los Angeles prior to taking the show on the road.

How did the two of you meet? (I assume it was in a theater, right?)

Nic: We did the musical White Christmas together in Denver, CO. I had a girlfriend at the time, so we were friends at first, just hanging out in social settings (I swear!).

Desi: 6 months later I found out he was single, so I texted him asking how he was doing and how was the tour going (he was playing Tommy DeVito on the tour of Jersey Boys). One flirty text led to another, and the next thing I knew I was flying off to Mexico to meet up for an international date…

Did you work together as friends at first or know immediately you were perfect for each other?

Nic: We were friends at first, though of course I thought she was absolutely gorgeous!

Desi: And I honestly thought he was gay! Because what are the odds of a cute single guy that sings and dances in this business would be straight and attracted to me?

Shows you should never judge a book by its cover, so to speak.

How long after you first met did you get married?

Nic: We started dating in August 2013, and I asked her parents for their blessing in September 2014.

Desi: But he didn’t propose until July 2015!! My parents had to keep that secret for almost a year. They thought he had changed his mind.

Nic: But what they didn’t know is that I was waiting for the perfect moment during the dress rehearsal of our show that we created, Nic & Desi: Broadway to Hollywood (formerly known as Superheroes in Love).

Have you performed together in any Broadway shows, whether in NYC or touring?

Nic: We haven’t performed on Broadway together… yet.

Desi: But we have performed opposite each other twice: I was Sally Bowles, and he was Clifford Bradshaw in Cabaret at Music Theatre of Connecticut, and Nicolas choreographed Jersey Boys at the Fulton Opera House’s production in Lancaster, where I played Mary Delgado. During previews, both the Tommy DeVito and his understudy were sick, so Nic jumped in and played the role.

Are you both originally from NYC? If not, where?

Nic: I was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and moved to New York in 2002 to do Susan Stroman’s Oklahoma!

Desi: I’m originally from SoCal. Mission Viejo, CA to be exact. I moved to New York to go to school at AMDA and then was very fortunate to make my Broadway debut in West Side Story, being the standby for the role of Anita.

Where do you call home now?

Nic: After living in New York for over 20 years, we made the move to Orange County, California!

Desi: Which is where I’m from. With our six-year-old daughter, we wanted to be closer to family, and the palm trees and the Pacific Ocean beat the cold Canadian winters. Sorry Joelle and JJ. (Nic’s parents). They’re happy to come visit California though.

I bet! When did you first discover Broadway musicals and knew it was what you wanted to do?

Nic: I saw Fred Astaire tap dance in the movie Top Hat when I was 6 years old and started taking tap at that time. Then came jazz, ballet, and finally I did some community theatre. When I was cast as Bobby Child in Crazy for You when I was 15, that’s when I truly fell in love with theatre and decided I wanted to do that.

Desi: My mother owns a dance studio in Orange County (Center Stage Dance and Performing Arts in Rancho Santa Margarita) and while I was growing up, she introduced me to West Side Story, Singin’ in the Rain, Cabaret, all amazing musical movies, and we would go see touring shows at the local theatres. Liza Minnelli, Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera were all stars I would look up to and idolize, and here I am playing some of their roles!

I assume you both have some favorite Broadway musicals. Which ones have you appeared in and which are you still hoping for the chance to do?

Nic: I’ve been very fortunate to have played many great roles including Fiyero, Bert, Tommy DeVito and Don Lockwood. If there was one I’d love to play it would be Bobby Child in Crazy for You. I played the role when I was 15 at my local community theatre but doing it now would really make my career come full circle. I’d also love to have a Sondheim musical on my resume. Maybe Company or Into the Woods. (if you don’t count West Side Story where I played Big Deal, one of the Jets).

Desi: My absolute favorite is West Side Story, of course. Others include Chicago (I played Velma in a production in Seattle), Anything Goes (I played Erma at Goodspeed Opera House) as well as Cabaret (as you already know, I played Sally!) Shows I adore but have never been in include Gypsy, Ragtime, and In the Heights, just to name a few. I would love to play Rosie opposite Nic in Bye Bye Birdie someday. Someone cast us please!

Desi, tell me about your Broadway career. When did it get started and in which NYC productions or touring companies have you appeared?

Desi: After graduating from school in New York, I went to tons of auditions. My first professional gig was Beauty and the Beast at Fireside Theatre in Wisconsin. From there, I got to work at some awesome regional theaters including NY City Center, Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, Sacramento Music Circus, and PCLO. I was lucky enough to play Anita in the international tour of West Side Story, which took me all over the world - Japan, Spain, Italy, France, Malaysia, and Israel. Then I made my Broadway debut as the standby for Anita in the revival.

My dance career has had its ups and downs. Early on, I tore my ACL and had to have knee surgery. In 2011, right after my Broadway debut, I started rehearsals for the national tour of Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby, where I played Tiger Lily, a pretty tough dance role. Unfortunately, during the third week of rehearsal, I tore my ACL and meniscus in my other knee, which put me out for another year. But I did get to play that role two more times with the amazing Jenn Colella.

After taking on other great roles regionally and touring, I ended up tearing my ACL and meniscus for the third time, and I just had surgery this past August. The good news is that I'm back to dancing again!

That’s amazing since I know how painful it can be, having torn my meniscus too. Is there one role that you have performed in the most that you never get tired of performing? Why is that?

Desi: I adored playing Velma in Chicago. Of all the roles I have played I feel it suits me as a person, although I am not a murderer! I pride myself in saying that I am a triple threat! I sing, dance, and act and that role is filled with humor and sarcasm which I tend to have in real life. I adore anything Kander and Ebb and will never get tired of singing their music.

Nic, tell me about your Broadway career.

Nic: I started being in the ensemble of Oklahoma! in 2002, understudying the role of Will Parker. Then I was in The Boy from Oz with Hugh Jackman. After moving back to Toronto to do Hairspray and then the tour of Wicked, I was cast in Mary Poppins as a Bert understudy, later taking over the role, and then touring the country as Bert. I also closed the Broadway production as Bert. Lastly, I was also the last Tommy DeVito in the Broadway production of Jersey Boys. I don’t think I’m cursed, but it seems that I’ve been closing a few shows playing a lead.

I know you have both faced major health challenges which could have ended your careers, with Nic suffering from tongue cancer that could have ended his singing career, and Desi overcoming an ACL and meniscus injury and repair. Please tell me about how you overcame those struggles to be able to tour the country again.

Nic: I had to focus on healing. After my diagnosis, I just said what do I need to do to keep living? After chatting with my surgeon, oncologist, and radiation oncologist, we came to a treatment that would have a very high remission rate and basically make sure that it wouldn’t come back. Being that the tumor was at the base of my tongue, everybody felt very positive that it wouldn’t affect my voice. I had surgery in October, and my voice didn’t fully come back until May, so it took a while. And there were moments where I was very frustrated and didn’t know if my range would ever come back. I would try to sing songs that were very easy in the past, only to crack and not be able to sing some of the higher notes. I cried the day in May when I felt good, and started singing “Feeling Good,” the Michael Bublé version, and all the high notes were there.

Desi – First of all, being there for Nic. What he went through and has overcome is unbelievable. I am in awe of his strength. I am so thankful he is ok and even more thankful he can sing and do what he loves!

As for my knees, third time’s a charm, I guess. I have been through a huge knee surgery two times before, so I was well equipped. I found the best physical therapist in Orange County that works with athletes from the NFL and other pro sports. I am happy to say that I made a comeback quicker this time! I have worked hard this year to get back my strength to dance again.

How did you format Nic & Desi: From Broadway to Hollywood? Is it autobiographical? Standard Broadway fare or new adaptations of show songs? And I assume there may be a bit of tapping, right?

Nic: It totally is autobiographical. We tell our story of how we met, fell in love, and talk about our latest ups and downs with health challenges. Every song in the show is connected to our feelings, careers, or how we inspire our six-year-old daughter, who knows every step and lyric to our show. She might also be on one of our tracks of our album.

Desi: Our repertoire has really grown over the years. We have added three new songs for our upcoming shows and are really excited about them. The best thing about doing our own show is picking the songs we adore singing. We are in charge, so there is a connection and a reason to each song we choose. And yes, there is always tapping in our shows as our nod to MGM movie musicals.

Do you do any impersonations of Broadway stars?

Nic: My best impression is Arnold Schwarzenegger. And he doesn’t sing very well.

Desi: OMG Nic. We should definitely add that to our show…not!

Liza Minnelli always makes an appearance in our show at the exact time I go and change my dress, it’s crazy! (I adore her and like to call myself a Liza Minnelli tribute artist)

Does your music director/arranger Michael Orland travel with you? How did you first meet and how long has he been working with you on the show?

Nic: We first met Michael Orland doing an open mic in Palm Springs! We had known about him from his training American Idol contestants, and how incredibly talented and kind he was.

Desi: He has worked with so many Broadway and pop artists and we are so honored to be in his orbit. He is truly someone special. This is the first time we are doing our show with him as MD, and then we have Palm Springs and many more to come.

How many musicians travel with you? And how long have they been with you on tour?

Nic: We have a few favorites that we work with, but everyone is always so busy. We have our usual bass player and drummer on the West Coast, and then our favorites on the East Coast. We usually have a jazz trio. The dream would be to have a big band, so if there’s a producer that’s reading this and would like to invest in getting us a big band arrangement of our show, please call us!

Who designed your choreography?

Nic: I hired Desi to choreograph all the partnering/jazz songs of our show.

Desi: And I hired Nicolas to do the tap choreography. Yes we do it all.

Do each of you have a favorite number in the show? Why that one?

Nic: I love emulating Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and tap dancing with Desi is my absolute favorite, so I think our arrangement of Top Hat, White Tie and Tails/Puttin’ on the Ritz is one of my favorite numbers.

Desi: I love our mash up of Dancing through Life, Mambo, and A Boy Like That. It’s a great number you gotta see to believe! No one has ever put those songs together, I assure you!

Since you will be appearing in Los Angeles, can we expect a few special guests to stop by and maybe share a song with you?

Nic: Absolutely! Nothing better than to be in cities where you have some dear talented friends willing to come sing with you. Spoiler alert: Some Jersey Boys cast members will be joining us for some Four Seasons songs!

Desi: And I’ll just say that I’ll have an EGOT winner take the stage, but my lips are sealed. A terrific surprise. But you do know since I have already mentioned her!

Do either of you continue to appear in shows or on tours without the other? Care to name a few?

Nic: After having a great career on tour and on Broadway, our priorities have changed where we want to focus on family and our daughter. If a dream role on Broadway or on tour called, we would definitely consider it, but only for a short period of time.

Desi: Same. And if the right role comes up somewhere here on the West Coast, I would love to pursue it!

When you are out on tour together, does your daughter travel with you? How do you make that work?

Nic: She’s in first grade right now in a wonderful French school in Orange, California. So when we have to go out of town for a weekend or two, grandma and grandpa love watching her. Grandma also teaches her dance class, so that’s convenient.

Desi: They also take care of their fur grandkids, our two dogs. We come with a lot of baggage. But there are times she comes with us and watches us perform and sometimes sings something with us.

The family that plays together!

What do you think audience members will be talking about after seeing the show?

Nic: I think our uplifting inspiring story. That’s the feedback we keep getting, about how no matter what life threw at us, we’re still up on that stage singing and dancing.

Desi: I’d say all the dancing we do on whatever sized stage we dance on. The amount of tap dance in our show is unheard of at some of these venues, considering the stage is usually only as big as a postage stamp. But we are entertainers and aim to put a smile on everyone’s face for the 75 min we are up on that stage.

Is there anything else you would like to share with me about the show or yourselves?

Nic: It’s hard to get people to come out and see shows these days. People would rather sit on their couch and stream TV shows and movies in the comfort of their homes. But people who come see our shows, who make the drive/commute to come enjoy a night out, leave with their hearts filled, completely blown away by what they just saw. We offer an escape, a way for people to forget their troubles and be entertained by two triple threat (singing, dancing, acting) performers opening their hearts and celebrating the dying art of song and dance in an intimate cabaret supper club setting. We share our love for what we do every time we do our show and have a blast doing it.

Desi: Yes, support is always appreciated.

Thanks so much!

All photos of Nicolas Dromard and Desiree Davar credited to SYC PHOTOGRAPHY.

* * * *

California performances of Nic & Desi: From Broadway to Hollywood take place on:

• Thursday 4/10: Catalina Jazz Club at 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028 (323) 466-2210
• Friday 4/25: Feinstein’s at the Nikko in San Francisco
• Saturday 5/3: The Purple Room in Palm Springs
• Friday 6/6: The GEM Theatre in Garden Grove
• Sunday, 7/20: Bellamy's Restaurant in Excondido
• Thursday 7/24: Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton

Admission at Catalina Jazz Club ranges from $35–$50. Doors open at 7pm for cocktail and dinner service (minimums apply). Showtime is 8:30pm. For more information and to purchase tickets online go to www.CatalinaJazzClub.com. Catalina Jazz Club is located at 6725 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood 90028.
 
Admission at Feinstein's is $59. Doors open at 7pm for cocktail and dinner service (minimums apply). Showtime is 8pm. For more information and to purchase tickets online go to www.feinsteinssf.com. Feinstein's at the Nikko is located at 222 Mason Street in San Francisco 94102.  
 
Admission at The Purple Room ranges from $45–$50. Doors open at 6pm for cocktail and dinner service (minimums apply). Showtime is 8pm. For more information and to purchase tickets online go to www.PurpleRoomPalmSprings.com. The Purple Room is located inside Club Trinidad Resort at 1900 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs 92264.

Admission at GEM Theatre is $35. Show time is 7:30pm. To purchase tickets online, go to https://purchase.thegemoc.com. GEM Theatre is located at 12852 Main Street in Garden Grove, 92840. Free on-site street parking is available.

Admission at Bellamy’s Restaurant ranges from $38–$55. Show time is 6:30pm. To purchase tickets online, to to https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=269290. Drink minimums apply. Bellamy’s Restaurant is located at 417 West Grand Avenue in Escondido, 92025. Free street and lot parking are available.

Don't Miss a Los Angeles News Story Sign up for all the news on the Fall season, discounts & more...