Interview: Robert Yacko of AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO at The Broad Stage of Santa Monica

Robert Yacko is a veteran of Broadway, off-Broadway, and Regional Theatre. Robert led the L. A. Premieres of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE with Pamela Myers, and CHESS with Jodi Benson. Robert appeared recently with David Alan Grier, Ana Gasteyer, Lea Salonga, Megan Hilty and Steven Weber in ANNIE at the Hollywood Bowl and has shared stages with Rachel York (ADDAMS FAMILY), Cathy Rigby (SYLVIA), Carol Burnett & Patrick Cassidy (COMPANY), Leslie Uggams (INTO THE WOODS), Carl Reiner (FIDDLER IN CONCERT), and he proudly counts himself as one of Cyd Charisse’s dance partners. Robert’s Broadway debut was in a revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, starring Herschel Bernardi, directed & choreographed by the great Jerome Robbins himself. Robert is also known as a Cabaret & Concert singer, and appears on the most memorble UNSUNG SHERMAN BROTHERS CD, voicing Gregory Peck’s role in an unfinished film musical based on the classic film, ROMAN HOLIDAY.

Broadway World: Los Angeles is grateful Robert took ten minutes to answer ten questions for his upcomng stellar performance in AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica directed by the incomparable Jason Graae. 

What is Yacko and any initial concerns about carrying an ethnic name
in show business?

Yacko is Hungarian, and per a linguist I met, it is their version of “Jack” or “John”.  My mother, however, was a Gilligan of good Northern Irish rebel stock laced with French Huguenot royalty. Quite the stew, eh?  As for concerns about my name in showbiz - I mean, if it’s good enough for the Animaniacs, it’s good enough for me. In truth, before I could worry about its impact on my theatre life, I had a brilliant acting teacher at Temple University (Philadelphia) unwittingly solve that problem for me. He not only gave me great foundational tools to propel me into my career’s success, but after directing me as Tybalt in ROMEO AND JULIET, he quietly said to me at a cast gathering, “Robert Yacko. It’s very musical. It would look good on a marquee”.  I never worried about Yacko, again.

Where would your birth coordinates reveal you have entered into this world? Family
size and were they ever supportive of your dreams and aspirations?

I was born in Philadelphia and raised in the burbs, just 10 miles from where the Kate Winslet series “Mare of Eastown” was set. After growing up in that rough & tumble place, New York was easy. My mother was my biggest fan and supporter. I think she lived vicariously through me for what I was doing to feed her own artistic soul. My Irish grandfather was my inspiration to sing. He was a chain-smoking, former Navy man with a big old anchor tattoo (Popeye) on his forearm, but he had a gorgeous Irish tenor voice and loved to sing any time we visited, because music is an essential part of the Irish culture. My dad did not approve of my path at all, but he came around later, when his older brother, a theatre lover, dragged him to see my second production of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (in which a 10-year-old Shoshana Bean played Louise). I’m one of 8 children, the oldest male, and the only one running about on stages or in the biz. Though most of my siblings don’t understand my life, my youngest sister is quite supportive, even coming up to NY to see me off-B’way in 2019. To the rest, I’m just the wild child who ran off and joined the circus.

What live performance triggered 'the click' in you and at what age?

Two performances made this click happen. Step one was seeing a beautiful production of THE FANTASTICKS at the Bucks County Playhouse, not far from where Mr. Sondheim learned his craft from Oscar Hammerstein.  I was smitten with its uniqueness, its simplicity and its emotional impact. Step two was getting a chorus role and some walk-ons in SOUTH PACIFIC at my high school with a great director, and somehow, even though I was just the tall 14-year-old boy in the back, one night during the bows, I heard one word indelibly whispered inside of my head. This one word was “Home!”

Are you classically trained or just submitted to the trades and out performed the other hopefuls and any famous alumni you shared the boards with in your salad days?

I think you could say I had some formal training. Thanks to the tools I gained from my beloved teacher at Temple U, I was accepted into the Drama Division of The Juilliard School (aka “The Yard”).  In my class, Group 8, was future Tony Winner Boyd Gaines, Lisa Baines, Keith David (this year to garner his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame) and Denise Woods, voice coach extraordinaire and author of The Power of Voice.  Keith, Denise and I were reunited at the Mark Taper Forum in 2016 for MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM, and it was an absolute joy to be with them again. Also roaming the hallways when I was at school were Robin Willams, Ken Marshall, Frances Conroy, Nancy Opel and Tony Abetamarco. Nancy and I worked together in MARRY ME A LITTLE, directed by Fran Soeder, musically directed by Ted Sperling. Tony and I worked on THE PRICE at the Mark Taper Forum, and we are slated to do a Noel Coward revue near the end of this year.

Who gave you your first big break and when did you realize you could pay the rent by being a highly reliable triple threat?

My first big break came out of a show that I didn’t get. I went to an open replacement call for the Broadway Revival of HAIR, as they were casting for a possible extension. I had 4 callbacks for the role of Berger and they put me on hold while they waited for the official word, giving me tickets to see the show. I was disappointed when the show did not extend, but a year later, when the same casting director was working on the National Tour of a Revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, she got me in and I got the gig, as a double understudy and ensemble. Our star was Herschel Bernardi, and it was directed and choregraphed by the great Jerome Robbins himself. I was finally working with the big kids. After the first tour, we reconvened on Broadway for a run at Lincoln Center and Maria Karnilova returned to the role of Golde. Also working on that show were two OBC WEST SIDE STORY Alums, Tommy Abbot (Jerome’s assistant) and Ken Leroy (Mendel). That first tour which turned into a Broadway show and two subsequent tours taught me that I could pay the rent very nicely doing what I love.

Big discussion on Broadway these days. How do you feel about replacement performers changing the performance by popping off on final notes or riffing on a lick?  Do you follow the director's original interpretation or make it your own?

My belief is that the star of a show is never a performer/actor. The star of the show is the story that we are all telling together for a purpose – to heal, to move, to educate, to enlighten. If you pull focus from that story and make it about yourself and some little tricks you want to show off, you’re mucking it up. If the riff or the extra flair is intrinsic to the character in the story’s moment, or to the style of the show, then knock yourself out. But if you step out of the story and start upstaging the show itself, in a sense saying “Hey, look at me, look at what I can do!”, this is not making a character your own. This is stepping out of character to have an American Idol competition moment, which I find very unprofessional. It is like stopping the show to take a selfie onstage – why would you do that? There is plenty of room within the framework of the story to make the character your own, but what I often see in those moments is pure showboating. Not kosher in my book.

Broadway legend, Carol Lawrence, is also perforning with you in AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO.  Three adjectives each for your three previous leading ladies: Carol Burnett; Leslie Uggams and Cyd Charisse?

I cheated a little here, because these extraordinary talented ladies deserve a cut above:

Carol Burnett: Salt-of-the-Earth, Hilarious, Playful.
Leslie Uggams: The Real Deal, Fierce, Generous
Cyd Charisse: Shy, Elegantly Sexy, Funny

Recently, Broadway composers picked the most beautiful songs within musical theater and all agreed SUNDAY (Finale) from SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE by Stephen Sondheim is number one. Can you describe the thrill of being in the West Coast Premiere portraying Georges Seurat in a Sondheim musical?  Patti LuPone revealed singing Sondheim on pitch while in character is the most difficult challenge for any live performer and iconic Elaine Stritch agreed with Patti but Elaine said "F@ck pitch."  Your thoughts?

The role of George in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE was a gift from the theatre gods, as well as a life and career changer for me. The show was announced 6 months prior with Barry Bostwick as George, but well before they began, Barry dropped out to do the second George Washington Miniseries with Patty Duke. When they couldn’t find another “name” to handle that very difficult material, our wonderful director, Fran Soeder, who himself was hand-picked for the West Coast Premiere by Sondheim & Lapine, told the Producers that he needed me in this crucial role. Being chosen like that was the first rush. Then with me already a Sondheim devotee, to immerse myself in a role which is essentially a version of Stephen Sondheim himself in his creative process was truly transformative and
the thrill ride of a lifetime. Honestly, I love the challenge of having to be deep in the emotional moment yet, striving to honor and nail the pitch and rhythms written by a musical theater master. It is the joy of being in his work. It can be difficult, but his writing makes you better your craft with every phrase and every song if you are willing to rise to it.

You have an extremely versatile voice making you a hybrid singer; "baritenor." Does this give you a wider casting net for booking opportunities?   You have an extraordinarily large body of work in Los Angeles but are you an LA snob? Runaway production is making it become clear the "Hollywood Industry" is leaving Hollywood but  the "Broadway Industry" appears to be bound for Hollywood, CA. 

Yes, having my hybrid range has indeed opened up more opportunities along the way. I have even been reviewed separately as a tenor and a baritone, depending on the roles. And because so many of the coveted roles I’ve done are actually written for my kind of voice and range, it gave me a leg up on the competition. I still have my upper range, but with age comes added richness, so now my top notes have darker, deeper, bari-like tones in them. No complaints here. I’ve been accused of being a bit of a Sondheim snob along the way, but I’m certainly not a snob about where I work. I lived and worked in NYC for nearly a decade before hitting L.A., and I’d go back to New York anytime for the right projects. I last worked in Manhattan in 2019, in an off-Broadway play with Rita Rudner.

What venues have you headlined within Los Angeles and which ones are on your "must do" list? The jewel in the crown Hollywood Bowl or The sublime Blue Room in Burbank where Disney Entertainment spots natural talent?

I have  done many productions on the stage of the Mark Taper Forum which has always felt like a second home to me. I began there in 1984 and ’85, doing 5 plays in two seasons of the Taper Rep.  In 2009, I was in The Donmar Warehouse Production of PARADE at the Taper and later, I covered roles in THE PRICE (2014) and MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (2016). Oddly I have not played the Ahmanson stage, but I have been the Voice of God for an awards show there. The 1991 production of A LITTLE NIGHTMUSIC I worked on was meant to be at the Ahmanson, but it had to play the Doolittle (now the Monatalban) instead, because “PHANTOM” had taken over the joint. I appeared on both the Dorothy
Chandler and the Pantages stages with the early FIDDLER tours, and I’ve done a few shows at the lovely Pasadena Playhouse as well. I finally got to play the iconic Hollywood Bowl (what a rush!) in 2018 in ANNIE with a stellar cast, directed by Michael Arden. Only the sublime Blue Room in Burbank has eluded me but not for long as I never give up! 

Robert invites all to celebrate the brilliance of Leonard Bernstein with this one-night-only fundraising concert, created specifically by Musical Theatre Guild.  AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO: MTG SINGS BERNSTEIN honors the legendary composer’s legacy with selections from his iconic musical theatre works—On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide, and West Side Story—alongside rarely performed pieces and classical gems.