Interview: Clint Hromsco in AVENUE Q at Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal through 11/20

The Axelrod Performing Arts Center (APAC) opens its 2022-2023 season with the zany, unconventional, laugh-out-loud musical with grown-up puppets, AVENUE Q. The show is now on stage and runs through November 20. The show that the New York critics called "ingenious" and "raucously wicked" played on Broadway and then Off Broadway for a combined 16 years, beating out Wicked for the top three Tony Awards that included Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book for its writers Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty. The APAC production is the first to appear on the Jersey Shore since the musical closed in New York in 2019.

Avenue Q tells the timeless story of a bright-eyed college grad named Princeton. When he arrives in the city with big dreams and a tiny bank account, he has to move into a shabby apartment all the way out on Avenue Q.

The cast includes Clint Hromsco (as Princeton/Rod), Miranda Wolf (as Kate Monster/Lucy The Slut), Adam Zeph (as Trekkie Monster/Nicky), Beau Bradshaw (as Brian), Né Lasheé (as Gary Coleman) and Amelia Fei (as Christmas Eve). The ensemble includes Francesca Saccomagno, Luke Pearlberg and Justin Sudderth.

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Clint Hromsco about his career and Avenue Q.

Clint is thrilled to be making his Axelrod debut with this show! He is an NYC-based actor, director and choreographer and has performed in five national and international tours and at countless regional theatres across the country. Clint also starred in the NYC productions of Flash/Frozen at Theatre Row, It Came from Beyond and Lili Marlene at St. Luke's Theatre and Flight School the Musical, for which he was a part of the Original Cast Recording. He has been featured in several NYC, regional and international commercials, print ads and TV shows. His work can be seen in Before I Go, starring Annabella Sciorra, currently streaming on Amazon Prime and in the upcoming film Resilient. As a director, Clint has worked at Ogunquit Playhouse, Little Theatre on the Square, Virginia Children's Theatre, Westchester Sandbox Theatre, Write Act Rep. and Vital Theatre. He is currently the puppet director for the developmental workshops of For the Lost Children of Paris, written by two-time Tony-nominee Carrie Robbins. Clint holds a BFA in Acting, with a minor in Dance from Ithaca College.

We'd love to know the very first show you were in and what part you played!

My very first show was Fiddler on the Roof, Jr in 6th grade. I played the Rabbi and had one line that I still remember to this day. During the opening night performance of that production, a cast mate gave me a good luck hug before going on stage for the Sabbath prayer scene where we carried lit candles. Unfortunately, her candle got too close to my yarmulke and it caught on fire while on my head. All I remember is being hit to the ground by some other cast members in order to put it out. My mother still has the scorched yarmulke preserved as a souvenir of my stage debut.

Tell us a little about your BFA experience at Ithaca.

My years at Ithaca College were some of the most challenging and also rewarding moments of my life. Going through their extremely rigorous conservatory training program prepared me to be able to conquer the ups and downs of this tough industry. Ithaca's acting program is one of the best in the country and I am so grateful for the 'toolbox' they gave me.

You have experience in many areas of entertainment. What advice can you share people with to have a career in the performing arts?

My best advice is to find a work-life balance. It's very easy in the performing arts to feel like you have to say 'yes' to every opportunity for fear of missing your big break (something I still struggle with daily). However, it's the places we travel, the moments we experience, the people we form relationships with that make us stronger, more well rounded actors. The down time is just as important as the work. Stay true to who are and bring yourself to your work, not the 'you' you think people want to see.

When did you first become interested in puppetry?

My first experience with puppetry was when I was on the Storytime Live! national tour with Nickelodeon. I have always been a very movement based actor and was drawn to the challenge of bringing inanimate objects to life and figuring out how to effectively communicate their emotional journeys. During the pandemic, I was cast as a featured puppeteer in the NYC production of Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Lautrec which reignited an interest in and a deeper exploration of this art form. From that experience, I was brought on board as the puppet director for the developmental workshops and filming of For the Lost Children of Paris, a new play written by two-time Tony nominated costume designer Carrie Robbins. However, Avenue Q has been my first experience working with what we call mouth puppets, which present their own limitations that are equally exciting and challenging.

It is exciting that you are making your Axelrod debut. How do you like working at the theater?

I've had such a great experience at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center so far. Everyone has been super welcoming and have gone above and beyond to support the entire cast during a rigorous rehearsal process. It takes a family to put a show together and it is very clear the team at the Axelrod care about each other and the quality of work they are producing. I think the programs they offer for young performers and the high caliber entertainment they provide are extremely important for the surrounding community.

Tell us a little about the roles you play in Avenue Q.

I play two roles in Avenue Q. Princeton who has recently graduated with a BA in English and is searching for his purpose in life. The show follows the struggles of his inevitable thrust into adulthood such as moving to NYC, unemployment, relationships and his existential crisis of figuring out his reason for being alive. The second character I play is Rod who is a conservative investment banker struggling to accept his own sexual identity as a gay man.

The cast of Avenue Q is incredibly talented. Can you share a little about your experience with them.

The cast has been so wonderful to work with. We are small enough that I feel we've become a large family. This is such an ensemble based show and everyone's track is extremely vital to its success. You have to have a great amount of trust in each other when working with puppets in such a fast paced show and I am so grateful to know that we all have each other's backs every night. Every track in this show brings its own set of responsibilities and skills and I feel I am continuously learning just from watching what they all bring to the table.

What would you like audiences to know about the show?

The really wonderful thing about the show is that it deals with themes and subject matter that we as humans all go through in life but we don't necessarily talk about with each other. It allows us to go there with the characters and say "you know what? yeah. I deal with that too and that IS funny and we all have that in common." The real reason why this show was written was the creators kept asking the question - what if these puppets that we grew up with on television as children grew up with us? What happens when they go home after being on tv? And the music really leans into that whimsical, childlike feel with every song teaching a lesson. The show has a lot of heart and carries the message that no matter how difficult things may seem, "everything in life is only for now."

Can you share with us some of your future plans?

Right after we close Avenue Q, I head to Sullivan, Illinois to direct White Christmas at The Little Theatre on the Square. I directed their production of La Cage Aux Folles this past July and am excited to return. I will also be heading to Virginia Children's Theatre in April to direct and choreograph their production of James and the Giant Peach.

Anything else, absolutely anything you want BWW NJ readers to know.

Come visit us on Avenue Q. You're gonna love it here!

You can follow Clint by visiting his web site at www.clinthromsco.com and on social media @chromsco

The Axelrod Performing Arts Center is located at 100 Grant Ave., Deal Park, just five minutes from downtown Asbury Park, with plenty of free parking. Tickets are $32-65 and are available at (732) 531-9106, ext. 14 or www.axelrodartscenter.com.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Clint Hromsco and Axelrod Performing Arts Center