From Fan to Celebrity: Talking with SPRING AWAKENING's Andy Mientus

Spring Awakening opened in Toronto on March 17th at the Canon Theatre to rave reviews.  The show is part of Mirvish's 2008-2009 Subscription Series, and is not to be missed.  It tells the story of a group of adolescents in 19th century Germany who are struggling with coming to terms with their awakening sexuality.

The music is vibrant and energetic, and the young cast is incredibly talented.  The show tackles issues often ignored in musical theatre, such as abortion, rape, pre-marital sex and homosexuality. 

Spring Awakening gained a huge following very quickly after it opened Off-Broadway back in 2006, and has legions of loyal fans, many of whom aspire to one day be in the show themselves.  One of these fans is Andy Mientus, who is truly living the dream of any Spring Awakening fan.  He first saw the show at the Atlantic Theatre during it's Off-Broadway run, and then created what is now the official Facebook group for Spring Awakening.  He auditioned for the National Tour and was cast in the role of Hanschen, a deeply disturbed character who is struggling with his own sexuality.  Mr. Mientus took some time to sit down and talk with BWW about how he handled the transition from fan to cast member, how he is enjoying his stay in Toronto, and what inspired him to get involved in musical theatre in the first place.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.  How are you enjoying Toronto so far?

I'm loving Toronto so much, it's an incredible city with everything to do. It's kind of like a little European New York. We're having lots of fun.

Is there anything in particular you've had a chance to get out and do that you have really enjoyed?

Definitely.  There is the Queen West neighbourhood, which is a little bit Brooklyn, and has cool boutique shops and little interesting stores and cool bars.  There is a great hotel called the Drake where we go for music and drinks and stuff like that.  We aren't really doing the touristy stuff because we are really trying to get into the city.

Are you enjoying the fact that you have a longer engagement in Toronto?

Absolutely.  Our quick one week stops are always really exciting but this is a great opportunity to be able to stretch our legs and breathe for a second. Plus, we get real days off so we can really get out and do what we want and explore the city.

Is this your first time in Canada?

I was in Canada once before. When I was in the sixth grade we came to Toronto to see the Phantom of the Opera at the Canon Theatre where we are now performing.  But I don't really remember it because I was really young. I do remember thinking that the chandelier was very cool.

Now that the tour is well under way, how do you keep your character fresh each night?

Well, it's awesome to perform on the road because we get to go to all these different places with different cultures and audiences, many of whom have never seen something like this before.  And my character is one of the more outrageous in the play so its fun to see how people react to him.  It's awesome to be in a long running show that is so complex.  My scene partners are also constantly finding things that they can change up and bring to each new performance as well.  We also really have time to grow into the roles and try and get our performances the best they can be. It's been a really great challenge. 

Do you have a favourite scene that you look forward to each night?

In terms of the musical numbers, I never get tired of doing Touch Me which is one of the numbers we all do together, the boys and the girls and it's just really beautiful.  At one point I climb up the wall and I'm up amongst the light bulbs looking out over the audience and its just really gorgeous. 

I also look forward to my scene in the second act that I share with Ben Moss who plays Ernst (The Word of Your Body Reprise).  That's the scene where my character kisses this other male character.  It's kind of lovely and kind of hilarious and it's basically my character sharing his beliefs with another character and it's always fun to see the audience react.  And Ben is one of my best friends on tour and we have a blast doing it every night.

I understand that you were instrumental in the formation of an extremely popular Facebook group called I Believe...in Spring Awakening. How did that come about?

Well, I saw the show Off-Broadway in the summer of 2006 when it was playing at the Atlantic, and I found there wasn't much information online about it except for a few featured articles here and there.  Facebook was really starting to grow in popularity so I started compiling articles about the show and made the group, and meanwhile all these strangers started joining it even though I originally thought I was just creating it for myself and my friends.

One of the producers found it and asked if I wanted to be involved directly and have it become the official group for the show.  I was of course thrilled and so I did that for about a year before I actually auditioned for the show, and now, here I am.

Are you still active within the group and with the fans now that you are a cast member?

Definitely.  I co-manage the Facebook group with one of the producers.  She really does much more than I do because I'm so busy on the road.  Most of the cast is much more active with the blog we have created called Totally Trucked (http://www.totallytrucked.blogspot.com/) We post videos and photos and write journal entries that keep the fans aware of where we are. Fans can send in suggestions for what we can do in various cities.  We try and check out the suggestions and then report back on the blog. It's a wonderful way for us to connect with the fans and have them let us know about all the cool things to do in each town.

You are in a unique position, being such a big fan of the show before you were cast in it. Do you find that being a fan first changes your perception of the fans you meet at the stagedoor or other places?

For me, since I've been there as a fan I find I really get it.  There are nights when you are very tired; especially in a road show because the schedule is very exhausting so you can become disenchanted.  But since I was such a huge fan, I have been on the opposite side of that line between fan and performer.  I definitely appreciate the fans so much and try to make sure they know that even if someone is having a bad night we always try and come out. Because they are out there and so excited that we have come to perform the show for them. There are those fans that are so thrilled that we have come to their hometown and brought the story to them and I just value them so much. They make it all worth it.

Speaking of the fans, have you found that the Canadian fans and audience differ much from the people you have met in other cities so far?

Not so much, although at the beginning we were struck by the fact that they were a bit more reserved and saying lovely things at the end of the show, but it didn't have the rock concert atmosphere we are used to in another cities.  It was a much quieter and more reserved crowd. Then as the weeks have gone by we have had some rowdy crowds.  I had heard that the Mirvish subscription base is very large; there are a lot of subscribers that come to the show so at the beginning we were getting a lot of subscribers who weren't sure what they were in for.  They were just sitting back and taking in this very new thing that I'm sure they weren't very familiar with. As time has gone on we've brought in some of the younger crowd and now some people are coming back again and again.  So we have a great variety, we have our reserved nights where it's quieter and we have our more rock-star type Saturday nights. It's really cool to deal with both kinds of audiences.

 I've had a lot of feedback from fans that say that they find you perform the role of Hanschen as a bit more human than other people they have seen, and they find that it affects them more that way.  Is that something you strive to achieve in your performance?

 

That's really nice to hear. I don't know, it's an interesting role because Hanschen provides a lot of the comedic relief in the play.  The way that comedy is achieved is that Hanschen is extremely arrogant and cruel and cold to all his classmates and a real downer.  He's a droll, manipulative, real dark little boy which is really bizarre and funny.  Michael Mayer (the director) was very careful with Ben and I, especially in that scene in the second act where we kiss.  He wanted to keep it grounded and effective. He wanted to make sure we were telling the story of this boy who wants something from this other boy, and communicate the fact that it's very dire and important to Hanschen to feel that connection. I certainly try my hardest to keep it human and not a cartoon. It's easy to go that way when the audience is with you and you get really excited but I think the more seriously you do things with Hanschen the more the comedy comes across without you having to try because the writing is so good.

Was there any stand-out performer or piece of musical theatre that inspired you and made you want to pursue this as a career?

Definitely.  I saw RENT when I was way too young to have seen RENT, maybe around thirteen or fourteen years old.  I was really lucky and my parents let me see the first national tour, and I was just enthralled.  I know I mentioned earlier that I had seen Phantom of the Opera, but that wasn't the same.  I enjoyed it, but it wasn't the same experience.  And I didn't grow up with a musical family, we weren't musicians or anything like that, but my family were big fans of rock music.  People like Springsteen, U2 and all these great rockers from the eighties.  So when I saw RENT, I realized that a musical could tell a story that was moving but also have music that wasn't all show-tuney and that inspired me.  After that I became attracted to the more rock-pop or modern shows.  I also saw the Jesus Christ Superstar Revival and the Rocky Horror Picture Show Revival.  So I feel very lucky to be in this production which is all about telling a story with music that teens would actually listen to, music that you can really rock out to.

If you could play any one role at least once in your life, what would it be?

Definitely Mark in RENT but really I would love to do them all.  I would love to be Riff Raff in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, or Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. And I'm really interested in new works.  There are some great new composers writing fantastic stuff right now.  All these guys who are up and coming and it's really fun to see how things are going and I'm really excited that the trend is going in a new direction and hope to be a part of it.

What do you do while on tour to unwind and cut loose?

I think most of all we just enjoy each other's company.  I think it could be a nightmare if we didn't enjoy each other, but thankfully we do.  It's such an ensemble show so when we aren't on stage being such turbulent and angsty teenagers we really just try and enjoy our time together.  Whether it's watching a movie in someone's hotel room or just grabbing drinks or dinner, we just keep it low key and fun.

Spring Awakening is playing at the Canon Theatre in Toronto until April 19th.  Tickets are priced between $20-$99 and can be purchased online at www.mirvish.com or by calling 1.800.461.3333.  A select number of student rush tickets are available prior to each show for $25 at the box office, they are limited to one per person and you must have valid student ID.  On-stage seating is also available by visiting the box office in person or by calling 1.800.461.3333

For more information on the national tour of Spring Awakening, please visit the official website at www.springawakening.com

 

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