BWW Interviews: He's Got Some Nice Work: A Chat with Nice Work If You Can Get It's Reed Campbell

As "Cookie," the charming, mischievous troublemaker-with-a-heart in the national tour of Broadway's Nice Work If You Can Get It, Reed Campbell (left, photo by Jeremy Daniel), has a sweet deal: he gets to do work he loves and travel the country at the same time. Touring, Reed admits, is physically demanding, and taking on the role for which original Broadway cast member, Michael McGrath won a 2012 Tony award, gave him pause, but he so loves the "cohesive, kind and energetic," Nice Work cast and creative team, that he's been able to focus on bringing a "Reed Campbell flavor" to Cookie.

This is the second leg of the tour, and after an eleven-week break, the company jumped right back in this month, with a day of studio rehearsal one day, a run through in the theater the next day, and a performance that same night. The logistics of carrying your life and work in three suitcases, presents different challenges as an actor, Reed says, requiring focus on logistics as well as the art, and fulfills a goal he'd set for himself to experience touring life while still young. That's not to take away from the "awe-inspiring" life moments he enjoyed as part of the 2013 Shakespeare in the Park production of Comedy of Errors. The opportunity to perform in New York's historic Delacorte Theater in Central Park each night was a high point in Reed's career, and life, so far, he says.

Campbell was raised in San Francisco by parents who worked in the arts (his mother, a ballet dancer, and father, an actor), and as a member of the San Francisco Boys' Chorus (SFBC), he had the opportunity to perform around the world, which sparked his lifelong love for travel, and singing. He also gained a rich musical background at a young age, which has given him a particular appreciation for the wonderful George and Ira Gershwin songs around which Nice Work revolves. In fact the success of this show, Reed feels, "is a testament to the timeless appeal of classic musical standards that continue to entertain generation after generation."

But it's not just the famous songs that make Nice Work such a pleasure for Reed to perform. His character, Cookie, "who has a constant need to be a nuisance...is written so well by Joe DiPietro; so funny and so clever," and involves the physical comedy that this self-described, "bit of a ham," really enjoys.

"No matter how rock/pop our theater scene is going...I think people miss the style of the prototypical big Broadway musicals," says Campbell, "Nice Work has all those elements: it's a 1920's romp, with mistaken identity, big dance numbers, a love story and physical comedy, with an updated book by Joe and the classic, but contemporary influence of [director/choreographer] Kathleen Marshall." And he's not alone in his opinion; both DiPietro and Marshall received Tony nominations for their work on this show.

Reed's favorite scene in the show? It "has to be the dinner scene which is where Duke, Cookie and Billie are coming through the dinner doors at a million miles a second...and hilarity ensues...[it's] super quick and unpredictable." And he's "in awe of the show's dance ensemble," enthusing about the pleasure of standing backstage each performance watching the "high energy, aerobic, really fun dance number, 'Lady Be Good,' which opens Act II...we're all there backstage watching, because it starts the second act with a bang." The classic number "'S wonderful,' between playboy Jimmy and appealing bootlegger, Billie, as they are beginning to fall in love, is "just a wonderful song, so sweet...and becomes such a charming song and dance number as it goes along...it's a real pleasure to watch," says Reed.

Growing up on beloved, large-scale musicals like Phantom of the Opera, LES MISERABLES and The Sound of Music, Reed enjoys bringing a classic musical like Nice Work to stages around the country; but this accomplished singer considers himself an actor first and foremost. In fact, he's done more plays than musicals, and has a deep appreciation for how the many forms and genres of theater can "shine a light on human nature, both good and bad...If an audience can leave feeling affected in some way or another, [the show has] done its job."

Campbell was involved in theater in high school, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan's well-regarded theater program. He feels "incredibly lucky" in the roles he's had the chance to perform. In particular, his first major role, as a high school sophomore, was daunting, and ultimately hugely satisfying; that of Patrick Sonnier, the death row inmate in the stage adaptation of Dead Man Walking (played by Sean Penn on screen). "Having no shared experiences with the character, and being on stage the whole time," were aspects to the role that informed Reed as a young actor, and opened him up to playing other challenging roles, such as his college experience playing Leo Katz, an art historian, taken hostage by desperate refugees in David Edgar's play Pentacost. He recently had the chance to reunite with some college buddies (who are also part of the well-known theater troupe StarKid, which includes Glee's Darren Criss, a high school and college friend of Reed's) to perform The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, in which he played the title role.

As a theater-lover and audience member himself, Reed is looking forward to the upcoming revivals of both The Heidi Chronicles (Spring '15) and, especially, Noises Off, starring Andrea Martin, coming in the fall of 2015. In fact, Noises Off is one of Reed's favorite shows, and he has great memories of playing "Lloyd," as a senior at the University of Michigan. He compares that show to Nice Work, as they both spotlight "farcical, over the top physical comedy."

But for now, Reed Campbell's focus is on stage, bringing the funny, charming bootlegger and all-around "nuisance," Cookie to life each night.

Nice Work If You Can Get It plays three performances at DC's Warner Theatre on January 30-31, 2015. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com.

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