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- [00:05]
Tamsen Fadal
This is the Broadway show Uncut. I'm Tamsen Fadal and I'm so glad you're here. On this episode of the pod, we're talking about the grandmasters of Broadway, the leading men of Chess. It's a revival of the Cold war era musical. Coming up in just a few, Paul Wontorek travels to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, one of the great Russian neighborhoods in New York, to speak with Nicholas Christopher. But first, I'm chatting with another one of the stars of Chess, Tony winner Aaron Tveit. How's the show going right now? I know you said you were in a groove.
- [00:37]
Aaron Tveit
The show's great. You know, we opened in November and I guess It's. Yeah, April 2nd. Right. And it takes a little bit of time. Right. You have to figure out, especially a show like this, that's really difficult. You kind of have to figure out how to navigate yourself through the eight show week and, you know, the challenges of that. But then also, I think I like doing long runs of shows because you really learn so much about the show. And I don't know, I feel like right now, like the last couple weeks, I feel like my body and my voice feel really good doing the show every night. And I'm like, oh, yeah, Now I think I know what the show is. Right. It takes four or five months, but no, it's in a really great place. And I think across the board we're
- [01:15]
Tamsen Fadal
just, we're clicking, you know, what is the show? Now that you know the show, how do you feel like it's different than maybe when it opened in November?
- [01:22]
Aaron Tveit
Oh, there's a lot of things, I think for me, for my character personally. Right. You know, I'm playing somebody that is dealing with mental health issues. And those have been. That's been a lot of the, the work that I've done and thought about and kind of how to, you know, how to, how to make that as real as possible and not kind of not, not, not just play at it. You know, I've really wanted to make it accessible. And, you know, there's been a similar experience I had when I did Next to Normal. There's been some people that have seen the show that have kind of said afterwards, you know, your portrayal of, you know, I have bipolar syndrome. Your portrayal is so interesting and appreciated. And those things really mean a lot. And that's experience. We had a lot with next to normal of people coming in and saying, that's my family. And I think for the show, what's been fascinating is we started rehearsal here and A lot of the themes and things that Danny wrote about were holding mirror up to the world and geopolitical struggles and, you know, this kind of our whole world being on a knife's edge a little bit. And then, of course, as we've done the show over the past five months, those things have become, you know, terrifyingly more and more relevant and apparent. You know, first, you know, we have lines about deportation and with everything that was happening with ice. And then now, of course, where we find ourselves, you know, as a world with conflict going on. You know, there's real. You know, before it was like we were kind of subtly hinting at this stuff, and now as the show's gone on, it's become kind of even more in your face. And I think that's amazing because I think that, you know, good art that I want to be a part of and that I want to see holds a mirror up to the society in a great way, and people that come to the show to have a good time leave thinking about something else. So the show has taken on a really interesting depth in that way since we've started that, of course, we had no idea was going to, you know, going to happen.
- [03:22]
Tamsen Fadal
So how do you make those roles like that, especially when you're talking about something with mental health? Because I don't know if you're doing that, but at the same time you're thinking, well, I want to make sure that I'm so respectful of the people that might be sitting in the audience that have been dealing with this for 20, 30, 40 years. How do you do that? How do you get to that place where, for yourself as a character and
- [03:40]
Aaron Tveit
as an actor, lots of research just kind of to specifically hone in on what I thought my character was struggling with. And then, of course, how those different struggles present themselves. And I think, you know, to kind of be. Be in something where the character is paranoid but also. Right, right. Because in this show, kind of everything that Freddie says about people spying on him or is actually happening.
- [04:11]
Nicholas Christopher
Right.
- [04:11]
Aaron Tveit
Which is, you know, an interesting kind of take on. On the. The real chess. Chess grandmaster champion Bobby Fischer, who, you know, had his own struggles, but again, everything that he said was actually true.
- [04:22]
Paul Wontorek
Right.
- [04:22]
Aaron Tveit
Bobby thought that the Soviets were spying on him, and they were. And so it kind of happens in our show as well. But. But, yeah, I really looked at, you know, what. What the character was struggling with and then how those things present themselves in real life, and then kind of to. To try to find moments where that happens in the show and I think the way that it's kind of gone mostly is, you know, every. Every show you do as an actor, you're supposed to approach the material, learn the show, and then kind of throw it all out the window and just listen every night and see how. However you're feeling, how you're reacting to. To each moment. That's what we're supposed to do. But it kind of doesn't always happen that way. Right. You kind of get locked into what you do. But I've really tried to commit to really just listening and being. To be as in the moment as possible. And I found that the more I do that, it actually lends to this guy's unpredictability, which then, of course, lends to his struggles. So that's what's been really fun for me.
- [05:20]
Tamsen Fadal
I think it's really incredible, especially at this day and age where we have so many just distractions as people. When I see you on a stage and just really living in that place, I think it's remarkable because I wonder if it's gotten harder in time to feel so focused and be so clear and really listen.
- [05:35]
Aaron Tveit
That's a very great point. I think the whole phone, Internet, everything is just terrible. And I wish we could just. I wish we could just, like, pull the plug and it could be like 1985 or 1995, but that's not gonna happen. We're way past. I miss those times, but we're way past that. But at the show, for instance, what. I try to. I try to stay off my phone. You know, I'm not really on my phone all the time, but because, you know, you have five minutes here, five minutes there backstage or in your dressing room, it's very easy to just like, oh, let me just open up this and scroll away for no reason. So I. I try to make a real concentrated effort. And so basically, I read backstage, you know, so.
- [06:17]
Tamsen Fadal
I'm sorry, what was that?
- [06:18]
Aaron Tveit
I read between scenes. Yeah. And I. I've been doing, you know, have a. Almost 17 month and old at home, so I basically have been. I've been rotating between, like, a book for me, a parenting book. A book for me, a parenting book. So I've read. I've read a couple books so far, but I'm.
- [06:32]
Tamsen Fadal
I'm happy.
- [06:32]
Aaron Tveit
That's. But that keeps me really focused and present, you know, because it's very easy to step off stage and pick your phone up and just be bombarded with all of this stimulus. But I think, you know, there's. There's something to what you're saying is that it's harder to really stay focused and for us to stay focused for that time, but also the audience, I mean, because, I mean, theater is maybe the last place where people really put their phones away. You can't go to a movie now and not have people with their phones out or texting or on the phone or filming. Right. So, you know, minus the filming, that isn't supposed to happen, but happens in the theater. People really aren't on their phone. So it is one of the last kind of sacred spaces where people turn that thing off and put it away. And, you know, we go on at least for an act by act thing
- [07:18]
Tamsen Fadal
for an hour until there's intermission. Unless it's a play.
- [07:21]
Aaron Tveit
Yeah, exactly.
- [07:22]
Tamsen Fadal
I don't think I've ever asked the before, but it just. It just. You made me think, and it really is. It really is interesting. How do you get ready to do. Or how do you plan to do that many shows in a week? What do you have to do for yourself outside of the theater, outside of where people see you on the stage? That takes a dedication. A different type of. Takes a different type of role.
- [07:41]
Aaron Tveit
Yeah. Sleep. But I. You know, I've been asked this question before, and I try to. I think that the thing that I come. That I've come to is I try to keep my kind of baseline level of health as high as possible. Because I find that if you can just kind of. Obviously you're gonna get sick, obviously you're gonna get a cold. Things happen, you pass around. But if you can kind of. If your baseline, Your kind of neutral health level can be as high as possible, then I find that my voice is okay, I'm not as tired, My cortisol is not high. Right. It's like things like that. There's all these things in your body that happen that you're. That we're chasing every night. And also, you know, we're doing this eight times a week, but our bodies don't know the difference between the real thing or not. Right. It's like. It's hard to explain. Like, when you're in a show, that's tough, right. You're going through these things emotionally and physically. Like, our chemical makeup doesn't know the difference. Right. So, like, the fight or flight thing is happening even though we're fine. Right. So you have to give yourself time to recover from that. And so it's eating well, sleep, working out, but not working out too much because that can then be like a diminishing return. And there's, you know, the things that you just learn that you'd love to go out and have a glass of wine or a beer with your friends, but you know that the restaurant's really loud, and you have to be careful the days that you do that and probably can't do that when you have a matinee the next day. And, you know, so there's. There's all these things that you have to kind of navigate, but those are also things that I think you need to learn for yourself, like your own personal threshold and what you can. What you can do, what you can do and still do eight shows a week or what you can not do. And, you know, so it's. It's all. It's navigating that. But, you know, somehow I started doing this 22 years ago, and I know what I need to do to get through the week. I guess it makes sense.
- [09:32]
Tamsen Fadal
Well, you're certainly doing it. The score and the music in the show. Can you talk a little bit about that?
- [09:37]
Aaron Tveit
Yeah. The score and the music are the things that really hooked me with Chess. When I switched to studying musical theater in college, I didn't know many musicals. I kind of knew the four shows that I did in high school and the five or six shows that I'd gotten to see on Broadway at the time. And I had friends that just threw. Threw cast albums at me, and Chess was one of the ones that they threw at me. And I just thought the music was incredible. And much like everyone who's been a fan of this for four decades, there's something about this music that people just really, you know, hone into and. And resonate. Resonates with them. And it did for me as well. But also, you know, the music's so difficult that when I was in college, it was one of those things that nobody sang any of the songs from Chess. It was like, yeah, yeah, this is good to listen to, but you can't sing it because it's way too hard. So I. I never. I really never imagined doing it because I think I had that, you know, ingrained in me that, like, oh, yeah, chess is great, but it's really hard. But, yeah, but that. The original. Original cast album and the Broadway album, and then, of course, you know, the live concert that they captured with. With Josh Groban and Adam Pascal and Idina, all those. All those versions really played in my head for a very long time. But now working on it, I think there's this amazing thing where it's you know, it's Benny and Bjorn from ABBA who kind of invented a genre of pop music. Right. Like, so not only is it this just like incredible pop. Pop music that it's like the. And it's not. It's not playing at that music.
- [11:08]
Nicholas Christopher
It's.
- [11:08]
Aaron Tveit
These are the guys that made this music. Right. And then we have Tim Rice's lyrics on top. So then you combine one of the greatest lyricists for the stage and theater of all time with that pop music. So I, as. I've been thinking a lot about it, I think that's kind of the. That's the soup that made this music so impactful, that it's these, you know, winner takes it all esque pop melodies, right. That everybody knows with this incredible Tim Rice lyric and narrative. So, yeah, it's been really fun.
- [11:38]
Tamsen Fadal
And you have some incredible things happening off stage as well back at home. Congratulations.
- [11:43]
Aaron Tveit
Thank you.
- [11:43]
Tamsen Fadal
On everything.
- [11:44]
Aaron Tveit
Thank you.
- [11:44]
Tamsen Fadal
On your family, on your marriage. Can you talk a little bit about that?
- [11:47]
Aaron Tveit
Yeah, it's. It's been an incredible couple years. I got married last year. We had a baby last November, So she's almost seven. She's almost 17 months. And so this is the first show that I've done where I've, you know, been married and been a father. And, you know, I'm a. I'm very traditionally like a nine to ten hour a night sleeper. So it's very different.
- [12:15]
Tamsen Fadal
How's that going?
- [12:17]
Aaron Tveit
It depends. Depends on the day. Right now we're in a good stretch. Maybe that's why I feel so good the last couple weeks, but. Because she's sleeping wonderfully at the moment. But no, it's been an amazing thing in so many ways. But I didn't know how that was going to be. I didn't know how it was going to be to, you know, I used to have to set an alarm at 10:45 for a matinee to make sure that I was up in time to go do the matinee. And you're like, I thought I was tired. Then it's like, how did I ever think, you know, it's like there's all those memes online that, like, you know, you thought you retired before you had kids and it's like, what do you mean? What are you talking about? So. But it's been the most incredible perspective. And, you know, I've. I've always been somebody that, you know, I, I'm very grateful that I love what I do for a living. Right. And when that happens, it can kind of be. It can tend to be all encompassing and it's. You can, you can hold it really tight. But having a daughter and a family at home has allowed me to hold this a little looser. And I mean that in a really good way. You know, it's not that I'm not working as hard because I actually find the time that I have is so valuable that I'm work, I'm really much more focused and can work really hard in the times that I'm in this building rehearsing. But then I get to go home and just leave it.
- [13:43]
Paul Wontorek
Right.
- [13:43]
Aaron Tveit
And it's been really nice to leave this here and go home and then realize like, oh yes, this matters, but all of this stuff really matters. And so just, you know, navigating the day to day. But it's also, it's made my work even that more meaningful. And you know, my wife Erica is also a performer and she amazingly is not working right now so she can stay home with our daughter. And so that's another thing that I, you know, yes, I'm working hard here, but she's working so hard at home and I get to also be home, but then also come here and be fulfilled in all these ways in ways that she's not necessarily being fulfilled at this moment. So it's really also made me realize how great it is that I get to kind of be filled up in all these versions at this exact moment. And yeah, so I'm just, I'm just tremendously grateful and it's, it's the greatest.
- [14:37]
Tamsen Fadal
Yeah. Taking it, taking this on alongside other parents too that are, that understand. Understand the lack of sleep, but understand the appreciation.
- [14:45]
Aaron Tveit
I think that's exactly it. It's. It's. Yeah, it's just funny, you know, you go from, you go from being 20, 21 years old on tour with a bunch of 20 year olds doing a show and having, you know, that's a, that's its own animal to. Then you're on stage with, you know, other people who all have, we all have kids, you know, I mean, Nick and Leah, I think we have five kids under five between the three of us. And so, yeah, I mean, as you mentioned, you never know how the night's going to go or if they're going to sleep or not. But I think that knowing all of us, knowing that we're all in the same situation takes so much pressure off of it that we know we can walk in and if we had a rough night or a rough morning or a challenging day that we don't have to be anything else than that. Right. Because the other two people would be like, you know what? We got you today. We're gonna. We're gonna lift you up. So there's been such a. Such a support between the three of us, and I think understanding just being able to look at someone and realizing, like, oh, yeah, I know. I know that face. I know what's going on. So it's been amazing, you know, and it's been amazing for the three of
- [15:48]
Tamsen Fadal
us all to share that seismic audience reaction. You're aware of it, obviously, all the time, even as you're staying in the moment. What has it been like?
- [15:57]
Aaron Tveit
It's remarkable. I think we have an interesting audience that I always ask people when they come backstage, did you know about the show or what? Did you, you know, did you know anything about the show? And basically, for the most part, it's two versions. It's either they know way too much about the show or nothing about the show.
- [16:16]
Tamsen Fadal
Oh, wow.
- [16:16]
Aaron Tveit
So there's kind of. So the audience reactions to the numbers, I think, are twofold. There's people that love this music and want to hear it and are having this experience, are finally hearing it live. They've probably never seen a production before. And, you know, it's Nick and Leah and. Right. It's just so amazing. And then there's other people who are just really going on the emotional journey of the show and hearing these numbers for the first time and reacting. So it's. It's this kind of twofold reaction that happens, but it's. It's thrilling and, you know, it's the best. I mean, it's the thing. You get addicted to being on stage just like that, that energy that you get from the audience reaction. So it's. It's been amazing.
- [16:53]
Tamsen Fadal
I love that it's an all or none. Not like. I know a little bit.
- [16:55]
Aaron Tveit
Yeah. Nobody kind of knows a little bit about chess. It's like they've either listened and watched every version that's online, or they're like, I don't know. I thought it was gonna be about a chess match. I don't know what it is.
- [17:04]
Tamsen Fadal
Yeah. And now here's Paul Wontorek's interview with Nicholas Christopher.
- [17:15]
Paul Wontorek
Nick, where are we? Where'd you bring me?
- [17:17]
Nicholas Christopher
I brought you to Tatiana's down here in Brighton beach, right on the boardwalk.
- [17:22]
Paul Wontorek
It's a restaurant and a nightclub.
- [17:23]
Nicholas Christopher
Yes.
- [17:24]
Paul Wontorek
There's a stage over there. Yeah. Have you ever been here for, like, nightclub nights or.
- [17:27]
Nicholas Christopher
I haven't been here at Night. Because normally when I get here, it's around dinner time, and I'm normally ready to pass out a couple hours later.
- [17:37]
Paul Wontorek
Well, because you have little kids at home.
- [17:39]
Nicholas Christopher
I got little kids at home.
- [17:40]
Paul Wontorek
And now you're doing a full Broadway schedule.
- [17:41]
Nicholas Christopher
That's very true.
- [17:42]
Paul Wontorek
There's no time for the Tatiana nightclub.
- [17:44]
Nicholas Christopher
Yes. And maybe vodka's involved at some point.
- [17:47]
Paul Wontorek
So we found out about this place. We're in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. This is a place that you sort of discovered, I think, in your journey to being fantastic as Anatoly in chess, right?
- [17:59]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah, definitely. Right across the boardwalk, there's a canopy, and underneath that canopy are a bunch of chess tables. And I would go there and see if anybody wanted to play chess or just did they.
- [18:09]
Paul Wontorek
Did they? Were they? Yeah.
- [18:10]
Nicholas Christopher
And I would leave very, very soon after that with my tail between my legs of, like, just getting beaten down by playing chess. And also, a really good friend of mine, Roman, would bring me here, and we eat. We would talk about the Soviet Union, and we would talk about his experience moving to the U.S. yeah.
- [18:30]
Paul Wontorek
This is a neighborhood. A lot of Russian speakers in this neighborhood.
- [18:33]
Nicholas Christopher
Yes.
- [18:33]
Paul Wontorek
Right.
- [18:34]
Nicholas Christopher
So when. When a lot of Russians left the ussr, they came here and formed their own community. There's really beautiful grocery stores and corner stores, and as you pass people on the boardwalk or on the streets, you hear them speaking Russian. And they really kind of took over this neighborhood and made it their home away from home or their new home, I guess. Not home away from home.
- [18:57]
Paul Wontorek
This feels very method. So I was learning about, like, how you. How you immersed yourself for Anatoly. You know, I think every actor has their process. Right. You literally were, like, playing chess on the chess app, learning how to play chess, and then, you know, playing against strangers and immersing yourself in this culture is this very. Not every actor does this. Right? I mean, some actors, I think, just, like, get the script and be like, I can do this. Like, let me learn the accent, and I can do it. I can sing songs.
- [19:25]
Nicholas Christopher
I could just do it.
- [19:26]
Paul Wontorek
But it sounds like you really went all in. Is that very indicative of your personality?
- [19:30]
Nicholas Christopher
I think so. I think the word method makes me sweat a little bit in Squirm Inside just because of the connotation of what that is. And I think a lot of times, if somebody is method, then they're trying to, like, put their process onto you or make it really be known. Right. And for me, it's very quiet and personal, and I don't really like to, like, in the rehearsal room. I don't like to, like, talk about it or bring it up or anything, but, yeah, I would say that I'm an immersive actor, I think. When else in your life do you have an opportunity to learn a culture or a subculture like these chess players, or get to understand and talk to people and understand their. Their experience of life? That, to me, is really the most interesting part. Whether or not that carries over onto the stage is, you know, I can't control that. But for. For me, getting to know people and understand people and realize that there is a connection and there really isn't anything separating us is the most interesting thing to me.
- [20:41]
Paul Wontorek
Were there stretches of time where you were just, like, walking around speaking to everybody with your Russian accent, which you're doing a very good job with, by the way?
- [20:47]
Nicholas Christopher
Spacebo. Yeah. Sometimes at home, my wife will be like, no, that's not the way you talk. Sorry.
- [20:55]
Paul Wontorek
Well, you gotta, like, practice.
- [20:56]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Sometimes it does just come out, and it can be quite embarrassing. But, you know, when I grew up in Bermuda and then moved to Boston, I had to kind of code switch anyway because my experience being in second grade, moving to this country and speaking so different than everybody else, having different slang, having different.
- [21:20]
Paul Wontorek
Right.
- [21:21]
Nicholas Christopher
You know, the bathroom or the washroom or the. Or, you know, the restroom or the little boy's room. Like, what am I supposed to call all of these things? That.
- [21:30]
Paul Wontorek
You were the outsider in school.
- [21:32]
Nicholas Christopher
Definitely the outsider.
- [21:33]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah.
- [21:34]
Nicholas Christopher
And so for me, understanding that and. And understanding that, Depending on how we wake up that morning, we can be whoever that is, and freeing myself of having to be one way or the other, I think it's probably one of the reasons I'm an actor.
- [21:55]
Paul Wontorek
So you were in the Boston area.
- [21:58]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah.
- [21:58]
Paul Wontorek
Which holds a lot of different types of people.
- [22:01]
Nicholas Christopher
Yes, it sure does.
- [22:02]
Paul Wontorek
And maybe you didn't have the best welcoming. Welcoming party. Right. Coming from Bermuda.
- [22:08]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah, no, it was really tough, actually. But, you know, then I have my brother and my sister that were kind of going through this with me, and my mom absolutely did the best she could with the three of us. You know, all of us are successful in our own right. You know, we haven't gotten into trouble. In trouble with the law too much. You know, like, we're all good kids and not too much.
- [22:32]
Paul Wontorek
Was that just some traffic violation?
- [22:34]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah, yeah, something like that. That'll be on the next interview.
- [22:39]
Paul Wontorek
And when you were in Bermuda, your dad was a performer. You talked about this a lot. I think he maybe sort of let this in you. Yeah, right.
- [22:47]
Nicholas Christopher
Definitely.
- [22:47]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah. Did you. What do you think you saw about what your dad was getting out of it? Did you see him, like, coming alive on stage or, like, as a kid? I wonder what it's like to see your parents up there as like pantomimes, right? Like holiday pantomimes. What did you see? What do you think inspired you about it? It was just a sense of play.
- [23:08]
Nicholas Christopher
I don't. I don't know, but I'm kind of threading this needle as you were just talking about it. My dad worked a lot of jobs in order to provide for us. Like, a lot he was out of the house, you know, who knows how long his days were? And if he was home, he was home for a little bit and then he would leave. So there was a little bit of, like this power down mode that he would go into. And then you would see him on stage or you would see him singing or performing and he would just. He does. He comes alive, you know. So I think, think maybe seeing that dynamic, I was like, oh, what's this? And then seeing people's reaction to it and then feeling my own reaction to it. I was exposed to it. You know, I was born in August. The pantomimes are in December. So I was like, what, four months old maybe the first time I saw a pantomime. Wow. So I can't really remember my first experience, but I do know that as long, as far back as I can remember of always wanted to do this.
- [24:06]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah.
- [24:07]
Nicholas Christopher
And I really do feel that it is a calling of mine. And so when you do have to sacrifice time with your kids or time with your wife, there is a greater purpose at play.
- [24:23]
Paul Wontorek
Was your dad funny on stage?
- [24:24]
Nicholas Christopher
Oh, hilarious.
- [24:25]
Aaron Tveit
Yeah.
- [24:25]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah. And he's a great dancer and very charismatic. And he's like six. Six. Looks like Michael Jordan. Like, he is larger than life.
- [24:35]
Paul Wontorek
Wow. So up in the Boston area, you started getting involved in theater. Right. That was sort of like the way to keep the kids. All the kids.
- [24:42]
Nicholas Christopher
All of us. All three of us.
- [24:44]
Paul Wontorek
I mean, I know your brother was in when you taught on Broadway with you. Yes, I know your brother. Your sister was a performer as well.
- [24:49]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah. But she was a smart one. She went to Boston College. She was thinking about a law degree.
- [24:56]
Paul Wontorek
Okay.
- [24:58]
Nicholas Christopher
Met the love of her life, my brother in law. And now she does HR and has two kids and one on the way.
- [25:05]
Paul Wontorek
Oh, wow.
- [25:06]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah.
- [25:06]
Paul Wontorek
Okay, cool.
- [25:07]
Nicholas Christopher
And she still lives in the Massachusetts area.
- [25:08]
Paul Wontorek
Oh, nice. Okay.
- [25:09]
Nicholas Christopher
Okay.
- [25:10]
Paul Wontorek
So then you ended up. I mean, you ended up in like, Boston Conservatory.
- [25:15]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah.
- [25:15]
Paul Wontorek
Right. And you get involved with some school programs, like, tell me about that time in your life. What were those early days of sort of discovering theater like for you? What was going on in your head at that point?
- [25:27]
Nicholas Christopher
I just remember being unbelievably nervous. Anytime I had to sing or say anything out loud, like, my whole body would shake.
- [25:33]
Paul Wontorek
Are you naturally shy or were you at that time?
- [25:36]
Nicholas Christopher
I think so, yeah.
- [25:37]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah.
- [25:38]
Nicholas Christopher
I mean, I can, like, turn it on and be a performer, but I think, yeah, there's parts of me that are definitely more shy or vulnerable, you know? And do you remember, like.
- [25:52]
Paul Wontorek
Do you remember an early moment where you just, like, nailed it as a kid and you, like, were like, look at me. I got the audience in the palm of your hands like you do now when you sing all those chess songs.
- [26:02]
Nicholas Christopher
I don't think that came until, like, later. Really? Yeah, I think, you know, my brother was always the star of the show, and my sister has a beautiful voice. And for me, it was like, I was always so nervous or I would forget my lines or, you know, maybe the first time that I was able to kind of, like, shine was we did the Wiz, and I really wanted the scarecrow part, and I didn't get it, but I got a dance solo in the middle of. What's the song? Everybody be Glad. Because it sounded so. Can you feel the brand new day?
- [26:37]
Paul Wontorek
Oh, yeah.
- [26:37]
Nicholas Christopher
And so I did, like, I have my jazz shoes on, and I was doing my little Michael Jackson impression. And I just remember feeling maybe that was the first moment of, like, me sort of stepping into the spotlight.
- [26:47]
Paul Wontorek
That's a Luther Vandross song.
- [26:48]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah. Isn't that crazy? He sang in the Pit and then wrote that song.
- [26:51]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah. Yeah.
- [26:52]
Nicholas Christopher
That's crazy.
- [26:53]
Paul Wontorek
That's valuable. Brand New Day. Okay. That's a good showcase moment. Yeah, I like that.
- [26:58]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah.
- [26:58]
Paul Wontorek
I'd like to see you do a TikTok to Brand New Day or something. I mean, you and your chess co stars. I mean, killing it on social media with the Shenanigans. Oh, yeah, the shenanigans. Backstage, I'm loving it.
- [27:09]
Nicholas Christopher
That is not my wheelhouse.
- [27:11]
Paul Wontorek
You can't do a Broadway show without doing Broadway social media.
- [27:14]
Nicholas Christopher
Exactly.
- [27:15]
Paul Wontorek
You guys are a lot of fun together.
- [27:17]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah. At least we get along. You know what I mean? To be torture. We didn't.
- [27:21]
Paul Wontorek
So you ended up at Juilliard? Briefly. How long were you up at Juilliard?
- [27:24]
Nicholas Christopher
I was at. Yeah. So I went to Boston Conservatory for a year, and I realized I wanted to sort of, you know, with musical theater. There's a lot of balls in the air, and, you know, you're juggling a lot. And I wanted to just have a little bit more of a concentrated college experience. So then I went to audition for and got into Juilliard, and it, like, changed my life.
- [27:49]
Paul Wontorek
What was that audition like?
- [27:51]
Nicholas Christopher
The audition was just, like, fun, because I had nothing to lose. It was like, if I don't get in here, I'm gonna go back to Boston Conservatory and, you know, live my life. But, yeah, it's like, you know, there's like, three different callbacks in the first day that you're there, and then there's a callback weekend where you get to really work with the teachers and. And have a full experience there, and that was just a blast. My parents came, and, like, we just had such a fun time, and so I was really free.
- [28:18]
Paul Wontorek
That's cool.
- [28:19]
Nicholas Christopher
And apparently, I don't know if my dad made this up, but as we were leaving the school, he was like, you got in? I was like, what? He was like, yeah. They just told me. I was like, yeah.
- [28:29]
Paul Wontorek
Wow. And you found out from your dad? Yeah, yeah.
- [28:33]
Nicholas Christopher
And then as soon as we got home, back to Massachusetts, I got the official phone call, and.
- [28:38]
Paul Wontorek
Nice. And so then you were in New York City?
- [28:41]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah.
- [28:41]
Paul Wontorek
So I was in New York City and really auditioning?
- [28:44]
Nicholas Christopher
Not really. No. I was in school. I was sad. I was happy. I was, like, learning about myself and learning about this as a craft. And then I got a Facebook message from a music director that I worked with at Stage Door Manor.
- [29:00]
Paul Wontorek
Well, you never know.
- [29:01]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah.
- [29:01]
Paul Wontorek
Okay. Mendoza got me next to everybody.
- [29:04]
Nicholas Christopher
Exactly. Justin Mendoza, who now works on Book of Mormon, was doing the in the Heights tour. Yep. And he said, look, our Benny is leaving. I think if you're even still doing musical theater, I think that you would be great for this part.
- [29:19]
Paul Wontorek
I mean, you're a perfect Benny. I could see why he was, like, the thing. I thought of you.
- [29:24]
Nicholas Christopher
And so, yeah, he thought of me. And he asked for my email address, which was Dr. Coolnack back then. And they gave that AOL Bernie tells. It was, like, MSN or hot or something like that.
- [29:38]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah, yeah, Hotmail.
- [29:40]
Nicholas Christopher
And they gave that to the Tels recovery. They contacted me, and I had, like, three auditions when I was, like, 19, booked the role, turned 20, was on tour within the Heights. Like, my second stop was in Puerto Rico with Lynn.
- [29:58]
Paul Wontorek
Oh, wow.
- [29:59]
Nicholas Christopher
So everything just happened so fast. I was, like, two weeks into my second year at Juilliard, and I had to tell my teachers, you Know, I gotta go. This is an opportunity that I can't pass up. If it was another show, if it was Lion King, if it was anything else, then I wouldn't. I would stay in school, but I have to go. And my favorite teacher in the world said, I think you're making a grave mistake. Wow. And we were sitting on a bench in Central park and I just wept and I said, I have to. I have to. Wow. I have to do this.
- [30:34]
Paul Wontorek
I was thinking about Lin Manuel Miranda and your career and the opportunities you got from his work. And I was also thinking about the opportunities before Lynn for actors of color on Broadway and to be able to play these, like, rich, dynamic roles. And it's really interesting when you think about sort of the talent pool for sure, that has come from his work.
- [30:59]
Nicholas Christopher
Absolutely. And the opportunities that have come.
- [31:02]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah, the.
- [31:03]
Nicholas Christopher
I know for me as an actor, the opportunities that came as soon as Hamilton happened opened up a whole different world. Like, I mean, you know, you. I hope that the producers and that the directors and everybody involved with Chess would be open minded, and I think they are. But it definitely helps that a precedent was set that you cast the person based on their essence, not necessarily what they look like.
- [31:33]
Paul Wontorek
Essence. Yeah. That's well said.
- [31:34]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because me playing a Russian chess master was not on my bingo card at all. But Michael Mayer saw something in me and it allowed that transition to happen easier, I believe, because of what we saw with Hamilton and not having to explain it like, yeah, that's George Washington. Chris Jackson is George Washington.
- [31:54]
Paul Wontorek
Right.
- [31:54]
Nicholas Christopher
You know what I mean?
- [31:55]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah.
- [31:55]
Nicholas Christopher
Lafayette is Daveed Diggs, and we just are able to play these parts and not be limited to other people's limitations on us.
- [32:06]
Paul Wontorek
I think it's changed the industry in ways that people haven't even really completely processed. Right. And I think years from now, you're going to be able to look at the sort of before and after of that.
- [32:14]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah.
- [32:14]
Paul Wontorek
But you're right, Anatoly. I don't know any actors of color who have played Anatoly prior. I'm sure there have been some, but. And nowadays you're right. Essence. He said essence. So what about you is the essence of Anatoly? I mean, I've seen you do all kinds of things on stage. I've seen you be ridiculous as Pirelli and Sweeney Todd. That was a lot of fun. And John and Miss Saigon and very serious. And Hamilton, all these things. But what about this guy is. What do you think is clicking between you and Anatoly?
- [32:52]
Nicholas Christopher
I think There's. I've been thinking a lot about my childhood throughout this, and I've been thinking a lot about the transition from Bermuda to Massachusetts during this, and I'm not exactly sure what that's about, but I do remember feeling a little bit unseen and unheard. And I think Anatoly is definitely unheard, but he doesn't even know how to hear his inner voice because he's been told when to eat, when to sleep, when to play chess, who to marry, how many kids to have, when to wake up, when to go to sleep. So there seems to be a sort of parallel. And, you know, I get to sing one of the best songs ever written, which is anthem, and that my land's borders, you know, are around my heart. I carry Bermuda with me everywhere I go, and I also carry Massachusetts with me everywhere I go. I've always felt like a little bit of a nomad, somebody that didn't really have a home, really have roots until I met my wife and I had my kids. And so I think that's really what I'm connecting with a lot. Over the years, I had to find my own voice. Over the years, I had to find my own culture. Over the years, I had to find my own home. And I think that's the trajectory that Anatoly is on. And at the end of the show, we realize that out of love, he sacrifices all of that, but knows that he is forever changed.
- [34:22]
Paul Wontorek
Can you tell me how you met Jennifer? Tell me a little love the Love Story. I mean, I know there's some shared credits here. Sure. Showmance.
- [34:30]
Nicholas Christopher
Showmance, Completely. No, but yes, but no.
- [34:34]
Paul Wontorek
Okay.
- [34:34]
Nicholas Christopher
It goes back to Luminois Miranda again. So she was in. In the Heights on Broadway.
- [34:39]
Paul Wontorek
He got you a wife, too?
- [34:40]
Nicholas Christopher
He got me a wife, too. And so she was in the. Not the original, but she took over in the Heights on Broadway. I was on. In the Heights on tour.
- [34:50]
Paul Wontorek
Okay.
- [34:51]
Nicholas Christopher
The tour had a layoff. I went to go see the Broadway show. We all mingled in the basement of the Richard Rodgers. And I said hello to her, and I was like, yo, who is that?
- [35:03]
Paul Wontorek
Immediate.
- [35:03]
Nicholas Christopher
Immediately became Facebook friends.
- [35:06]
Paul Wontorek
You know, Facebook.
- [35:08]
Nicholas Christopher
Message her on Facebook. She ignored me for eight years.
- [35:12]
Paul Wontorek
What?
- [35:12]
Nicholas Christopher
Eight years. Eight years.
- [35:14]
Paul Wontorek
What's wrong with this woman?
- [35:15]
Nicholas Christopher
I don't know. But she finally came to her senses, or I just wore her down. And she was like, fine, I'll go out with you. And we went out when we were on the Hamilton tour together.
- [35:26]
Paul Wontorek
Okay.
- [35:27]
Nicholas Christopher
And oddly enough, my. My grandmother passed away on that tour. Oh, Man. And a year earlier, almost to the day, her grandmother passed away. And so we really bonded on that, and. And that sort of started a real friendship.
- [35:40]
Paul Wontorek
Okay.
- [35:40]
Nicholas Christopher
And then out of that friendship became a love. So I was coming at it from the wrong way. Wow. Originally.
- [35:45]
Paul Wontorek
Okay.
- [35:45]
Nicholas Christopher
And I had to get to know her as a person.
- [35:47]
Paul Wontorek
So you were actually asking her out and she was like, not interested originally.
- [35:50]
Nicholas Christopher
Absolutely not.
- [35:51]
Paul Wontorek
Yeah.
- [35:51]
Aaron Tveit
Yeah.
- [35:52]
Paul Wontorek
Absolutely not.
- [35:53]
Nicholas Christopher
She's like, do you know who I am? And then, yeah, she got sick one time and, like, with a cold. And I went to the grocery store and got her, you know, distilled water for her humidifier and some soup and apples. And I just showed up at her door and gave her the stuff. And. And that's when I realized I was like, oh, I actually. I'm in love with this woman. Oh, yeah.
- [36:19]
Paul Wontorek
Wow.
- [36:19]
Aaron Tveit
How lovely.
- [36:20]
Paul Wontorek
And how long have you been married now?
- [36:21]
Nicholas Christopher
We've been married for almost five years.
- [36:23]
Paul Wontorek
Okay.
- [36:24]
Nicholas Christopher
But together since 2018.
- [36:27]
Paul Wontorek
Two little ones.
- [36:28]
Aaron Tveit
Yeah.
- [36:28]
Paul Wontorek
And how is she and the kids feeling about. I mean, Daddy's not there a lot. Right. Obviously. I mean, you have to really have to be really, really. You have to be really careful about your time.
- [36:37]
Nicholas Christopher
Absolutely.
- [36:38]
Paul Wontorek
Right. You have to sort of like, say, like. No.
- [36:40]
Nicholas Christopher
You have to say.
- [36:41]
Paul Wontorek
You be able to say no. Right.
- [36:42]
Nicholas Christopher
Yeah.
- [36:42]
Paul Wontorek
And make life. Life, work, commitment, life, Life, work, balance.
- [36:46]
Nicholas Christopher
Absolutely. And life has to take the precedent over everything else. But my little girls know that Daddy is, like, providing for the family right now, but also very much following his dream. And there is such thing as balance within that. And that's really important for me, for them to get to know the theater space and know that Daddy is making his dreams come true. So you can make your dreams come
- [37:15]
Aaron Tveit
true as
- [37:19]
Tamsen Fadal
that's going to do it. For this week's episode, you got to see Chess. For tickets, head over to broadway.com right now. And until next time, I'm Tamsen Fadal. This is the Broadway show Uncut.