By Tom Nondorf
Question: Are you having fun as Shrek?
Q: How did you approach the role of Shrek since it is by now iconic?
Q: What is it like to play a character beloved by children?
Q: Do you ever look in he mirror and say, "I never imagined this for myself back in college."
Q: How do you like working with the lovely Sutton Foster?
Q: In an old "Leading Man" column, when you were doing Sweet Smell of Success, Wayman Wong asked you about doing a comedy for a change. Now you've had a string of comedic roles.
Q: I saw the film "Ghost Town" recently and I knew you were in it, but I watched the whole thing without recognizing you as the hit man.
Q: Was it fun to work on?
Q: I also found YouTube footage of you singing a Chinese menu…
Q: You are a Michigander. Do you still have the spirit of Michigan in your heart?
Q: I talked to your old White Christmas buddy Jeff Denman a couple months back. You guys are known as sort of the "Bad Boys of Broadway."
Q: So you have been working steadily for the past few years. Do you feel comfortable at this stage of your career?
[Tickets for Shrek the Musical at the Broadway Theatre are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com. Visit www.shrekthemusical.com for more information.]
HITHER AND YON
Tom Nondorf can be reached at tnondorf@playbill.com.
02 Feb 2009
JAMES AND THE GIANT OGRE
Brian d'Arcy James
Brian d'Arcy James is one of the nicest guys on Broadway, so you'd never describe him as an ogre. But through his acting chops and a whole ton of makeup and costume magic, he is transformed nightly into the world's most famous ogre, Shrek.
Brian d'Arcy James: I've been having a ton of fun since this thing began. If you're familiar with the movie, you can imagine what it would take to create a similar spirit. There's so much humor in this that it is not uncommon for us to be cracking up at any given moment.
James: I didn't spend too much time studying the films. I only looked at "Shrek the Third" for about ten minutes before the audition to remind myself of the rhythms, get a ballpark of what they might expect. After getting the part, I haven't gone back to the movies. The other thing is, by virtue of re-imagining the story in a musical context, you go to great length to find your own way and your own character, because by definition, it is going to be different. For me it was important to stay true to what David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori had written as opposed to the road map the movie provided.
James: I can tell you that I've never had the experience of wearing the mantel of an iconic figure, and that is something that is very powerful. I feel a great sense of responsibility in terms of honoring what people expect. The silhouette alone of the character is in our culture. It is part of our DNA. That's everybody, kids and adults. But children are drawn to the character in a great way. On the face of it, you'd think he'd be a little off-putting, in terms of a big, smelly, loud ogre, but it is magnetic for children. The best representation of that came in Seattle when we had a snafu with the set and we had to wait to fix it, so I went out in my costume and took some questions along with the director, Jason Moore, and Jason allowed all the kids to come up, and they just flocked to the edge of the stage to get a closer look at this ogre. The make-up is so tremendous and the transformation so complete that you can really sense that magic and belief. I don't get a true sense of it after the show, because the few faithful that do wait 45 minutes see me after the makeup is removed. I always wonder what a kid thinks when I walk out and a parent says, "That's Shrek." And I look nothing like Shrek.
James: I will say, definitely when she first saw me, it was a little breathtaking. I have to admit, I felt that when I first saw myself in the costume and the make-up, so I can't imagine what was going on in her head. She didn't know what to expect, but once we crossed that bridge it was no problem.
Q: I always wondered what one does for 90 minutes while makeup is being applied. Is it just like getting a lengthy haircut every day? 
Brian d'Arcy James as Shrek photo by Joan Marcus
James: I listen to music. We have a TV, so on Sundays I watch football, which is a good passage of time. There are moments when I have to participate in the process, and can't completely "check out" till after a certain point. Sometimes then I do doze off a bit. It's really not as bad as you might think it is. It's quite easy, to be honest. All I have to do is sit there. It is a good time to have some time to sit still and gather my forces before the show.
James: It's definitely the furthest thing from anything I imagined I'd be doing in the theatre, but because the transformation is so incredible and because people are responding so positively, it makes it completely worthwhile.
James: I love it! I've worked with her a couple times in brief readings here and there, and socially a little bit, but this is the first time I ever got to really work with her, and she is a phenomenal talent, a wonderful person, a leader of the company. I can't say enough good things about her.
James: I have. I did Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Apple Tree was kind of a different flavor of comedy, and this as well. The Lieutenant of Inishmore definitely was a comedy, but a little more on the dark side [laughs]. This by far is the most unabashedly comedic thing. Although it's kind of an interesting line to walk for Shrek because he has to have his own comedy pulse, but he is also the straight man. He doesn't get to be the cut-up like Donkey and Farquaad.
James: I'll take that as a compliment [laughs]. I joke that I was probably more in the trailer than I was in the actual film.
James:It was fantastic. It was my first feature film. It was shot across the street from where I live, but the best thing about it was Ricky Gervais and my complete adoration for that guy. My first scene was with him and Tea Leoni.
James: [Laughs.] That's the genius of Dan Lipton and Dave Rossmer. That, of course, is from their revue Don't Quit Your Night Job. I have had so many responses from that.
James: [Laughs.] Do you work for the Chamber of Commerce? The truth is, I actually do! There's a lot of Michigan folks who are actors. I absolutely love Michigan. We have a cottage we go to in northern Michigan every summer, and the older I get, the more I realize if I can't get there, it is really a depletion for me. I dream about it when I'm stressed out. It is my Shangri-la. I had a happy childhood growing up in Saginaw, Michigan. I wrote a song about Michigan about four or five years ago called "Michigan Christmas." A lot of people have been responding to it very positively. My grandfather was the governor of Michigan in the forties. I have a lot of concern and compassion for the state itself. It's really on its knees with this economic downturn. It's got a lot of re-imagining to do for itself.
James: [Laughs.] Yeah, the bad boys of all those Irving Berlin shows! I'll take this opportunity to praise him. I'm convinced he's found his new niche as a director with these videos he's been doing. I was so happy about White Christmas finally coming to New York and Jeffry doing it. He can do it all. He's quite extraordinary.
James: Really, the only thing you have going on is the thing you're doing. You really only have the comfort of the show that you're in. In that sense, I feel happy. "Comfortable" is not the right word, because the show always ends. Lately it's been great, but there's a lot of stuff from before that makes me realize, "Hey, don't put it on cruise control just yet."
The esteemed St. Bart's Players are paying tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein with their revue, Some Enchanted Evening Feb. 27-March 8 at the St. Bart's Playhouse on the corner of Park Avenue and 50th Street. Scott Kerstetter, Brett Lowell, Brien Milesi and Robbie York make up the male side of the cast. Call (212) 378-0248 to order tickets. . . . Johnny Mercer fans can get their fix at the Oak Room throughout February as singer/pianist Tony DeSare plays a show celebrating Mercer Feb. 3-21. The Oak Room is in the historic Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street. Call (212) 419-9331 for info. . . . Symphony Space is always a fun place to see a show. On Feb. 23 John Treacy Egan (Little Mermaid) and Gregg Edelman (Into the Woods, Passion) will be onstage there as Joanne Sydney Lessner and Joshua Rosenblum's new musical, Einstein's Dreams, will be performed in a benefit concert for the Harpswell Foundation. Tix can be reserved by calling (212) 864-5400 or going to symphonyspace.org. . . . Speaking of fun places to see a show, I must take time here to lament the loss of the Zipper Factory, as chronicled on this site and elsewhere. One of my favorite venues, very Broadway-friendly, quirky programming, and a great interior with cheap brews. I wish the best to the staff and the performers who were affected by the sudden shutdown…Vinyl find of the month: Tony Perkins' "On a Rainy Afternoon."
THE LEADING MEN: Chase, Gets and James
Q: You have a seven-year old daughter. How did she take to seeing you as an ogre?
