By Wayman Wong
HE’S HAD THE TIME OF HIS ‘LIFE’
In fact, it opened Oct. 20 and closed Dec. 11 at the Music Box. Created by the Oscar-winning tunesmith of “You Light Up My Life,” it was about J.T. and Jenny (Jessica Boevers), and how a high-flying angel (David Turner) was trying to turn their love story into an opera (“There’s a little rumor, someone’s got a tumor”). But if “Life” turns on a dime, Hanke and his troupe sang their hearts out as if they were in a million-dollar hit. The golden-voiced, 6-foot actor says, “Joe chose an amazing cast, and we gave his work color and depth and truth. I couldn’t have done it without Jessica. She’s a star, and she’s got dynamite energy.” Boevers adds, “Christopher’s a brilliant actor and a beautiful soul. I’ve never had such great chemistry with another leading man.”
So what was it like working with Brooks, the show’s writer and director? Hanke, 29, says, “Joe’s fantastic, and I’m not just bull******* because he hired me. He was so gracious in spending money to keep the show alive. He wasn’t arrogant or stubborn about his work. Jessica and I got to throw out ideas. He’s a quirky, odd, funny guy, just like the musical. I took a lot of Joe’s energy and put that into J.T.” As for the show’s bad buzz, the Baylor grad says, “It was my job to stay positive. Who wants a lead who doesn’t believe in his story? And I did. The previews were hard. I’d learn a new song and stress out about it, and then it’d get cut before that night. And I did read the reviews. I knew my work was good, but I wasn’t surprised. I wish we had done a cast album, but Joe’s a loyal guy; I wouldn’t be surprised if we record one someday.”
Born in Hot Springs, AR, Hanke was teased as a kid when “South Park” premiered. Why? Because he shared the same-sounding name as the show’s talking piece of poo, Mr. Hanky. Later, he got his own taste of Fame, starring as Nick Piazza Off-Broadway and on tour, and was nominated for Best Actor by the National Broadway Touring Awards. Last April, he received raves in The Golden Age.
A MUSICAL ‘MOUNTAIN’ WITH ANTICIPATION
By the way, Brokeback’s stars — Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger — can sing. If you rent “10 Things I Hate About You,” Ledger belts “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” — and this was long before Jersey Boys. Plus, Gyllenhaal says he and Ledger first became friends “out of jealousy” when they lost the lead role of “Moulin Rouge” to Ewan McGregor. . . . So what would “Brokeback! The Musical!” sound like? Recently, Nathan Lane did a delightful parody of the film on “David Letterman,” borrowing tunes from “Oklahoma!” (“There’s a couple of guys in the meadow, baring their thighs in the meadow”). With apologies to Rodgers & Hammerstein, here are three more songs they could’ve rustled up for our rodeo Romeos: “The Cowboy and the Cowman Should Be Friends,” “Many a New Gay Will Please My Eye” and “I’m Just a Guy Who Cain’t Say Whoa!” All kidding aside, go see “Brokeback’’; it’s a breathtaking, heartbreaking love story for everyone.
OUR VOCAL HEROES OF 2005
4 TERRIFIC TOUR DE FORCES
10 AMAZING MUSICAL MOMENTS
As for our Leading Men AIDS concert at Joe’s Pub, John Hoglund of TheatreScene.net named it one of “The Top 10 Cabaret Acts of 2005.”
Got comments or questions? E-mail me at waymanwong@hotmail.com.
Until next month, let’s hear it for the “boys”!
Wayman Wong edits entertainment for The New York Daily News. He has been a movie and theater critic for The San Francisco Examiner, a writer for The Sondheim Review and a Drama-Logue Award-winning playwright.
09 Jan 2006
Critics might’ve called Joe Brooks’ In My Life a giant lemon of a musical, but if you think that left its gifted young star, Christopher J. Hanke, with a sour outlook, you’re 100% wrong. He’s still juiced: “J.T. was a great character to play. And as an actor, it was pretty friggin’ exciting to make my Broadway debut in a starring role [as a songwriter] with Tourette’s syndrome. It was meaty and challenging, and Joe’s music was beautiful. Even if we had closed on opening night, I would’ve been proud.”
Last month, we asked: If “Brokeback Mountain,” the “gay cowboy movie,” became a Broadway musical, which two “Leading Men” ought to star in it? Well, we got a “Mountain” of E-mails and here’s a sampling. Perfectly Frank: “Matt Cavenaugh and Matthew Morrison, of course.” Joe Frazetta: “Christopher Sieber and Cheyenne Jackson.” Karen T.: “Will Chase and Christian Hoff.” Marty Silverberg: “Michael Arden with Steven Pasquale or Max von Essen.” Dave Adams: “Matt Cavenaugh and Cheyenne Jackson or Jarrod Emick and Adam Pascal.” Parker Scott: “Hugh Jackman and Sebastian LaCause or John Barrowman and Sean McDermott.” And Tom DiMaggio: “Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, natch!”
Among the many highlights from the great guys of Broadway and cabaret:
Cheyenne Jackson (All Shook Up)
Doug Kreeger (Yank!)
John Lloyd Young (Jersey Boys)
Perry Ojeda (Pride)
Barrett Foa, “Moving Too Fast” (The Duplex)
Euan Morton, “As Long As He Needs Me” (Town Hall)
John Hill, “Part of Your World” (Carolines)
John Tartaglia, “What I Did for Love” (Joe’s Pub)
Matthew Morrison, “Love to Me” (The Light in the Piazza)
Max von Essen, “Proud Lady” (The Baker’s Wife)
Norbert Leo Butz, “Great Big Stuff” (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
Spencer Day, “The American Dream” (The Cutting Room)
Steven Pasquale, Will Chase, “In Lily’s Eyes” (The Secret Garden)
Tom Andersen, “There’s a Fine, Fine Line” (The Encore)
THE LEADING MEN: He’s Got “Game”
In the end, Hanke says, “My journey’s been unique. I passed out discount flyers for The Full Monty at the Broadway on Broadway concert in 2001. My first big job was the national tour of The Full Monty. Last fall, I was back at Broadway on Broadway, but now I was starring in a Broadway show. As theatre dorky as that sounds, it was magical to me. We made a great go of In My Life, and I came away a better actor. I’ve even gotten several pilot auditions because of it.” And if he had to do it all over? “I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a beautiful experience.”
