CONSTANT SCENE
From "American Idol" finalist to Tony nominee in Broadway's Rock of Ages, it has been a whirlwind few years for Brooklyn-born, New Jersey-raised Constantine Maroulis. He lives the proverbial rock-star life onstage most every night at the Brooks Atkinson where his powerful but perfectly pitched vocals deserve their own dressing room. Offstage, the lifelong Yankees fan told me how he recently marveled at sitting near Paul McCartney and Jack Nicholson at a ball game. "It was one of those crazy nights," he says. One gets the feeling the crazy times are just beginning for Constantine.

Q: You're still rockin' in Rock of Ages. How are you keeping it a blast for yourself?
Constantine Maroulis: You know, I just do my job every night. That's what I get paid to do. Show up and kick ass—that's what I try to do. It helps that we have a thousand screaming, eager fans packing the theatre every night, anticipating a good show. The buzz has been awesome. It's been a great thing to be a part of. It was built so organically from a little club in L.A. to sold-out runs on Broadway to the Tony Awards and lots of turnover in my leading lady category! But we've had consistent fans and people who get to see a show they normally wouldn't see on Broadway. We're bringing a new demographic to the theatre mixed with a more traditional Broadway crowd, and it makes for a great dynamic every night—that energy, you feed off that energy.

Q: Coming off of "Idol" it was clear you had an affinity for this music, going way back. You also have theatrical musical experience as well, but you are definitely someone who always dug the rock, yes?
Maroulis: Absolutely. Definitely grew up with this music. Being born in Brooklyn and growing up in New Jersey, Bon Jovi was huge for me, all of that East Coast eighties rock and roll. I was a blue-collar kid; that was everything to me. Those guys could really sing, and it was so theatrical. So I definitely gravitated toward that music early on, and the videos and the spectacle that was a part of selling those songs as well.

Q: Have the rockers in the cast meshed well with the more theatre-loving folks? Or is everyone a little of both?
Maroulis: I think the creatives did an incredible job of casting this show from day one. They put the right players together. They put people together that had a lot of experience, but a lot of them hadn't had the opportunity to be out in front in a creative role and to really show what they could do as far as character work, singing, feature moments, everything. So I have to give all the credit to the creative team for casting the right people who knew how to take these songs and turn them into scenes in the show in a comedic setting and really just go for it. And what was awesome was creating the process together in the rehearsal room with Kristin Hanggi [director] and Chris D'Arienzo [book], really exploring the characters and the jokes and the ad libs, a lot of which ended up being part of the show permanently. Taking some of what the actors started in the L.A. workshop phase and bringing it to another level — I think all of that stuff was just so huge. I don't think anyone ever needed my help with the songs or anything like that. Once in a while [cast mates] will come up to me and say, "Dude, how do you do it every night? Where do you get it from? How can I sound a little bit more rock?" And I might recommend a couple of records to listen to that might help. It's all sort of in the phrasing sometimes. It's more of a feel thing than anything; it's not something you can really teach.

Q: A common thread of those is the awesome production of the music.
Maroulis: Great production—great songwriting too, though. If you took those songs down to basic guitar and vocals, it would be just awesome melody, great vocals, great lyrics; they tell a story, they connect. That's what really stands the test of time.

Q: You spent time up at the Williamstown Theatre Festival earlier in your life. What does Williamstown mean to you?
Maroulis: It was huge for me. Coming out of a BFA setting and being able to apply all the tools I picked up there in a professional environment over a three- or four- month period was just so huge for me in my whole process. I had plans to move back to New York and work with the best in the country, the best in the world; all the up-and-coming writers, directors; all the established writers, directors. I had Chris Pine as an acting apprentice there with me, and we were competing for lead roles in all the little projects. And now he's a big movie star. Everyone would push each other to the next level. We were working around the clock; we were apprentices, so we were the dogs of the Festival, but if we weren't running crew and being in the ensemble on a main stage show, we were doing a director workshop production in the middle of the night —rehearsing that and still making our crew time in the morning — in time to make rehearsal for another thing that afternoon. It was just round-the-clock madness, and it was awesome. The problem is that I wish there was a little more air conditioning up there, but it helped us suffer for our art [laughs]. I met so many amazing people up there. I got to meet Paul Newman that summer, Christopher Reeve, somewhere in there, Michael Greif, actually, and he cast me in Rent shortly after that. It ending up being pretty cool.

Q: Tell me a little about "A Night at the Rock Show at Joe's Pub."
Maroulis: "A Night at the Rock Show" is a concept I'm working on. I can't reveal too much about it as far as our long-term plans with it, but I really just want to pay tribute to and celebrate the great songs of rock of the last 40 years in a bit more intimate, theatrical-meets-rock sort of setting. I think people got to know me on "American Idol" because I have a knack for interpreting good rock songs, and maybe some were hits, some were misses. I think I've assembled a great group of people to work with, and I hope to be able to take it to another level, where it would involve far more production, far more spectacle... It's just something I wanted to put together for the fans as well as for me. I'm not a 20-year-old recording artist; I'm a bit older than that now, and I appeal to a different demographic, from the teens to the moms and dads. I want to create something that everyone can enjoy. And based on the success of Rock of Ages and how everyone is reacting to that, I think this is the right time for "A Night at the Rock Show." That's what it is—it really is just a night at the rock show. Back in the seventies, when all the giants still walked the earth, the Led Zeppelins and the Who and everyone—it was an event, you'd go and see a concert. It was like a real event, and I want to bring back that feeling.

Q: What was it like working with Brian May of Queen and those guys? That had to be incredible for you.
Maroulis: Oh, clearly. Just legends. I plan on tipping my hat to them in my show at Joe's and the subsequent other venues. It was an incredible experience, and when I did the song on "American Idol," it was still so early on in the season and all, that they hadn't had one song really jump out of the show like that until then, and I was honored to jump into those shoes to do that, but we were just at the beginning of the digital age for downloading and stuff, so they saw the spike in their catalog, and it was the first time that people were saying, "Wow, maybe this 'Idol' thing could really help sell the records of these artists as well," and thereafter you started seeing more artists comply with letting them use their songs on the show, and then you saw more and more artists lining up to perform on the show. Brian May's been amazing. I've gotten to see Queen with Paul Rogers [singing] as well, and it's pretty awesome; it's a whole different sort of take, and I think they did a track with Adam Lambert recently, too, so it's awesome that they've been so supportive and involved with the "Idol" family and the talents in that as well and still to this day.

	Constantine Maroulis
	photo by Joan Marcus

Q: Lastly, and I know that this is a changeable thing, but what's your favorite song to perform currently in the show?
Maroulis: I think I tell someone a different song every time they ask me that. There's some really beautifully strong moments in the show for my character. I think the end of Act One is really strong with the Whitesnake number because it's one of these rock classics that manages to be spiritual and very uplifting as well. "Here I go again on my own…" You know the lyrics. And it really just makes so much sense in the world of our show. And our two characters, Drew and Sherrie, are at a sort of crossroads. I really think it starts off so intimately and beautifully, and the whole ensemble comes out and rocks it out, and I get to scream the high F or whatever it is, and then we end Act One very strong with a bit of humor as well. That always ends up being my favorite, but every number I get to sing in the show is a blessing. From the opening to the end with Journey. "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister — I grew up worshiping that band as well. The whole process has been a blessing, and I'm grateful to our great producers and creative team for giving me the opportunity. I think it's all worked out pretty good for all of us.

[Rock of Ages is at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 West 47th Street. For ticket information, go to www.rockofagesmusical.com.]  Continued...