WHY DREW IS DRAWN TO B’WAY
Drew Lachey is best known as one-quarter of the sizzling vocal quartet of 98 Degrees, but now he’s burning up the stage in his Broadway debut. Thanks to playing the part of Mark, Rent has given this graduate from Cincinnati’s The School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) a whole new lease on a theatrical career. Jeremy Kushnier, who co stars as Roger, says, "Drew was really up for the challenge, and he’s worked his ass off. He’s been doing great!"

Before he became a platinum pop star, Lachey drove an ambulance in New York. But in 1995, his mother and his brother, Nick, visited him and they saw Miss Saigon. Drew recalls, "Wow, that’s when I realized I missed performing. It lit that spark in me, and two weeks later, Nick called me and said he was starting this group [with Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre]." That became 98 Degrees, which scored such heat-seeking hits as "Because of You," "I Do (Cherish You)," "Invisible Man" and "True to Your Heart" (with Stevie Wonder). In 2002 the Grammy-nominated group decided to take a break, but Drew confirms, "We’ve been talking more about a reunion."

Drew, 28, is a genuine and good-hearted guy who’s married to his childhood sweetheart, Lea Dellecave, and they have a German shepherd named Luka. He also has appeared on MTV’s "Newlyweds," starring Nick and his wife, Jessica Simpson. According to their grandmother, the Lachey lads are distantly related to Napoleon. Drew quips, "That would explain my Napoleon complex. I’m 5-foot-6; 5-foot-7 with my hair."

Question: Congrats, Drew! How’d you land the role of Mark?
Drew Lachey: Back when Hairspray was about to go to Broadway, [casting director] Bernie Telsey called my manager and said they were having problems finding a Link Larkin. So I flew to New York, auditioned and worked with Marc Shaiman. I guess Bernie remembered my audition. He asked me about Rent, and the role of Mark was a natural fit. I really like his vulnerability. He tries to have this happy-go-lucky artistic vibe, but he’s really this lost soul looking for acceptance. Mark’s also been the caregiver for Roger [who has AIDS] and his nurse and his friend. I have a lot of respect for people who put their lives on hold to care for people they love.

Q: How’s it working with Jeremy and the rest of the cast?
Lachey: Jeremy is a gentleman and a scholar. He’s taught me a lot about the business and made me feel so comfortable. We’ve goofed around and gone out for beers, and we have good chemistry. Everyone in the cast has been so great to me: Krystal [Washington], Kelly [Karbacz], Merle [Dandridge], Destan [Owens].

Q: You’re in Rent until March 11, 2005, but Nick and Jessica came to your first performance on Sept. 10. How’d they react?
Lachey: I was a little nervous, but after the show, Nick was crying. And so was Jessica. They were so proud of me. They’d never seen Rent, and they were surprised by how much passion and soul are in the show.

Q: Did you ever dream of being on Broadway?
Lachey: Oh, yeah. I went to SCPA, starting in fifth grade. It was this vocational school for the arts where you had drama, music, visual arts, creative writing, dance, the whole gamut. It was like LaGuardia [the school immortalized in "Fame"], except we didn’t dance on the tables. But I was always the class clown. Nick went there, and so did Carmen Electra. We did everything from Oliver! to Annie.

Q: What do you think of Jonathan Larson’s score to Rent?
Lachey: It’s the perfect combination of pop-rock and musical theatre. The melodies are great, and there’s so much power in the storytelling that he incorporated into every song. I wish I could’ve met Larson.

Q: Have you seen any other Broadway shows lately?
Lachey: Little Shop of Horrors closed before I could see Joey Fatone in it, but I caught Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz. He was amazing. And I haven’t seen Avenue Q yet, but I’d love to do that show. I saw John Tartaglia at the "Broadway on Broadway" concert, and he made it sound so fun.

Q: What do you enjoy listening to these days?
Lachey: I listen to everything: Nina Simone. Elton John, Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Rush and Maroon 5.

Q: Do you ever wonder how different your life would be if you were still driving an ambulance?
Lachey: I do think about it. We handled heart attacks and strokes, as opposed to gunshot wounds. Actually, I saw a couple of gorier things when I was in 98 Degrees. We’d be driving down the road and there’d be a terrible accident. Once, a guy in a BMW hit a guardrail, smashed into a tree and was thrown from the car at 70 mph. Compound fracture, both his legs, ruptured his pelvis. We pulled the tree off him, and then the car caught on fire. We all had nightmares for weeks because it was so vivid.

Q: Finally, how’d you meet your lovely wife, Lea?
Lachey: It’s been a fairytale. I met Lea in fifth grade, and we’ve been together since the 11th grade. We went to the same classes, and our musical theatre group traveled to Europe, and we did medleys from Fame and Once on This Island. Lea’s a beautiful girl who’s very loving. When 98 Degrees was getting started, she was our biggest fan. And she became our choreographer, too. She’s never let me down, and she puts up with me, and I’m a sarcastic bastard. The first song I wrote, "The Way You Do" ("The way you laugh at what I say/ The way you look at each new day"), was all about her. When Lea heard it, she cried. She’s amazing!

WE’RE JUST WILD ABOUT GARY
Gary Beach won a 2001 Tony Award as director Roger De Bris in Mel Brooks’ The Producers by setting off a comic furor as the Fuehrer in "Springtime for Hitler." And don’t be surprised if he’s back in the Tony running when he kicks up his high heels as Albin/Zaza, the dynamic drag queen in La Cage aux Folles, which starts previews Nov. 11 and opens Dec. 9 at the Marquis.

Beach, who also lit up the stage as Lumiere the candelabra in Beauty and the Beast, says, "When I first got the call about La Cage months ago, my partner and I discussed it: Is it really necessary to see La Cage now? And a week later, the whole gay marriage thing in San Francisco and New Paltz cut loose. Omigod! In a way, this show is more relevant now. It’s such a sweet story. Also, Jerry Mitchell’s dances are just dazzling, and William Ivey Long’s costumes are spectacular. It’s gonna knock your socks off, or should I say, knock your hose off?"

Beach, 57, loved the original 1983 production, starring George Hearn and Gene Barry, but this revival is directed by Jerry Zaks and set in the present: "We’re playing it with the sensibility of 2004." In the original, two of the Cagelles [the chorus boys dressed as girls] were actually gals. "Our Cagelles are all guys dressing up to look like real women. It’s the twenty-first century. How many drag shows have you seen with women?"

Also, Albin will be played by an openly gay actor: Beach. How will he approach Jerry Herman’s stirring anthem of "I Am What I Am"? "With pure joy because I am what I am," says the 5-foot-11 actor from Alexandria, VA. "As someone who’s out from my generation, it’s interesting to see young [gay] kids come along now. Coming out is not a question for them, and that’s so wonderful and encouraging."

And who is Albin? "A very sweet man who’s totally in love with Georges [played by Daniel Davis] and their son, Jean-Michel [Gavin Creel]. He’s like a mother, but he truly comes to life onstage as Zaza. And Danny is my idea of what Georges should be: continental, good-looking, suave and a good kisser."

Beach, who never did drag before playing Roger De Bris, will re-create his riotous role for the film of The Producers, with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. "I’m so excited," he says. Meantime, he lives with Jeff Barnett, his partner of 15 years ("We met in Les Miz in San Francisco, and it was love at first sight"), and their "gorgeous" poodle, Charli. Between them, La Cage and The Producers movie, it’s clear that for Beach, "the best of times is now, is now, is now!"

For more information, visit www.garybeach.com. Continued...