If you think hard enough about it, Rowlf the dog playing the piano on 'The Muppet Show' - what kind of insanity was happening underneath the cameras to make that happen? His mouth is moving, and he's got two hands playing the piano. That's two people under there!
I would advise young aspiring theater artists to do as many shows as possible. It doesn't matter if it's in the basement of a church, in school, or in community theater. Do them wherever you can; big parts or small, it doesn't matter.
The nice thing about 'Honeymoon in Vegas' is we're not talking about some crazy smash hit where everyone is coming and comparing my performance to Nicholas Cage.
My wife makes fun of me by calling me a grandpa because I have very little patience for inconsiderate children. So if we're walking in the mall, and some kid goes by really fast on a skateboard, I become the grumpiest eighty-five-year-old man in the world and start screaming at them.
We are brunch hounds. We also like movie dates. There's a lot of diners, a lot of movies. We're 'simple pleasures' people. It doesn't have to be crazy. It could be a 'Law and Order' marathon on the couch, or it could be dinner or a show. We like to mix it up.
I've always been physical. I loved sports growing up. I was never specifically a dancer or anything like that.
One of the reasons I got into musical theater was Anthony Warlow. I was obsessed with the 'Jekyll and Hyde' concept album because of him.
No one knows this, but my dad can sing his face off.
The very first audition, you just go in and sing. The second one, they give you this sort of cheapy, Walmart-looking puppet - before they give you the $6,500 'Avenue Q' puppet.
I would say that Pixar is doing for animation what Chaplin did for film, infusing it with heart and characters that you care about and stories that you lose yourself in. They are similar revolutionaries and changing a medium.
Portraying Mozart is a scary task. Whenever I'm asked to portray actual historic figures, it comes with extra accountability. Not just to your director and playwright, but to the man himself and the beloved persona that the public forms.
I double majored in English education and theater with a musical theater minor. Teaching is the only thing that makes me as happy as performing.
I never dreamed that the little ditties I wrote about annoying customers or bagel recipes would turn into a full-length musical comedy. But a very wise person told me to 'write what you know'. So I did.
I didn't start to work until I realized what it was I had to offer. I stopped imitating performers I admired and started just being myself.
I certainly enjoy doing pantomime-y things, but I didn't have any specific training in it.
I'm not Charlie Chaplin and will never, ever claim to be. But when I become the 'Tramp,' I can feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
I was a huge Muppet fan growing up, but that was the extent of my puppet knowledge. I really loved the art form and the whole Henson universe.
Maggie and I got married and then had to wait three years before we got to take our honeymoon because we were both working! Right before 'Chaplin' began, we got to go to Hawaii.
I live in Philadelphia, and my wife and I do a lot of theater out in the Philadelphia community.
I think theater communities in cities can form really strong foundations.
