Aside from your awesome voice, you’ve got great stage energy. How did you begin your career in theatre? That is so nice of you! Thank you! Music is in my blood.


I was born into a musical family outside of Cincinnati. My dad plays for endless hours on the piano in the house and I don’t remember a time growing up when there wasn’t music playing…I would say I officially caught the acting bug when I was cast as The Wicked Witch of the West in the third grade school production of The Wizard of Oz. Doesn’t it always all start with The Wizard of Oz? My family was shocked when I came home and told them which role I was cast! …But I really found my niche with musical theatre specifically when I was cast in a produc- tion of Into The Woods at age 11…playing the cow’s butt. I had to spend the entire production slumped over as a cow’s butt, I fell in love with musical theatre around that time. I then followed that “legendary” performance playing the cow’s butt AGAIN in a production of Gypsy. I went to college at the Boston Conservatory and then moved to NYC right after graduating. What initially snagged you onto …And Then I Wrote a Song About It? I love how personal the show is. Some people choose


to write their memoirs via book, movie, diaries, etc. This is a memoir musical. I have always been a huge advocate of innovation. So when something THIS original comes along, there is no question as to whether to do it or not. The answer is hands down, YES. I auditioned for Eric Weinberger two years ago when


his musical Wanda’s World was having its off-Broadway run in NYC. I didn’t get the part in Wanda’s World, but I did get a call from Eric saying he had something else in mind for me that he had been working on and thought I would be perfect for. So we met, and he gave me a rough script of what he was thinking. At that time, the play was essen- tially written like a diary from Eric’s life roughly between 1979 and 1982 and had no music. It wasn’t even titled “… And Then I Wrote a Song About It.” Then, as it got further developed, it started lending itself toward a full-blown musical, which is what we have today. The time period is also such an attraction to me—New York City has always been a mystery because everyone always perceived it as such a gritty, raw, borderline-dangerous spot at that time. Hearing comments like that from those who lived through it is bewildering…especially seeing what they have done with the Times Square area and Hell’s Kitchen. It’s such a specific era that will never be repeated and I would love to take my personal time machine back and truly experience it. I love how “real” and “raw” it was perceived. One of the songs I’m most drawn to from the production is “It Makes Me Sing,” with the infectious chorus lyric, “…now THERE’S a song” that says anything can be made into music. What do you find the most attractive thing to now? It’s such a rare breed of musical theatre. I am most


happy when I am creating and doing my own thing and discovering through creating. This musical is such a discovery, not only for Randall Klausner, but for this rare


genre of theatre. It is hard to even think of one-person musicals. I have seen many one-man or one-woman shows that are usually cabaret shows or revues. But never have I ever seen an original honest-to-god musi- cal, head to toe, with only one person. Most productions that call themselves “one-man-shows”, still feature back- up vocalists or supporting characters. But this musical literally has one small actor doing a very BIG original musical. We (your audiences) deeply appreciate openly gay characters— especially in productions with ties to the AIDS-era. For those of us who haven’t yet met Randall Klausner, tell us about him. Everyone has an “inner Randall.” Randall is a profes- sional optimist. He will take lemons and make lemonade, lemon cake, lemon bars, lemon Jell-o, lemon martinis and still be able to garnish it with leftover lemons. It works for him and it works against him. He is very real to me, and I find myself going through my everyday life living so many of his “Randallisms.” He fuels me off stage as much as on stage. What personal experiences do you use to feed his character? Randall and I are both dabblers. What I mean by that is we aren’t afraid to go against the grain and make up our


forever grateful to him for that. It is truly a love fest. Can you detail one of the most unexpected, unforgettable mo- ments you’ve had while performing onstage? I haven’t had anything CRAZY happen with this


particular show yet, but I am sure it will! I do remember performing in the first national tour of All Shook Up, we were on the road in San Antonio when we were warned that bats live in the fly space above the stage where the scenery is flown in. I remember every once in a while dur- ing quiet numbers, raucous numbers, you name it, every once in a while, a bat would swoop down, make an ap- pearance near or on our heads, and go back and wait to do it again. It was difficult keeping a straight face when that would happen and I kept imagining how funny the bats must have found it - seeing the look on our faces! Clearly you’re an extremely busy performer, but in those in- stances when you do get a free moment, what can you be found doing to unwind? Sitting still for this interview is one of the longest mo-


ments I have had in a long while! As I mentioned earlier, I dabble. A lot. So when I am not doing theatre, I am more than likely writing songs and playing with bands. I like to consider the stuff I write “quirk-pop.” I play gigs in


“This musical is such a discovery, not only for Randall Klausner, but for this rare genre of theatre. It is hard to even think of one-person musicals. I have seen many one-man or one-woman shows that are usually cabaret shows or revues. But never have I ever seen an original honest-to-god musical, head to toe, with only one person.


own rules when society and family might say otherwise. We aren’t scared to try things that might be foreign to us…especially for art’s sake. All he wants is to be a quadruple threat—a singer, dancer, actor, songwriter…I also consider myself to be those things. I think his journey is so universal—especially when


pertaining to his definition of success. I think success has a different meaning for everyone. What success means to Randall’s father is not the same as what it means to Randall. He has so many personal successes. I think the piece (and Randall) really lays out the question: What is success? Randall learns through trial and error what true success is and how/why it matters. Please describe Igor Goldin’s contributions to the piece as director. What I love about working with Igor is that his senses


are so bright and wise. He is definitely a dream for an ac- tor to work with because he truly comes to the table with a real understanding of relationships. Relationships, to me, are what theatre is all about. If you don’t have a rela- tionship to care about, then what’s the point of watching live theatre? And Igor is just a dream. He brings such a swift, smart and slick sense of humor


to everything. And his eye is so aware and sensitive. He is absolutely in-tune with the actor and it has just been a thrill. I have learned more from him about myself as an actor than any other experience I have had and I will be


Brooklyn and New York City and I live to have a daily jam session with myself or with others—usually my closest and oldest friends. I also paint with acrylics, watercolors, pastels, chalks, etc. I have to find a daily way to release creative energy whether it’s singing, dancing, writing, acting, playing instruments, painting, etc. It fuels me and it keeps me alive. Other times, I live to spoil my hefty Chihuahua Calvin


”


and my boyfriend/fiancé of almost 12 years. This might be completely irrelevant, but we were one of the couples being considered for The Today Show Wedding that ultimately decided not to include gay couples. However, The Advocate featured our video as we made it very far in the interview process before they decided not to have any gay couples. (The video can be found at this URL: youtube.com/


watch?v=NgE8ADwDHAI) Thank you very much Nick! Congratulations on your successes, both personal and professional!


…And Then I Wrote a Song About opens on Saturday, March 26 at 8:00 p.m. and runs through Sunday, April 10. Single tickets are $33 to $35 with discounts available for students, seniors, military and groups of ten or more. For information, call the box office at 619.220.0097 or log on to diversionary.org.


MARCH 2011 | RAGE monthly 23


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