Did you ever imagine having
the success you’ve had? No. I
mean, I dreamed about it I suppose. I just always loved theatre.
I grew up watching it and reading it. I read a lot of plays when
I was growing up and I still do. I
always thought of theatre as literature. And so, I think it was my
dream to be a playwright, but it
seemed very unattainable. I remember thinking early on that
I was sure I’d have to go to Los
Angeles at some point and write
sitcoms or tv shows. But I loved
theatre and focused on that. I
was fortunate in the sense that
people liked my work early on
and encouraged me.
I was never the person who was
celebrated as the flavor of the
month, so I just kept working. I
know people who have been
celebrated and it freezes them
up, but I always viewed theatre
as what I did. I did different
NewJerseyStage.com
kinds of shows and always liked
to challenge myself. So, did I
dream of this? Yeah, I dreamt of
it. Did I ever imagine it? Who
knows? But I do appreciate it
and I think one of the reasons
I’m still so prolific and fortunate
to have a lot of plays and musicals done recently is because I
appreciate it and I don’t want to
throw it away, so I continue to
work as hard as I can and try to
get as good as I can.
Do people in your theatre circle
in the City ever give you a hard
time for growing up in the suburbs? No, everyone in New York
is from somewhere else! I think
when I see people make fun of
Jersey, it’s generally when I’m
with relatives in Jersey. They
make fun of Jersey themselves.
Between me and David Bryan,
we probably know every Jersey
joke there is!
2015 - ISSUE 11
ARTICLES
28