Hey all --
Thanks to the good graces of musicnmath, who's done me the favor of compiling old questions that hadn't been answered, here's a new batch of answers. As always, thanks for your uncommon patience.
"The fact that singing and acting relys alot of staying in good shape is understandable and at times strenuous. ?what do you guys do to stay in shape?"
We all do various things, but my favorite form of exercise is yoga, which I am doing as often as possible these days. I also walk a lot, especially when I'm home in NYC, and I bike and skate around town.
Also, in a show (or film) as physically demanding as Rent, just performing alone burns lots of calories and gets your blood pumping and your lungs stronger. But I think it's absolutely essential for performers to take good care of themselves as much as possible, especially when you're doing eight shows a week, or shooting for twelve or more hours a day.
"Wow, we have quite similar tastes in books and movies. Just for the record (it may seem silly) but did you like "This is Spinal Tap"?"
I did very much, yes.
I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember one afternoon back in December of 1995, while we were in rehearsal for Rent and still getting to know each other, when Adam, Jesse, and myself went over to Daphne's apartment after work and watched parts of it for a good laugh. Thanks for bringing up a fond memory from years past.
"Hey Anthony. What other kinds of books do you like?"
I can't remember now which ones I said were among my all-time favorites before, but they include: The Corrections, Doomsday Book, Disgrace, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Anna Karenina, The Grapes of Wrath, Catcher in the Rye, The Feast of Love, and Rabbit Redux, to name a few off the top of my head. I love reading short stories, too, and have been indulging that love a lot lately, which is nice to do when I'm as busy as I've been.
What are some of the favorite books of you guys out there in Broadway World?
"Since it's the poll of the week or whatever on here, I thought I'd ask you your thoughts: Do you think the actors that take over a role on broadway should get nominated for Tonys? And if so, should they have their own category, like Best Newcomer in an Old show, or be considered with the Best Leads?"
I think the only way they could ever get nominated would be if they got their own category, but I don't foresee that happening. There are already so many awards, you know? But having said that, I think there have been plenty of replacements who've been wonderful over the years, and it would be nice if they got a little more recognition sometimes.
"What kind of yoga do you do? I do Bikram. It's so intense."
I've done Bikram once, and I was happy that I was able to get through it without too much trouble, but I missed the variety that you get in other classes. I like to do Hatha or Vinyasa or Ashtanga classes, with a lot of flow and a nice mixture of breath work and peaceful stretching and strength poses.
"Thanks again Anthony for today's extensive report. They're such fun to read. I had another question for you. You mentioned doing gigs in NY a while ago (or at least I think I read that), but I was wondering, if you got any time off from rehearsal, and if you did, would you ever do gigs in the California area? If so, interested in making your way down to Palm Springs? Thanks. I know that sounds weird, but you've got a pretty decent fan base in this area, and was curious."
I've thought about trying to get together some kind of gig while I'm out here, but it might be very tough logistically with everything else going on. But it is a possibility, and if it happens I will let you all know. Thanks for the interest.
"Oh, out of curiosity, Anthony, have you ever been to the Moosewood in Ithaca?"
I have, and I enjoyed it very much. I think Ithaca is absolutely beautiful, and I love going there.
"Not to get all "geeky" on you, which i'm constantly reminded by friends that i am, but i love love love the star wars trilogies as well (i seem to gravitate to things which inspire cult-like status, my grandma was a trekkie so i blame her)... anyways, i think i remember you sighting some disappointment with the first two episodes (hey, no one blames you...they felt too exposition-ish and rather bland) but I was wondering if you were excited for the third episode, revenge of the sith? Have you seen how sick the trailer is? My god--hayden christianson looks sooo amazingly cool in it! am i wrong?"
Sorry, I'm not excited about it. I got burned too badly by The Phantom Menace. If I hear otherwise, I might get there, but there's only so much time in a life to waste on disappointing yourself in the movie theatre, you know?
"Okay, quick question I thought of reading all of your posts about Hedwig and JCM. Apparently it's fairly "known" that Hedwig fans don't like Rent, and Rent fans usually don't like Hedwig. During Hedwig, did you ever run into fans of that show that reacted badly finding out you were in the OBC of Rent? Also, vice versa for Rent fans finding out you were in Hedwig."
I have never run into fans of either show who reacted badly to the other show. In fact, there seems to be a lot of love for both out there. When I was in Hedwig, I signed tons of Rent paraphernalia, for instance. I personally love both shows, and I loved performing in both shows.
I will be getting to more questions soon, but also wanted to take a moment to catch you up to date a little...
Everyone was very happy with the dailies from the camera tests, so that's nice. Our official first day of shooting is on March 8th, in NYC. I'm going home on Friday, to be in my own apartment for more than a couple of days for the first time since leaving for the tour of Little Shop, back in August. So I'm happy about that.
But we're all chomping at the bit to get in front of the cameras, finally. Although I have to admit that it will be strange to finish each song as we go along. But the comfort will be that our film will be a document for all time of the work that many of us began over nine years ago on a piece that the brilliant Jonathan Larson entrusted to our care. It's almost too thrilling to contemplate how lucky we are.
Take care --
Anthony
