At the same time, we all remember that we're in a musical in which the main star of the show is Irving Berlin and his music.
BRYCE PINKHAM GHOST UPDATE
Initially, our book writers intended to update the female characters to give them more three-dimensionality and independence in a way that would allow our three leading ladies to have something more to sink their teeth into. And as you said, one of our lead actors, who plays the Fred Astaire role, was cast primarily for his talent and not the way he looks. Our ensemble looks like a group of New York actors, which we're very proud of. We encouraged the Roundabout to give us a cast as diverse as a cast on Broadway looks today. We updated the material to our modern sensibilities and our understanding of what is acceptable to all our audience members. Can you highlight some of the other differences?īP: Sure. Gone are the potentially offensive, racial stereotypes from back in the day and now we have your co-star Corbin Bleu playing Fred Astaire's role of Ted Hanover.
BRYCE PINKHAM GHOST MOVIE
THM: Having seen both the 1942 movie and this stage adaptation now, there are some obvious differences. The creators really gave me the permission to make it my own, which I'm really grateful for. I sing them in my voice, just with colourings inspired by Bing and the genre and the time period. Similar with the singing - no one sounds like Bing Crosby, so to try and imitate him (outside of a Bing Crosby autobiographical musical) would be foolish. So, I've had that kind of experience already. I just had to do my own version of the part. I knew I would never measure up to Tony Goldwyn. It sort of reminds me of my experience doing Ghost, where we had an iconic movie with iconic actors playing the roles. But I knew I could never compete with Bing Crosby's characterisation, so I kinda gave myself permission to not try and recreate everything he did and take my own stab at it. As an actor, when you've been cast in a role like that, do you tend to take inspiration from the original performance or do you actively avoid watching it?īP: I did watch some parts of the movie when we originally did a workshop of this piece and I wanted to take some inspiration from that style of leading man in that kind of genre of movie musical. THM: Of course, Bing Crosby famously portrayed the character of Jim Hardy in the 1942 film. That's something that Roundabout has made possible. I think this production - whilst at the same time being an homage to classic musicals - we've taken a story that a lot of people know from the 1940s and we've updated it and made it our own. As an actor or as creators at Roundabout, you can afford to be a little riskier and quirkier. So, it's a kind of different approach, really. What they lack in their ability to provide all the bells and whistles of a commercial production, they make up for triple-fold with support, encouragement and providing a space for us to be creative without having to worry about how it affects the bottom line. How has your experience with the company been so far?īryce Pinkham: Roundabout is a unique place because it creates Broadway-calibre shows, but as a not-for-profit company. Now, this isn't your first time on a Broadway stage, of course, but it is your first time working with the Roundabout Theatre Company at its iconic Studio 54. Thomas Hayden Millward: Thanks for taking the time out to talk to us, Bryce. He tells us about the challenges of following in the footsteps of Bing Crosby, working with Corbin Bleu, adapting the 1942 movie musical for a modern audience and about his own favourite holiday: He also starred as Carl Bruner in Ghost The Musical and as Peter Patrone in The Heidi Chronicles and made his Broadway debut in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. As the holiday season approaches, we chat to Tony nominee Bryce Pinkham - the leading man of the Roundabout Theatre Company's new Irving Berlin musical Holiday Inn at the iconic Studio 54.īryce earned his Tony nomination in 2014 with his starring role as Monty Navarro in the Tony-winning Best Musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder.
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