Norbert Leo Butz
From Is He Dead?
Tony Award-winner Norbert Leo Butz talks about his first reaction on being approached about appearing in a “new” Mark Twain play, Is He Dead?, and about the construction of farce and how David Ives crafted the version of the play currently on Broadway; recalls his classical training at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival; marvels at the good fortune that landed him in the company of Rent only two weeks after moving to New York; considers the experience of appearing in the critically unpopular Harry Connick musical Thou Shalt Not; describes the feeling of playing a character in The Last Five Years based on composer Jason Robert Brown — with Brown often directly behind him as he sang; recounts the loss of a song for Fiyero when Wicked was out of town in San Francisco and how he worked with Stephen Schwartz in choosing a replacement; and delineates the difference between performing in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with John Lithgow and his successor, Jonathan Pryce.
Original airdate - January 11, 2008.
Running time - 50:40.
For more information see Downstage Center’s Norbert Leo Butz program page.
You can also download the Norbert Leo Butz program (mp3).
Posted on Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
by
American Theatre Wing
Filed under:
Actor,
Audio,
Downstage Center.
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