My Next Story: An Interview with Nick Blaemire

About two and a half years ago when I started this blog, the first post I ever wrote talked about the work of Nick Blaemire. I had recently seen his Glory Days CD release concert at Joe's Pub and being inspired by seeing the work from his Broadway writing debut (along with the many other projects I had seen him perform in prior) was what pushed me over the line to finally start writing about my passion for new musical theatre artists. I know this past month has featured a lot of posts about him, but I am thrilled to be able to bookend the coverage of so many of his gigs as of late with an interview with the man himself (big thanks to Jennifer Ashley Tepper for setting this up!). As mentioned before, Nick is currently in the fantastic ensemble of Broadway's Godspell and has also recently released an EP with The Hustle. So read on to hear about how Godspell is influencing his writing process, what new musicals he's writing now, and what things make him excited enough to "poop his pants" (his words, not mine).

(Interview with Nick for MTI Showspace)

Me: One of this production of Godspell’s greatest assets is its young and incredibly talented cast. What do you think it is about this show that makes it relevant and important for younger audiences (and actors)?

Nick Blaemire: The opportunity to actually be yourself onstage is an incredibly rare and exciting one - as actors we're usually asked to fit someone else's mold to some degree, unless you're creating the character - but even then you're trying to be someone else, where as in Godspell, as long as we're telling the story, we can do it any way we want. So there's a huge freedom there that allows for some really exciting improvisational moments, and a sense that anything can happen. Hopefully that translates to the young people who come to see it, in that their energy in the audiences influences ours, and it becomes this reciprocal, very alive experience where everybody's contributing to what's being created.


Me: Tackling themes of religion, faith, and ultimately just the mention of God is usually shied away from onstage and in mainstream media. How do you feel Godspell has been able to survive and breakthrough this barrier? And how do you as an actor approach this heavy subject?

Nick: I’m not a particularly religious guy, so for me, the way I found to connect to the material was to honor the truth of the lessons jesus teaches. It doesn’t matter how you approach them, whether it's through the venue of organized religion or just as social doctrines, because the content is always just as valid. I do think that what Godspell does successfully is focus on how we as human beings treat other human beings, rather than about "rules" or "a way of life," which can be alienating if it's not a methodology you connect with. But we're all human, so the way we treat each other is always going to be a subject worth talking about.


Me: Has the improvisational nature of Godspell influenced your own writing in any way?

Nick: Absolutely - especially in pop music. That feeling that anything could happen is how a song should feel, especially in live performance, but even in recording - because surprises are what drive us. We continue to live and move forward because we dont know what's going to happen next, and we want to control it as best we can, but ultimately, every new moment is going to be a surprise, and from Godspell I've learned the value in creating new things with that mindset, of constantly jumping off a cliff and trying to just ride the proverbial wave that music and stories provide.

(Nick singing "My Three Best Friends" from Glory Days)

Me: What is it like to be back at Circle in the Square post-Glory Days?

Nick: It's surreal. I cant believe they've allowed me back in the building. It's especially cool because all the tech and maintenance people are still the same, and it's like getting to hang out with old friends - there are even some little remnants of our production around the building that never got taken down, so that's a trip. And artistically, its beyond humbling. It was such an honor to be there with Glory Days, and I’m reminded every day of the magic of that space every time I come to the theatre for Godspell.

Pure Joy

This is too amazing not to post:



Iconis? Pasek? Gwon? And Lowdermilk? Singing Nick Blaemire's "Good Old Glory Type Days"?

Okay, maybe a little rough around the edges. But I think it's good proof that "If It Only Even Runs a Minute," a show that ran at the Laurie Beechman a couple weeks ago, brought about some pretty memorable performances.

Me and My Three Best Friends

Besides sheer talent and a wicked sense of humor, a funny through line that seems to string together some of my favorite up-and-composers over the past couple of years seems to be none other than Nick Blaemire, the composer of Broadway's Glory Days and a fantastic actor in his own right. In fact, I joke that the young New York theatre scene could easily be linked through "The Six Degrees of Nick Blaemire," since he always seems to have a hand in my own theater-going experiences.

Aside from his own writing, I was first captivated by his performance as Chris in Joe Iconis' The Black Suits at The Public's SPF. Ignoring my sheer love of Iconis's music and his merry band of faithful singers/actors, it was Blaemire's gut-wrenching portrayal of a Long Island garage band leader that really got my attention, bringing gravity to what could have easily been a comically crude coming-of-age story. Much of the show's transcendence is due to Joe Iconis and Robert Maddock's quick-paced (despite 3+ hour run time) book and Iconis' hilariously poignant songs. But I can't possibly think of that musical without thinking of this song and that moment of being in that theater, transfixed by the immediacy of what was going on in front of me.



I just remember thinking to myself:


Shit.
This is good stuff.


And since then, he seems to pop up in a ton of projects that I absolutely adore. From performing in Kerrigan and Lowdermilk's The Unauthorized Biography of Samantha Brown, to singing pretty songs in Ryan Scott Oliver's Rated RSO, to singing the hell out of more Iconis tunes in Things to Ruin, to appearing yet again at SPF in The Departure Lounge and singing a couple of songs in that year's Composure Exposure event.

And as though that's not enough, at the tender age of 23, he had a musical up on Broadway—albeit its opening night was also its closing performance—still a feat that has contributed to my determination to have some kind of successful creative project by 23 (well, him and Lady Gaga anyway).

Despite the fact that he's played a character in at least a couple of "Bro Musicals" over the past couple years, Glory Days remains its own animal, a heartfelt send-up to "generation apathy" and the inevitable disillusionment of growing up and apart from childhood friends. The music is modern with lyrics that roll off the tongue in a frenetic but relentlessly tuneful way. And even the most clichéd of male sentiments finds its own sophistication as the show tells the story of four high school buddies who reunite a year after graduation to find that their relationships aren't the same as their glorified memories of what they used to be.

This song is brilliant in its startlingly observant view of the world (written, as James Gardiner, the book writer of Glory Days, mentioned at the cast recording release concert, within the span of a few hours):



And this song never ceases to amaze me in way the music weaves through space and time:



There's something about both his songs and performances that is so admirably in the moment and self-aware. There's a sense that his characters are always aware of their flaws and fears, and they push them aside so that they can continue living, pushing through the moments of introspection with a little bit of wordplay and mustered confidence. I can only see even more success in Blaemire's future, and his current project Finding Robert Hutchens already looks incredibly promising. No matter what is on the horizon for him, on stage or off, I will be excited to be a part of it… and with my luck, I'll probably be in the audience whether or not I know he's involved beforehand.



…And did I mention his voice is like buttah?