Justin Guarini Brings Wicked Talent to Fiyero
The American Idol alum discusses his journey to Broadway.
(© Joan Marcus)
Justin Guarini has traveled his own yellow brick road to fill the current shoes of Fiyero in Broadway's Wicked. Guarini remembers wanting to perform from a very early age, always having Broadway in mind as a long-term goal. In fact, he auditioned for The Lion Kingrepeatedly until he finally landed a role in 2002 — just after having been chosen for American Idol. Ultimately the runner-up in the music competition's first season, Guarini went on to release two albums and work in film, radio, television, and regional theater before landing his first Broadway role in the 2010 musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Vastly different roles in American Idiot and this season's Romeo and Julietproved that Guarini can take on any genre, landing him the role of Elphaba's love interest in the Broadway blockbuster Wicked. Guarini spoke with TheaterMania about how working with the Jackson Five instilled in him a love for performance and how bringing a unique style to his new role distinguishes his Fiyero from all others.
Early in your career you made many risky decisions, such as moving to New York to pursue your dream, and then taking part in a television singing contest. How do you think those decisions had an impact on your career?
(© Paul Kolnik)
Whenever I come to a fork in the road…I usually just go with my gut. I think it worked out the way it was supposed to. I had a choice to go into The Lion Kingor to do a television show that no one had ever heard of…It was really a difficult decision. As I progressed through Idol I realized that it might be something. What's interesting for me is that ten years after I made that decision I opened in my first show on Broadway (Women on the Verge) and we had our opening-night party in the same hotel in one of the rooms where I auditioned for American Idol. It was a crazy 360 moment!
Wicked is considered by many to be the pinnacle of Broadway musicals. How and when did it first appear on your radar?
Funnily enough, about eight years ago I auditioned for the Broadway and touring company ofWicked, and they offered me the tour but I wasn't able to do it due to scheduling conflicts. Seven years later they were recasting the show and [director] Joe Mantello and [producer] David Stone had actually gone to see Romeo and Juliet, and I was on the short list for a Fiyero replacement.Romeo and Juliet was what got me the opportunity!
How are you making the role of Fiyero your own?
I don't ever come to a role and think, "How can I be this person or this character?" I ask, "How can I find this character in myself?" I heard a Sanford Meisner quote, "Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances." That sat in my brain and helped me not "act" so much as opposed to saying, "How would I respond if someone…" I've been sort of spoiled at certain points in my life, and in considering Fiyero I imagine how that old version of me would behave if somebody, like Elphaba, woke me up after I had been out partying all night and started yelling at me. I try to find my own wacky sense of humor and physical comedy. I get to go to the darker, more serious side of who I am, and show two facets of my personality.
Who are some of the most inspiring people you have met on the road to Broadway?
Before I even started in my career professionally I was around the pinnacle of entertainers because my mother was a CNN anchorwoman and my father was the chief of police in Atlanta. I got to meet all of the Jacksons and went on tour with them for a little bit. Jermaine Jackson was a good family friend. Seeing The Jackson Five Victory Tour was the whole reason why I wanted to be in entertainment. I was ten years of age and I remember as clear as day saying, "I want to do that." "Once I got to Broadway it was getting to sit and talk with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Patti LuPone and getting to trade jokes with Chuck Cooper.
It seems that you are very adept at conquering genres that demonstrate your many talents. What would you most like to see yourself doing next?
I love playing fun, funny roles, but what would be really fun for me is moving into darker, more gritty roles that expose that side of my being. I know I've got to earn the right to do that. The darkest role people have seen me play is in American Idiot, and in Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, which is a Stephen King-John Mellencamp musical that is hopefully going to make its way to Broadway soon.
Hopefully people will begin to see less of the curly-haired singing guy on TV, and a more valuable asset to theater and to entertainment. I literally have to convince one person at a time, and I'm okay with that. Some people don't expect me to be able to do the things that I do, so if I do a good job, I look really good to those with low standards. It's kind of a win-win! I don't take offense to it. I was given a huge leg up through Idol, however that came with a lot of stigma. It's a balancing act.
10 Things You May Not Know About Me: Justin Guarini of ‘Wicked’
Before J. Lo, Mariah Carey and Ellen DeGeneres garnered all the attention as judges on American Idol, the name Justin Guarini was heavily associated with this generation’s most famous talent competition — after all, he was the runner-up to Kelly Clarkson for the very first season of the groundbreaking TV show way back in 2002.
Justin Guarini
These days, his career in theater has become more noteworthy; like other fellow American Idol alumni Fantasia Barrino (After Midnight), Constantine Maurolis (Rock of Ages) and Syesha Mercado (The Book of Mormon), Guarini has found great success on the Great White Way.
Guarini is one of the newest cast members of the Broadway blockbusterWicked, taking on the role of Fiyero. But this isn’t Guarini’s first trip to the Broadway stage. He made his debut back in 2011 in American Idiot, followed quickly by a role in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Just last fall, he played Paris in the Orlando Bloom/Condola Rashad-headlined revival of Romeo and Juliet.
Below, the 35-year-old happily married father of three opens up about his key to longevity after Idol, his love for Oprah, the benefits of being biracial and how the stories of him being broke are greatly exaggerated.
1. I had to choose either the stage or IdolI was at a crossroads in my life there in 2002. I had a choice to either go into the company of The Lion King or to do American Idol. I could’ve gone either way, but with the success I was having in L.A. I felt I should just keep going with that. And ten years later, I came full circle. The past four years have been steep with musical theater with doing that first Broadway show and really great regional shows, I feel really lucky.
2. My Wicked warm-up ritual is intenseWicked is the first show in a long time where I really have to do a lot of singing and dancing at the same time. And while Fiyero only has one really big dance number, it did take me about two weeks to get used to doing it without being winded at the end. And I’m in good shape. I used to warm up my voice about an hour before the show and then do some stretching and that’s really about it. I think the first run and the last two weeks of rehearsal I ran on the treadmill a lot just to get used to the cardio. I would warm up my voice and run on the treadmill at the same time so that certainly helped. But nothing beats doing it full out in front of the audience.
3. I’m not brokeMy money troubles were really sensationalized by the media [Guarini posted a personal blog in fall 2013 that mentioned skipping meals]. It’s not even remotely the truth. What I really wanted to get across is that I wasn’t facing poverty or even close to poverty, but that I was humbled by life now as opposed to what it was 10 years ago. Ten years ago I was a millionaire and I didn’t know what to do with it. And I thought that type of money was always going to be there for me. And here I am 10 years later still very well taken care of, but I have three kids. Ten years ago it was just me and I could spend the money however I wanted . The internet went crazy with the term “skip meals,” but that was taken out of context. It was “skip meals at really expensive places because I’d rather be spending that on my kids.” That’s the difference. But you know what, at the end of the day even though that was taken out of context, I loved it because it got me a great deal of exposure and I think it really helped people who did see that article.
4. I never watch IdolI haven’t been able to watch American Idol because I’m mostly onstage when it happens. And then when I’m home I’m spending time with my family. But I really do love the fact that they’ve brought on somebody like Harry Connick, Jr., who is one of my idols. I think he is an absolutely invaluable asset to an already amazing brand. I am really proud of my Idol roots.
5. I still plan on making my own musicI really love soul and R&B and funk and I really kind of dug deep in the crate trying to find my signature sound and stop trying to copy folks. It’s been difficult because I’ve been so busy in the theater world fortunately. So it’s been hard really saying when the next album will come out. I just haven’t had the time to sit and say ‘Here we are 10 years later and what do I want to say and how do I want to say it?’
Justin Guarini stars as Fiyero in ‘Wicked’ (Photo: Joan Marcus)
6. There is one celebrity that surprised meI would say that I’ve been around a lot of celebrities, a lot of tastemakers, a lot of people in high caliber positions in the government as well as the entertainment all my life because that’s the family that I grew up in [Guarini's mother is former CNN anchor Kathy Pepino Guarini]. So when I met Oprah, even having had that experience, it still was awe inspiring. But at the end of the day, Oprah treated me like a friend, who was very kind to me and was a normal down to earth person when we were talking even when the cameras weren’t rolling. It was just nice to get next to her and to see how wonderfully human she is for someone who has so much power to do so much good.
7. My background shaped who I am todayGrowing up was crazy, but I just kind of got used to it and really it technically set me up for everything I did in my life. I was around the lights and cameras with my mother. I was around politics and the entertainment industry with my father [former Atlanta police chief Eldrin Bell]. And I love that I was born into two really strong and ancient cultures, African American and Italian. I get the benefits of that every single day in everything I do. I think it’s just a blessing.
8. I married my hometown sweetheartI knew that she was going to be my wife when I went over to Afghanistan to entertain the troops. I was over there and had a lot of time to think and I just knew that she was the one that I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life. It wasn’t anything real deep, like we were in a warzone, but I really think just being there and being half a world away and missing her so much and just feeling what I felt for her just informed my decision. At the end of the day, it just told me everything I needed to know.
9. My favorite role is DadI really feel lucky that I get to have the career that I have along with the family that I have. My wife and I pride ourselves with being really present parents and there as much as we can be. Today, I took my son to the YMCA and went swimming. And this morning, I was playing with my one-year-old son on the floor. I’ve just been so lucky that I get to have that and get to have it in a really wonderful town in a place where I grew up and where my wife grew up and both sets of our parents live within a mile of one another. And then at night I get to have this amazing career in the pinnacle of American theater on stage. Ya know, it’s pretty awesome.
10. I’ll never stop tryingI’m still trying to make it as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know if I’ll ever rest and say ‘I made it.’ I’m just going to keep going and keep working and hoping that people still support me.NewYork.com interview here
VIDEO of Justin Backstage at WICKED
audio: Dancing Through Life
Update (May 12, 2014):
VIDEO of Justin Backstage at WICKED
audio: Dancing Through Life
Update (May 12, 2014):
The Broadway production of Stephen Schwartz's Wicked has extended its booking period at the George Gershwin theatre to 28 Dec 2014. It was originally booking to 16 Nov 2014.
The current cast includes Christine Dwyer (Elphaba), Jenni Barber (Glinda), P.J. Benjamin (The Wizard), Mary Testa(Madame Morrible), Justin Guarini (Fiyero), Catherine Charlebois (Nessarose), K. Todd Freeman (Doctor Dillamond) and Michael Wartella (Boq).
Wicked opened at the Gershwin Theatre on 30 Oct 2003, following previews from 8 Oct 2003.
