He's the kid that went on an adventure of a lifetime during a babysitting gig gone wrong and the nerdy teen who was slightly skeptical of those getting "Dazed and Confused." You'll likely remember him from his role as a creepy T.A. in "Road Trip" but it's the life-changing character he portrayed in "Rent" that brought him to the forefront.
And on Tuesday, he'll be on a stage in Minneapolis.
Anthony Rapp started his acting career as a tiny tot and hasn't looked back since. From the stage to the screen, he's taken on a number of memorable roles and productions but it's his time in the theater where he seems to shine the most.
He graciously gave up some of his time while on tour for the musical, "If/Then" to answer a few questions about the show (which starts Tuesday at the Orpheum), his return to Minnesota and what it's like being a role originator.
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What’s it like being back on tour?
I like to do it every several years. I certainly wouldn’t want to do it all the time because I also like being home. But I do enjoy getting to see the country in this way because it’s a nice mixture of work and sort of, travel and vacation – well, it’s not really vacation that’s not a totally accurate word but to be able to see the country, especially all of these cities are cities I’ve been to before on tour, but to see how much all of these cities have grown and changed in the last few years is really nice. And I have people, friends and family pretty much strewn all over the country so I’m getting to be reacquainted with people that I don’t get to see very often and that’s really nice.
And it’s nice to be able to bring an original show that hasn’t, you know, been touring for years. It’s not like the same old thing that’s getting programmed every two, three or four years. It’s new and to get to introduce it to people, it’s something that I really believe in, and I’m glad that we have the opportunity to do so.
Do you have any plans for when you visit the Twin Cities?
Well, a good friend of mine lives there and I was there this past summer and stayed at his brand new house so I’m going to get to see him and get to see the house – like, literally, he had just moved in like the week or two before I stayed with him so it’ll be nice to see how that has settled in. There’s really great restaurants – I’m really terrible with the names of restaurants but we went to a couple that summer so I’m eager to return to those and others. I’m a little sad that – you know, I’m a big baseball fan so I was able to go to Target Field last summer, it was really nice but probably can’t do that this time since it’s only spring training right now.
You’ve originated some iconic roles on Broadway. What’s it like to be the person that gets to mold these characters into who they are?
Well it’s really gratifying to get to work very closely with the writers and also Michael Grief, in the cast of Rent and If/Then, my director in both. He’s a great collaborator. But it’s really wonderful to be alongside writers as they’re forming something. In both cases, Jonathan Larson and Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt wrote material with me in mind and that’s a huge honor and it’s just sort of nice to work inside of a role that was tailor-made for me. So things really do fit.
Especially with the character of Mark (from “Rent”), it’s now hard to imagine anyone else but you playing that role. Is it weird at all for you to see other people take on those roles or is it kind of fun to see their interpretation?
Well, it’s both. I’ve seen it many times myself over the years with different people playing the role and the times when I’m really happy, I feel like they’re doing it justice and what they do justice with, it’s not necessarily like I want them to copy me by any means, they have to be themselves but that they have a sense of the importance of the story, that they hold the space of the story, you know, that they’re not trying to draw too much focus but they’re also very strongly driving the story along. Those are the kinds of things that I look for and I’ve seen that many times. And then there are other times where I’ve seen people not doing that and it makes me kind of want to kick ‘em.
That’s great. So beyond your accomplishments in theater, you’ve also done a number of movies (“Dazed and Confused,” “Road Trip,” “A Beautiful Mind,” to name a few) and TV shows, what’s the one thing most people recognize you from, more often than not?
It depends on the setting. In certain settings, it’s “Rent,” in other settings, it’s “Road Trip.” That’s probably one of the more common ones. Sometimes still, even though, it’s almost 30 years old, I still get “Adventures in Babysitting,” which surprises me because I was only 15 when I did it. “Dazed and Confused” … those are probably the top four. It just sort of depends on where I am. I play a lot of poker and I tend to get recognized at poker tables but usually that’s probably “Road Trip.” So a lot of times, it’s like … because poker players tend to be very observant but they don’t necessarily know why. So I usually do it like, “Well, I’m not going to tell you why, you gotta figure it out.” You know, because that’s fun. We’re usually sitting together for hours so …
“If/Then” is making its debut in Minneapolis this week. What can you tell us about the show that will make people compelled to come and see it?
Well I don’t know if I can compel them to see it, I just know what I love about it. (Laughs) That it’s about recognizable human beings, which is not always the case when you go see musical theater. And I think it really makes people think about their own lives in a way that’s not very common for when you’re going to see a piece of musical theater. It really is about the choices we make and the ripple effect of those choices. And that to me is very interesting and compelling. The smallest choices and the biggest choices can have all sorts of ripple effects on not only your life but the lives of the people in your life. And life, sometimes it can come at you in ways you’d never expect and fantastic or tragic things can happen to anyone at any time. And I think the show has a really beautiful way of exploring those ideas without ever feeling like a, you know, sort of self-help book, I mean, it feels like a really organic and human evening to me. And it’s also full of humor and it’s really great music and it’s entertaining but it’s not your typical sit-back-and-watch-the-dancing-girls-kick-their-feet kind of show.
In the process of doing this show, have you thought about what your biggest “If/Then” moment might’ve been?
Well I mean, the biggest one that’s pretty apparent to me is back in 1994, I was really struggling to find work. I’d been working since I was a little kid but I’d been having a really slow time. And there had been, what looked like some big jobs that I was auditioning for at the time that I didn’t get. I could not tell you what they were now. I really have no idea. But they seemed really important at the time but I didn’t get them. I was working at Starbucks and that’s when I auditioned for the workshop of “Rent,” which was only a 10-performance, three-week job that didn’t pay very much. So it didn’t seem like anything super important but it turned out to be the thing that changed the course of my life in every conceivable way. So it’s just one of those things where you just never know what’s going to come. If I had gotten one of those jobs, that I can’t tell you what it was, I wouldn’t have been available to do that three-week workshop.
One of your “Rent” alums, Idina Menzel, also starred in the original “If/Then” on Broadway. What was it like working with her on this project?
She’s always been one of the most authentic performers I’ve ever worked with. She’s incapable of an inauthentic moment. So it just is an absolute pleasure. She comes at it with the most honest and interesting and alive interpretation, moment-to-moment. In the case of this show especially, because the characters have so much history, it’s not like we had to research or rehearse to find the history between them. It’s all right there between us. With respect and love, friendship, trust.
"If/Then" runs through March 13 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Tickets start from $39. For more information, click here.
