Pierce Brandt’s Golden Day Interview with David Burnham of Wicked and The Light in the Piazza
David Burnham is relatively new to the Great White Way, but his handsome face and soaring singing voice are steadily becoming familiar to musical theater fans in Manhattan and beyond. David took over the role of “Fiyero” in the New York cast of Wicked just recently after the departure of Sebastian Arcelus, who is moving on to join the cast of Jersey Boys. While this is David’s first run in Wicked since its Broadway opening, David has the distinction of having created the role of Fiyero in the show’s original Los Angeles workshops. Now, after completing the Broadway tour of The Light in the Piazza in mid-2007, David’s ties to Wicked have come full circle.
David made his Broadway debut in the original company of The Light in the Piazza at Lincoln Center, understudying the leading male role of “Fabrizio.” After completing the New York run of Piazza, David was offered the role of Fabrizio in the ground-breaking show’s Broadway touring company. For his outstanding performance, David received Washington, DC’s coveted Helen Hayes Award for Best Actor in early 2007.
Pierce: How did you first get involved in the performing arts? David: It was actually kind of a fluke! I didn’t know I could sing or act until I was a junior in high school. I had tried to sign up for woodshop class, but it was full, so I reluctantly signed up for the only other elective class that was available, choir. Next thing I knew, the choir director was taking me under his wing, telling me I could sing! Really sing! Most of the other boys in the choir were singing with what sounded to me like a sort of soprano sound, but I didn’t want to sound like a woman. I had found a recording of John Raitt in Carousel, and I thought, “Now that sounds like a man.” John Raitt has a huge voice, and I decided that’s what I wanted to sound like. I grew up on a farm about an hour south of Los Angeles, so I would practice my singing out in the barn with the pigs! I would take my tape recorder out there and play it as loud as it would go while I tried to imitate John Raitt … singing my heart out to the pigs … they loved it! They would grunt and moan and let me know if I was doing okay. Soon after, the first big musical theater role I played in high school was “Sid Sorokin” in Pajama Game. That role was actually originated by John Raitt on Broadway … how cool is that?!
Pierce: What a great story! You are a stellar example, even at such an early age, of how we can make our dreams come true! There you were emulating John Raitt, and then the first role you got was one that he had originated! Brilliant! David: Oink, oink!
Pierce: What was the first professional theater production you saw?
David: Right around the same time I started singing in the choir in high school, I saw a concert of theater superstars singing Broadway showstoppers at the Hollywood Bowl. I was blown away, and I remember thinking, “I want to be one of those people!”
Pierce: Now let’s fast-forward a bit. What was your first experience of Manhattan and Broadway?
David: Well I had two experiences. The first one was not so good, the second was fantastic. Which one do you want to hear about?
Pierce: The first one, of course! David: Well, my first big break was taking over the role of “Joseph” from Donny Osmond in the Broadway Tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. That gig made me a star in Canada. We played six months in Toronto and six months in Vancouver. I actually had a publicist, a driver, and a bodyguard because of all the fans! It was crazy! There was a 50 foot high picture of me painted on the side of a building! So, for about a year, I was this kind of theater superstar in Canada. It was quite a ride! When Joseph was over, I went back to New York thinking, “Okay, that was great, now I’ll just move on to my next Broadway show.” But then the harsh reality of the New York Broadway community hit. I had been a star in Canada, not New York, and they are worlds apart. New York didn’t care who I had replaced or what show I had done, they just didn’t know who I was. So, I spent about six months trying to convince people that I could sing and act, but I was effectively starting from scratch. At that point, because of playing “Joseph,” my hair was long – I had hair down to my nipples! So, I cut my hair and tried to reinvent myself. But, after about six months, I decided to go back to LA, to get back in touch with reality. I had put so much pressure on myself in New York just about the career; I kind of lost perspective. So, I went home to LA, hung out with my family, licked my wounds, and then started doing regional theater around the country and getting a bunch of roles under my belt. Despite my challenging time in New York, everything actually turned out really well.
Pierce: Okay, I give in … now let’s hear about the second New York experience!
David: Well, the second was much better! I went to New York specifically to accept the job in The Light in the Piazza at Lincoln Center. I lived on the Upper West Side of the city and got to experience New York from a whole different perspective. While I was doing the show at night, I was able to go out for auditions during the day. I started meeting casting directors again, but this time in a much different light. I now had a resume full of significant roles I had played in professional regional productions, and I was also in the cast of a high profile Broadway show, so they knew what I was about.
Pierce: So The Light in the Piazza was truly a “light” in your career! How did being part of Piazza come about for you? David: Well, I had just finished doing a show in Boston. On my way home to LA, I stopped in New York for a few days for some auditions. On the last day of my stay, I got a call to go in for Piazza, which no one had ever heard of at the time. All they could tell me was that it was sort of a “broad musical comedy” and that the character I was auditioning for was a slick 1950’s guy who works in a tie shop. So, auditioned with a song from the Joseph Papp version of Pirates of Penzance – which is kind of “Gilbert and Sullivan meets Grease.” I sang my song doing hip swivels as a sort of Elvis Presley-like character. The people auditioning me had their jaws on the floor, looking at me like, “Who is this freak?!” Clearly I had gotten the wrong, or at least not enough, information about the show! Here I was auditioning for this beautifully crafted, sophisticated musical – which, of course, I knew nothing about at the time – and I was singing a pelvis-gyrating, all-wrong song. It was just wrong, wrong, wrong! However, they evidently saw something in me because they called me back later that day, and after about five callbacks, I was cast in the show.
Pierce: You mentioned that Joseph was your first big break. How did that come about?
David: It actually started with an audition for Ragtime. I was living in LA, and had just signed with an agent, but couldn’t get a private audition for Ragtime because I wasn’t really right for the show. So, I went to the open audition and they looked at me and said, “You’re not right for Ragtime, but you’re perfect for something else … do you have any pop music with you?” I just happened to be doing a regional production of Joseph in LA at the time, so I sang my big solo from Joseph, “Close Every Door.” After hearing it, they asked me to come back that night for a callback. The callbacks were scheduled for the people being seen for Ragtime, and then there’s me coming in with my long hair and singing “Close Every Door” for the Ragtime creative staff. But Garth Drabinksy, the head of LIVENT, which was producing both Ragtime and the Joseph tour, was there, and that’s what counted. After my callback, he told me he wanted to fly me to Toronto the next day to meet with the director of Joseph. So, the next day I flew to Toronto, sang for the director, and then they said, “You’re hired! We’re going to make you a star in Canada, kid!” And literally half an hour later I was wearing Joseph’s colored coat, taking publicity photos. It all happened just like that! Before I knew it, I was living in Canada, starring in this huge multi-million dollar show. I recorded a couple of songs from the show for a promotional CD, I was in touch with Andrew Lloyd-Webber… it all happened so fast, it was just beyond belief!
Pierce: Had the regional production of Joseph that you were doing in LA closed?
David: Yes! It had just finished. Perfect timing. “Il destino,” as Fabrizio would say… destiny!
Pierce: Perfect segue! Tell me about your first time performing as Fabrizio. David: The first time I performed the role, I went on without any rehearsal. It was right after we had opened at Lincoln Center. Matty [Matthew Morrison] called in sick, and I got a call from the stage manager less than one hour before the show to tell me that I was to perform as Fabrizio in that performance. We had not even started understudy rehearsals yet! I had memorized all my lines and I knew the music, and I had watched the show from the wings, but the blocking changed constantly because we were still in previews, so it was impossible for me to know Fabrizio’s blocking perfectly. As much as possible, the stage manager talked me through the blocking in the dressing room while I was getting ready, saying stuff like, “Okay you’re going to enter stage left here, then just go center and sing the song, etc.” So, that first show was just a blur. Kelly O’hara and Victoria Clark were wonderful – they sort of guided me around the stage, as subtly as possible, of course. Surprisingly, it went pretty well. I had no fear because I was so overwhelmed by it all that didn’t have time to feel fear! We had two performances that day – a matinee and an evening performance, and so between shows, Johnathan Butterell, the choreographer/musical stager, came in and gave me a crash course in the blocking of the show. That night I was on as Fabrizio again, and it just so happened that Elizabeth Spencer, who wrote the novel, was in the audience. So was the composer/lyricist Adam Guettel! And, Bernie Gersten, the head of Lincoln Center, was there, too! All these important people were in the audience, and it was like magic. It was one of those rare moments where the stars aligned. I had the best time. Over the next year and a half, I got to perform as Fabrizio about 60 times, so I feel like I really got to do a run on Broadway in that role. It was great.
Pierce: How did it unfold when they offered you the role of Fabrizio in the tour?
David: The first offers that went out for the tour, of course, were to those actors that were playing the leads in the closing company in New York. The actor who was playing Fabrizio turned it down, so it was offered to me, and I jumped at the opportunity because roles like this come around so rarely.
Pierce: What do you feel are the most unique and special aspects of Piazza? David: This show is so layered and so unique, and you really get to show every aspect of yourself. You also get to sing your tits off!! It takes me from the bottom of my range to the top of my range, and the demands it requires from me as an actor are rewarding at every performance. The creative team treats Piazza like a play – they want you to be fresh and organic every night, so there is a lot of freedom allowed for the actors to explore and be in the moment within the context of the story. In Piazza, you can never “phone it in” or go into “auto pilot,” because the minute you do, it reads false. With a show this transparent and delicate, if it reads false, the audience turns you off; if they don’t believe Fabrizio really loves Clara, then it’s all over. I love this piece, but it’s the most challenging thing as an actor I’ve ever had to do. It’s a joy, but it is also work.
One thing that’s unique about this show is that it’s not about special effects or big dance numbers, it’s about story and character and relationships. So, if the audience is willing to take that journey with us, then they usually enjoy it. But if they go in thinking they’re going to get a big razzmatazz, splashy musical then it’s not going to appeal to them and they come out thinking, “What is this artsy-fartsy thing?” But luckily, the majority of our audiences appreciate what we’re doing – it’s new, it’s different. I so love being a part of it.
Pierce: Is there something you do with your co-stars to keep the show fresh?
David: The thing that helps is that we’re all “on the same page” about the direction and intent of each moment. As long as we all stay in tune with that, if something unfolds a bit differently at one performance, we’re all okay with it. We just listen and react, almost like an acting scene in school – we work together and bounce things off each other and see what happens.
Pierce: So would it be alright to tell how the flying hat works in the opening of the show when Fabrizio first meets Clara? Or is that a trade secret? It’s such a great effect! David: Of course! It’s so simple. It blows off with a gust of wind… that’s how it works!
Pierce: Ha ha! So, there’s a big fan offstage and it magically blows the hat in the perfect direction at every performance? David: Yes! Ha ha! No, it’s pretty much what you would think: a thin nylon string is attached to the hat, and someone offstage pulls it off Clara’s head from above. The timing is key. It really is a great effect, and with the leaves blowing on stage at the same moment, it makes you think of the wind, so it naturally comes together. When I pick up the hat after it has “blown off” her head, I have to slyly undo the string with my fingers and give it back to her. Occasionally, the string won’t come unattached from the hat, so I end up having to yank the string from the sky – that’s always very romantic!
Pierce: So tell me about receiving Washington, DC’s coveted Helen Hayes Award for Best Actor! Congratulations! David: It was a huge honor to be recognized by the Helen Hayes Committee. My agent sure was happy! I’m very excited about it, and it was wonderful to be recognized in that way after being a part of this show for two years.
Pierce: How do you like touring life? David: Touring life is hard. The travel is the hardest – schlepping all your luggage, getting on a plane, going to the next city, getting settled in each new city. Once you’re settled, it’s easier, of course, but it’s not real! You’re not really in reality. Or at least it’s a very different version of reality, because it’s all about the show. And when you’re not at the theater, it’s all about the hotel and finding restaurants, finding a grocery store, finding a place to do your laundry, etc. It’s definitely a unique way to live!
Pierce: Tell me about making your new solo CD while you were in Piazza. David: It’s always been a goal of mine to make a CD, but it started to take shape at one performance in New York when I happened to be performing as Fabrizio. A friend of mine was in the audience, and he had a friend of his with him who is a sort of investor. Afterwards, I met with them both, and the investor friend asked me if I had ever thought about doing an album. Of course I said, “Yeah, I would love to do an album,” and he said, “We should talk!” So my new investor friend, Paul Lambert, who is really a great guy, put up half the money, and I put up the other half. And then Lee Lessack, a dear friend of mine who owns LML Music, had always said, “If you ever want to do a CD…,” and so he produced it and we worked on it together before and during the time I was on the road. It’s a very simple, elegant album, and I’m really proud of the way it turned out.
Pierce: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of showbiz? David: Yes – I paint. I do murals and faux finishes in houses. I also used to be member of a theater company in LA as a resident scenic painter, so I worked on a lot of the sets and I love painting and faux-aging and all that stuff. I painted a lot of murals. I’ve actually painted a mural in Winnie Holtzman’s kitchen – she wrote the book for Wicked. I did all the workshops of Wicked, and she’s a good friend of mine.
Pierce: If there was one experience that stood out for you over the course of your career so far, what would it be?
David: Playing Fabrizio. 2007 stands out as the best year of my life so far. My album has come out, I’m starring in an amazing Broadway show, I won the Helen Hayes Award… life is really good! I feel extraordinarily blessed. So, onward and upward. Next stop is to create a role in a new Broadway show, then to win my Tony of course!
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David was offered the role of Fiyero in Wicked after this article was written. No doubt he would say that returning to Broadway, this time reprising his workshop performance as Fiyero, is another highlight for him; a sure sign that he’s on the road to continued – and increasing – Broadway success. Onward and upward, David! You deserve it. See you on the Tony’s!
