More than 40 years on stage gives Hadary an edge
By Bruce R. Millerbmiller@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Friday, November 28, 2008
Jonathan Hadary plays King Arthur in “Spamalot,” the Tony-winning musical that opens in Sioux City next week.
It's great to be king.
Just ask Jonathan Hadary, the Broadway veteran who's playing the self-involved monarch in "Spamalot."
"It's very good for your posture," he says. And it's a chance to see if some of those old Monty Python gags still hold up.
The answer? Yes they do -- no matter where he's performing -- on Broadway or, now, on a tour that's stopping all over North America.
Surprisingly, Hadary didn't have much Python knowledge before joining the Tony-winning show. "I'd been working mostly and I didn't have a chance to see the series when it was on PBS. I was aware that it was funny."
But how funny? That took a little more familiarity.
In the musical -- based loosely on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" -- Hadary's King Arthur, his servant Patsy and several knights search throughout the world for the Holy Grail. Along the way, they encounter several characters familiar to Python regulars and learn they have to put on a Broadway show in order to find it. Arthur, however, doesn't know if he can do it because he's "all alone" -- a fact Patsy finds hard to take. The musical lampoons several Broadway landmarks, features a couple of familiar songs and requires many actors to play more than one part.
"It's a blank slate if you haven't seen the show," Hadary says. "If you've seen someone else in the role, you pick and choose what you like and what doesn't suit you."
When Hadary replaced Harvey Fierstein in "Torch Song Trilogy," he was grateful for the actor's guidance, for "lighting the way. The overall sweep of it came from him. But I didn't do Harvey."
As Herbie to Tyne Daly's Rose in "Gypsy," he knew audiences would make comparisons between their work and that of Jack Klugman and Ethel Merman, the originals. But if he was going to make it through the run, he'd have to create his own character, find his own truths.
"Some shows are more brittle by nature...there may be only one way to get through it. But 'Gypsy' has these great roles that need to be performed by a lot of different people. Besides, the public is never going to be in agreement."
Audiences who now say Patti LuPone is the greatest Rose may not have seen Daly's interpretation (which also won a Tony) or Angela Lansbury's (which did, too) or Merman's (which, surprisingly, didn't).
"What you realize is it's great writing. It's inscrutable enough to be open to interpretation so that you can bend it a little bit. 'Gypsy' gets revived less than you think...and it doesn't get revived in every high school."
Musicals aren't necessarily easier to do than plays, Hadary says. "But if the last thing you happened to do was a musical, that's what people think you can do."
After that "Gypsy" run, Hadary was offered the king's role in "Spamalot," but said no because he was also in the running for a key part in a revival of "Awake and Sing."
He chose the latter because "it wasn't going to come again and it moved me very deeply." The production won several Tonys, received universal acclaim and closed after a limited run. "Spamalot," meanwhile, was in for the long haul. Hadary got another shot (he followed Tim Curry in the leading role, then decided to go on tour). Now, he realizes he made the right choice.
The best of all worlds? Sometimes that can happen. But the life of a Broadway actor is often unsettling.
"Even when you're in a long run you don't know what the next job is going to be. Most people do not opt for a free-lance life. On the other hand, you get a lot of freedom and the variety is pretty great."
Longevity? That's not a given. While Hadary has been able to make a living as a Broadway actor for more than 40 years, most aren't so lucky.
"People I knew when I started out aren't in the business anymore. It's a grind -- eight times a week -- but I've always enjoyed it."
And, while he has been in films and on television, Hadary prefers the theater. "It keeps you young."
Changes? There have been plenty since he first starred in a production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
"Today, most shows are miked. Nobody is on the edge of their seat anymore. Nobody dresses up to go to the theater, either. You see people in cut-offs in these beautiful old buildings. It's like they're in Disneyland."
Shows? The blockbuster mentality has taken hold in New York. But there are purists who wish things hadn't changed.
When he was in "Gypsy" (which netted him a Tony nomination), Hadary wanted to do the show without mikes. Daly did, too. "We weren't taken seriously: 'People won't accept it,' we were told." The show was miked.
Still, he holds out hope that someday he can go back to those old ways and just project.
"I'd like to play Roy Cohn again, too," he says. "I'm now the age he was and the role is so meaty and worthwhile."
That was in "Angels in America," a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.
Shakespeare and Chekov are on his "to-do" list as well.
But mostly, he says, "I wonder what I'll do next. It's an odd feeling but it's just part of the gig. It's what we do."
What: "Spamalot"
When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and runs through Dec. 7.
Where: Orpheum Theatre
Tickets: $35 to $70. Available at all Ticketmaster outlets.
Details: This is the national touring company of the Tony-winning Best Musical. Based on material from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," it features such songs as "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and such characters as the Knight of Ni. They will close in New York in January.
Just ask Jonathan Hadary, the Broadway veteran who's playing the self-involved monarch in "Spamalot."
"It's very good for your posture," he says. And it's a chance to see if some of those old Monty Python gags still hold up.
The answer? Yes they do -- no matter where he's performing -- on Broadway or, now, on a tour that's stopping all over North America.
Surprisingly, Hadary didn't have much Python knowledge before joining the Tony-winning show. "I'd been working mostly and I didn't have a chance to see the series when it was on PBS. I was aware that it was funny."
But how funny? That took a little more familiarity.
In the musical -- based loosely on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" -- Hadary's King Arthur, his servant Patsy and several knights search throughout the world for the Holy Grail. Along the way, they encounter several characters familiar to Python regulars and learn they have to put on a Broadway show in order to find it. Arthur, however, doesn't know if he can do it because he's "all alone" -- a fact Patsy finds hard to take. The musical lampoons several Broadway landmarks, features a couple of familiar songs and requires many actors to play more than one part.
"It's a blank slate if you haven't seen the show," Hadary says. "If you've seen someone else in the role, you pick and choose what you like and what doesn't suit you."
When Hadary replaced Harvey Fierstein in "Torch Song Trilogy," he was grateful for the actor's guidance, for "lighting the way. The overall sweep of it came from him. But I didn't do Harvey."
As Herbie to Tyne Daly's Rose in "Gypsy," he knew audiences would make comparisons between their work and that of Jack Klugman and Ethel Merman, the originals. But if he was going to make it through the run, he'd have to create his own character, find his own truths.
"Some shows are more brittle by nature...there may be only one way to get through it. But 'Gypsy' has these great roles that need to be performed by a lot of different people. Besides, the public is never going to be in agreement."
Audiences who now say Patti LuPone is the greatest Rose may not have seen Daly's interpretation (which also won a Tony) or Angela Lansbury's (which did, too) or Merman's (which, surprisingly, didn't).
"What you realize is it's great writing. It's inscrutable enough to be open to interpretation so that you can bend it a little bit. 'Gypsy' gets revived less than you think...and it doesn't get revived in every high school."
Musicals aren't necessarily easier to do than plays, Hadary says. "But if the last thing you happened to do was a musical, that's what people think you can do."
After that "Gypsy" run, Hadary was offered the king's role in "Spamalot," but said no because he was also in the running for a key part in a revival of "Awake and Sing."
He chose the latter because "it wasn't going to come again and it moved me very deeply." The production won several Tonys, received universal acclaim and closed after a limited run. "Spamalot," meanwhile, was in for the long haul. Hadary got another shot (he followed Tim Curry in the leading role, then decided to go on tour). Now, he realizes he made the right choice.
The best of all worlds? Sometimes that can happen. But the life of a Broadway actor is often unsettling.
"Even when you're in a long run you don't know what the next job is going to be. Most people do not opt for a free-lance life. On the other hand, you get a lot of freedom and the variety is pretty great."
Longevity? That's not a given. While Hadary has been able to make a living as a Broadway actor for more than 40 years, most aren't so lucky.
"People I knew when I started out aren't in the business anymore. It's a grind -- eight times a week -- but I've always enjoyed it."
And, while he has been in films and on television, Hadary prefers the theater. "It keeps you young."
Changes? There have been plenty since he first starred in a production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
"Today, most shows are miked. Nobody is on the edge of their seat anymore. Nobody dresses up to go to the theater, either. You see people in cut-offs in these beautiful old buildings. It's like they're in Disneyland."
Shows? The blockbuster mentality has taken hold in New York. But there are purists who wish things hadn't changed.
When he was in "Gypsy" (which netted him a Tony nomination), Hadary wanted to do the show without mikes. Daly did, too. "We weren't taken seriously: 'People won't accept it,' we were told." The show was miked.
Still, he holds out hope that someday he can go back to those old ways and just project.
"I'd like to play Roy Cohn again, too," he says. "I'm now the age he was and the role is so meaty and worthwhile."
That was in "Angels in America," a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.
Shakespeare and Chekov are on his "to-do" list as well.
But mostly, he says, "I wonder what I'll do next. It's an odd feeling but it's just part of the gig. It's what we do."
What: "Spamalot"
When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and runs through Dec. 7.
Where: Orpheum Theatre
Tickets: $35 to $70. Available at all Ticketmaster outlets.
Details: This is the national touring company of the Tony-winning Best Musical. Based on material from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," it features such songs as "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and such characters as the Knight of Ni. They will close in New York in January.
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