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[0:01] Nicholas Christopher: Hi, I'm Nicholas Christopher and you're listening to Behind The Awards.

[0:14] Eila Mell: Hello and welcome to Behind The Awards. I'm Eila. As always, I'm here with Bruce. Hello, Bruce.

[0:21] Bruce Gotlieb: Hello there. How are we doing?

[0:23] Eila Mell: So busy trying to see all the shows that I haven't seen.

[0:27] Bruce Gotlieb: I know.

[0:28] Eila Mell: Before Tony season, I know you just saw Fear of 13.

[0:31] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, snuck in yesterday amidst the strike.

[0:35] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[0:36] Bruce Gotlieb: And all got there.

[0:37] Eila Mell: Right.

[0:38] Bruce Gotlieb: But, you know, there's still a few shows left that I haven't seen and I'm trying to get there.

[0:43] Eila Mell: I might not quite make all of them, but I'll give it my damnedest.

[0:47] Bruce Gotlieb: It's a valiant effort. I mean, you've seen 99% of everything.

[0:51] Eila Mell: Well, it's just, you know, I feel like it's not only our job, but it's, you know, our passion.

[0:57] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right. Exactly. It's, you know, it's an easy job.

[1:01] Eila Mell: That's right. Well, so to get people ready, though, because we've already started getting announcements for shows for next season.

[1:08] Bruce Gotlieb: So I know people can start building out their calendar.

[1:11] Eila Mell: We have Raul Esparza is coming back to Broadway in Galileo.

[1:16] Bruce Gotlieb: Very exciting. I hear wonderful things about that show.

[1:19] Eila Mell: So have I. And he's such a dynamic performer.

[1:22] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, yeah. I mean, his voice is gorgeous.

[1:25] Eila Mell: So I'm there just for that.

[1:27] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes. Agreed.

[1:29] Eila Mell: Wanted, which was gun and powder when it was a paper mill and has gotten a name change about these two outlaws.

[1:37] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes.

[1:38] Eila Mell: Sisters.

[1:39] Bruce Gotlieb: That could be fun.

[1:40] Eila Mell: That could be a lot of fun.

[1:41] Bruce Gotlieb: Had that paranormal activity. That sounds like fun.

[1:45] Eila Mell: And it feels like, well, maybe not super fast, but I remember last week reading an article that it was coming to Boston this summer for a pre-Broadway what have you.

[1:56] Bruce Gotlieb: And I thought to myself, OK, that's interesting.

[1:59] Eila Mell: I wonder how this will be. I wonder if it will come, whatever.

[2:02] Bruce Gotlieb: And then what was it like two days later?

[2:04] Eila Mell: That was it. It's coming.

[2:05] Bruce Gotlieb: Right. That's it. Yeah. No, that's great.

[2:07] Eila Mell: But, you know, I think it did really well in the West End.

[2:10] Bruce Gotlieb: So that helps, too.

[2:11] Eila Mell: Yeah. And it'll be interesting because I would assume it's going to rely heavily on tech like Stranger Things does.

[2:18] Bruce Gotlieb: Right.

[2:19] Eila Mell: To get those illusions, to get the audience on the edge of their seat and then make them jump out of it.

[2:25] Bruce Gotlieb: Right. And is it going to rely heavily on video because of the nature of the show?

[2:29] Eila Mell: I don't know. We'll see.

[2:31] Bruce Gotlieb: Right. Right. It'll be very interesting because I wouldn't classify Stranger Things is as a horror genre, maybe suspense.

[2:41] Eila Mell: Yeah, I will. I'm not sure.

[2:43] Bruce Gotlieb: There are some jump scares in it.

[2:46] Eila Mell: Right. But when they build like Grey House was billed as horror on Broadway.

[2:51] Bruce Gotlieb: Right.

[2:52] Eila Mell: And when I think of paranormal activity, I think more terror than I do.

[2:57] Bruce Gotlieb: Stranger Things?

[2:58] Eila Mell: Stranger Things.

[2:59] Bruce Gotlieb: Stranger Things. But it'll be very interesting to see how they do it.

[3:02] Eila Mell: Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, a lot of times in movies there's, you know, horror and suspense can be one in the same anyway.

[3:11] Bruce Gotlieb: A thriller, if you will.

[3:12] Eila Mell: Right. Yeah. And I love that. That's my favorite genre. So I'm excited.

[3:17] Bruce Gotlieb: So have you bought tickets yet for any of the shows for next season?

[3:20] Eila Mell: No, because I'm very much rooted in this season still. Until The Tonys, I can't really think too much about next season.

[3:28] Bruce Gotlieb: Understood.

[3:29] Eila Mell: And, you know, going with that, I really want to concentrate on our guest today because he is a Tony nominee.

[3:35] Bruce Gotlieb: He is so talented. I'm so thrilled we have him on our show.

[3:39] Eila Mell: Yeah. What he's doing on that stage is incredible.

[3:43] Bruce Gotlieb: There's been a little viral clip of the end of his anthem, if you will.

[3:48] Eila Mell: So gorgeous.

[3:49] Bruce Gotlieb: Double meaning intended fully. So we should bring out Nicholas Christopher and have a talk.

[3:57] Eila Mell: We are so thrilled to welcome Nicholas Christopher to Behind the Awards. Hello there.

[4:03] Nicholas Christopher: Hello. Hello. Thank you for having me. Really excited.

[4:06] Eila Mell: It's a thrill for us to have you. And congratulations on all the success that Chess is having and you're having. How did all this come to be for you?

[4:15] Nicholas Christopher: Well, I had worked with Michael Mayer on a play called Whirl Inside a Loop with Dick Scanlan and Cherie Renee Scott as second stage. And I guess, you know, I was somewhere always in the back of his mind. And then when he came to see Sweeney Todd, he like stopped me on the street after and he was so excited. I didn't realize why he was so excited. And then he said, I'm going to call you. And I think maybe the dialect work or maybe the style of the show inspired him. Something inspired him within that to then bring me on on chess. And I did a reading of it about three years ago. And then it wasn't happening. And then it was happening and then it wasn't happening. And then finally, we're working.

[5:01] Eila Mell: So did you grow up as a chess fan?

[5:04] Nicholas Christopher: No, no, I didn't know anything about it until the reading, really. My sister at a voice recital sang someone else's story, which I didn't realize was from chess at the time. And then, you know, being in musical theater classes, you know, guys would sing anthem. And I was like, what is this weird classical musical theater kind of rock sound that I'd never really heard before? It was a weird amalgamation of things, but seemed to fit so uniquely together.

[5:33] Eila Mell: Yeah, I mean, it's one of the best scores on Broadway.

[5:37] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, it's really fun to sing every night.

[5:40] Eila Mell: Oh, my gosh. And as an audience member, it's such a thrill just to be in the room to hear that music.

[5:46] Nicholas Christopher: And the way they mix the sound, too. It's nice to go to a Broadway show that's loud.

[5:51] Eila Mell: Yeah, you can and you can see the band and you can feel the vibrations in your chest.

[5:55] Nicholas Christopher: And yes, we all get to really have this shared experience, which is so exciting. It doesn't feel distant. It doesn't feel far away.

[6:03] Eila Mell: Right. It feels like we're all really in this together.

[6:05] Nicholas Christopher: Yes. Shout out to my friend, your sound designer, John Shivers.

[6:08] Eila Mell: Oh, my gosh. Isn't he the best?

[6:11] Nicholas Christopher: He's great. He would just have this sixth sense during tech rehearsals. I would just be kind of in my head. He would just come up and put his hand on my shoulder and say, hey, how you doing?

[6:20] Eila Mell: Oh, good.

[6:23] Bruce Gotlieb: So you and I, Nicholas, we go back to Sweeney Todd. You don't know this, but I was at your opening night. And so, you know, for me, we're connected. You know, you have no idea.

[6:36] Nicholas Christopher: I can feel it.

[6:37] Bruce Gotlieb: I loved what you did as Pirelli so much.

[6:41] Nicholas Christopher: Oh, thank you.

[6:42] Bruce Gotlieb: I mean, I, you know, I grew up watching. I used to I was a weird kid every day after school. I would watch the George Hearn video of Sweeney Todd.

[6:51] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah.

[6:52] Bruce Gotlieb: So I love that show so much. And just to be in the audience, to hear the full orchestra and then your cast, which had some of the best singers I've ever heard, including you.

[7:04] Nicholas Christopher: Oh, amazing.

[7:06] Bruce Gotlieb: Just unbelievable. That whole experience is what brought me back to New York. I wasn't going to audition for it because I never saw myself in that show. But then my brother got it and he said, look, they're looking for Pirelli. And they're also looking for Sweeney Standby. You should think about it. And I was like, Sweeney Todd, that's not how I say it. But then the opportunity or the possibility of being able to work with my brother eight times a week got the best of me. And so I put in the tape. Luckily, I knew the creative team. And then they asked me, like, would you want to be Pirelli and Standby for Sweeney? I was like, that's impossible. Okay. Yeah.

[7:50] Eila Mell: And you got to do Sweeney a lot because you did it full time for, what, a month?

[7:55] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, for a little while between Josh and Aaron. And that was also during COVID time, too. So anytime anybody had a little bit of a sniffle or anything like that, you know, what was the phrase? Out of an abundance of caution, I got to go on a bunch of Sweeney. It's funny. The first time I went on a Sweeney, it was like maybe three, four hours notice.

[8:19] Bruce Gotlieb: Wow.

[8:20] Nicholas Christopher: Josh had caught the flu or something like that during previews. So I never even really had any rehearsals for it.

[8:26] Eila Mell: Right.

[8:27] Nicholas Christopher: People don't realize understudies don't get to rehearse until after the show opens.

[8:31] Bruce Gotlieb: Right.

[8:32] Nicholas Christopher: Exactly. Exactly. So luckily, I had been doing my part. I was learning the music as I could while I'm trying to learn my Pirelli track. And I always knew that there's always a possibility that something could happen. You know, that's the good thing about being in this business for 15 years. You see crazier things happen. And so I was somewhat ready. And also the standby for Mrs. Lovett, Gina DeWaal was a huge help too, because during tech, we would be up in the back of the house and we'd be rehearsing together. So that was a huge help. But three hours notice to sing and to perform one of the most iconic characters ever was absolutely an experience. And after that, I feel like I can do anything.

[9:15] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, I think you can.

[9:17] Nicholas Christopher: My friend saw you go on, and she said you were just amazing.

[9:21] Bruce Gotlieb: She said you were so scary.

[9:23] Nicholas Christopher: Oh, yeah?

[9:24] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[9:25] Nicholas Christopher: I got a lot of rage.

[9:27] Bruce Gotlieb: I'm sure, other than adrenaline, obviously, in that moment, it has to do a lot with carrying you through. But what is it, I guess, is there a certain something you do to lock your brain in in that short amount of time as an understudy or a standby to say, okay, forget about everything that we've been working on. Now this is what I need to draw on.

[9:49] Nicholas Christopher: You know, maybe with another part, it wouldn't have really worked. But you're right. The adrenaline of it, Sweeney is a bit of a fish out of water. He's come back to this place that's familiar to him, but it's very different now, which was the stage for me. The stage was very familiar, but it's very different now. And then I was able to just sort of lock into a trance. During the pandemic, I watched The Last Dance, the Michael Jordan documentary, and I probably watch every episode at least once a month now. But I just kind of had this mantra. It's like if you want to be legendary, you got to do legendary-ish. And this is an opportunity. So I was praying to the theater gods just to carry me through.

The whole cast and crew was there rooting me on. You know, I didn't know the entrances or exits. I just sort of knew what almost happened in between. So they would say, okay. They would push me on stage because I didn't want to have to think about listening for like a cue or anything. I said, just give me a push and I'll go. And then they would tell me where I would exit. And I would meet one of the stage managers at the exit and go through the scene that I was about to do. And then they would push me back on stage and I would be there ready to go.

[11:06] Eila Mell: Wow.

[11:07] Nicholas Christopher: It was an awesome exercise in listening and playing because me and Annalie had never done it before.

[11:14] Bruce Gotlieb: Right.

[11:15] Nicholas Christopher: If you could do it with anybody, it's with her.

[11:17] Eila Mell: Oh, my God. I loved her, Mrs. Love.

[11:19] Nicholas Christopher: It's so fun. She's one of my dearest, dearest friends, and I'm so inspired by her.

[11:24] Eila Mell: Yeah, she's something special for sure.

[11:26] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah. She hit.

[11:28] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, yeah. Let's go back to chess because, you know, I've said this many times in your absence that every time I go to a show, a musical, I wish for an experience like the one you gave.

[11:40] Eila Mell: I want a voice like yours and you almost never get it.

[11:44] Nicholas Christopher: But your voice is so special and so incredible.

[11:49] Eila Mell: It's like you were born to sing this part.

[11:52] Nicholas Christopher: Thank you very much. I love singing. But in my family, my brother is the singer. You know, she went to University of Michigan for vocal performance, then went to McGill to get his graduate degree in vocal performance. So he's always been very much the singer. And my training is mostly in acting. So I went to Juilliard for in the acting program, went to Boston Conservatory for a year where I had this wonderful voice teacher. And she changed my life in terms of how I sing. But for the most part, I'm just trying to sound like my brother.

[12:28] Eila Mell: Wow. That's a huge compliment to your brother.

[12:31] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, he's phenomenal.

[12:33] Eila Mell: Your brother, Jonathan, we should say.

[12:35] Nicholas Christopher: Jonathan Christopher.

[12:36] Eila Mell: Yes.

[12:37] Nicholas Christopher: Yes. It must have been so much fun just getting to work with him. What a gift.

[12:43] Nicholas Christopher: Especially because he's like he's always going around the world singing places or, you know, he has a friend like going to this friend's mansion in Italy or something like that. And so it's the first time probably since we were in high school together that we spent that much concentrated time together.

[13:01] Eila Mell: Wow.

[13:03] Nicholas Christopher: So did you and Aaron have a bond going into chess because you had worked on Sweeney Todd together?

[13:09] Nicholas Christopher: Oh, for sure. When I knew, especially playing Pirelli, you know, I knew I could throw anything at him and he would be there with me. You know, a lot of actors, for whatever reason, you know, get locked into a certain way of doing things. You know, it's hard to do this eight times a week. You want to know that you can go in there and give a great performance. That's not the school that I come from. I like to bring in whatever I was feeling that day and really have a sense of play and, you know, paint yourself into a corner and not know how to get out of it. And then something opens up that's new and exciting. And I knew Aaron would be along for that ride. I didn't know him as well as I do now, which has just been really great.

You know, we're kind of stereotypical guys in the sense that, like, if I need help or anything, I'm not really going to go and ask him for it. Or, you know, we just say, hey, what's up? So, OK, cool, cool. We keep it moving. But any time that he's ever sensed anything in me, maybe the overwhelming part of this business, which is, you know, doing interviews or like things that are happening around the work that can be a little bit daunting and I get nervous about those things.

[14:19] Nicholas Christopher: He's always just pulled me aside and just, like, looked me in my eye and he's been really, really, really solid and a great touchstone for somebody who's been through this before.

[14:29] Eila Mell: Yeah, I hope you're not nervous now.

[14:32] Eila Mell: I know you said you started with the reading, you know, three years ago. So aside from the piece, I'm sure, evolving as it does through the rehearsal process, you must have changed somewhat over three years times a lot.

[14:46] Eila Mell: Do you find that that also then informed how you came to your character and each night?

[14:52] Nicholas Christopher: Oh yeah, you mean in life versus?

[14:54] Eila Mell: Yeah, like, you know, who you were three years ago when you started the reading, I'm sure you were, you know, you were in a different place and a different person now that you're putting this on its feet. It can't be the same person as it was three years ago.

[15:08] Nicholas Christopher: No, not at all. I had, I was in a little bit of a daze when we did the reading of it, the first reading of it, because I had a, like a two and a half year old at home and like a four month old at home. Two wonderful baby girls. And on top of that, I was, I was, I was in Sweeney at night and then doing that. And I was also gearing up to go to Jelly's Last Jam.

[15:35] Nicholas Christopher: And so there were a lot of things kind of just swirling and I was just trying to be in the moment wherever I was. And ever since then, I've had these kind of short stints of rehearsals where it's like, okay, you're gonna rehearse for two weeks and then you're gonna play Seymour, you're gonna rehearse for two weeks and you got to be a tap dancer and do Jelly's Last Jam or, you know, or they were just going back into Hamilton. It was just like, ah, you don't need rehearsal. We'll just see what happens.

[15:59] Nicholas Christopher: And it's like, okay, so this was really wonderful to get four weeks of rehearsal and to kind of settle into it that way and really make some detailed observations.

[16:13] Nicholas Christopher: But in terms of me, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm older now. You know, I got more joint pain than I did three years ago. But I think, I think, yeah, as what you hope, you're a little bit more settled into yourself. So I can't stand on stage and not feel like I have to come to the audience, but actually invite them into me. I don't know if I could have done that three years ago.

[16:33] Eila Mell: Yeah, yeah, because that was something that definitely I found sitting there, watching the show, you guys do, there's this like, trance that whatever it is that happens when the three, especially the three of you are up there that just the audience member feels this pull in. And you could try to stop it, but it won't happen. So that's, that's the goal, right?

[16:58] Nicholas Christopher: It's just to, to get somebody to like, lean in, or like, just have somebody just for a second, just forget that they're breathing or that they're in a theater that we're all in the same room, right? That somehow we are able to transcend to something. That's the goal, at least, you know?

[17:14] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah. So he's a complicated guy. You know, depending on what brush you paint him with, some people could see him as a villain. Some people, you know, I don't think he's portrayed that way in this version. We had Hannah Cruz on our show.

[17:27] Nicholas Christopher: And, you know, I guess the same could be said for her character. You know, she makes some questionable decisions in the show. Obviously, you can't judge a character that you're playing because you have to be in his shoes. But what was your way in with Anatoly?

[17:43] Nicholas Christopher: I mean, it's hard to kind of look back now, right? So I, you know, I also don't prescribe to this thing of like, not judging a character. I think if you read something and something hits you, and you're like, why do they do that? That actually makes you lean in, you know, like, at first, there is a transition where you hope to stop judging them and you and you have more of an understanding of this life.

[18:09] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[18:10] Nicholas Christopher: But I don't prescribe. Like, yeah, when I first read a script, I'm judging everybody. I'm judging everything. And normally, that allows me to lean in rather than push away.

[18:19] Eila Mell: Okay, so that gives you like something to work with? Is that sort of like where you feel like I have to understand him here?

[18:27] Nicholas Christopher: Oh, absolutely. Like, why just walk away? Svetlana is right there. Just walk away. Why can't you walk away? Oh, there's a question there. Okay, well, let me go back and see why. Or like, why aren't you just telling Freddie to just shut up and leave me alone?

[18:42] Eila Mell: Right.

[18:43] Nicholas Christopher: Well, interesting. Okay, let's go back. And let's see that. Why I get frustrated with a lot with characters when I first like sort of introduced them. And that gives me the sort of passion to start unlocking doors or ask more questions.

[19:01] Jasmine Amy Rogers: Hi, I'm Jasmine Amy Rogers. You are listening to Behind the Awards. We'll be right back.

[19:08] Eila Mell: What is the most interesting thing to you about this character?

[19:11] Nicholas Christopher: I think, I think it takes great courage to allow yourself to go against everything that you've been taught, you know, the way your mind has been programmed throughout your whole life. And to actually break away from that and ask yourself what it is that you actually want. What is it that is your goal? What is it that is your dream? And to allow yourself to go after that and pick up the pieces after.

[19:39] Nicholas Christopher: I think Anatoly was told when to sleep, when to eat, when to play chess, who he's going to marry, how many kids he's going to have. And he hasn't had any sort of agency throughout his whole life.

[19:50] Nicholas Christopher: And he makes a couple decisions throughout the piece that, whether it's running away with Florence, or whether it's to, is he going to win or lose the chess match? I have great anxiety every night over those those moments.

[20:06] Nicholas Christopher: And if it were me, you know, I don't know, maybe I would have just stuck to the status quo to try to keep things even keel. And this man, I have to make the choice every night to to to go against that. And that takes great courage. And that's, you know, I hope that that can transfer into my everyday life.

[20:27] Eila Mell: And what I also, you know, how profound, especially in the times that we're living in now, where people do have to, you know, like you said, you have the agency to do something. So I feel like a lot of people sit on that, right on the edge of that now, like, what, what are they going to do to help change their lives, change others lives, you know, that taking that same agency?

[20:49] Nicholas Christopher: Exactly, exactly. And what's also like, I think is the what's a huge thing for me at the end is like, so, you know, there's this personal sacrifice that he and Florence make in order for the betterment of other people, you know, of everyone else. And I think if we could take a little drop of that, of like, just a little bit of self sacrifice, just for the betterment of others, you know, or maybe our immediate comfort, we can sacrifice a little bit of immediate comfort for somebody else go out of our way for somebody.

[21:17] Nicholas Christopher: And I hope that, you know, I hope people take that with them at the end of the show.

[21:21] Eila Mell: Do you have a favorite moment of the show that you're not on stage for where maybe you're watching in the wings or listening backstage?

[21:30] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, I mean, yeah, I'm always like, there's like, oh, man, I mean, there's so many. First of all, there's this moment where Freddie and Florence are like fighting. Oh, what's the name? I think it's Florence quits. And Leah sings the song, you'll be lost without me.

[21:46] Nicholas Christopher: And when she sings that, I'm always backstage like, yeah, or Bryce Pinker, who plays the Arbiter at our show. Oh, man, almost every joke that he has in the show, I stopped and wait for his delivery that night, because it's always a little bit different. He really allows the audience to influence his performance every night.

[22:10] Nicholas Christopher: But then this Hannah Cruz, you know what I mean? Like, when I'm on stage, but then when she does the reprise of where I want to be, it's like, and she's looking at me. I mean, there's so many, so many moments, the Soviet machine where Bradley Dean holds this like crazy high A for so long. And like, I mean, could he the child, someone else is like, there's so many moments. I'm sorry, I can't, I can't.

[22:34] Nicholas Christopher: We like the jumping into the pants moment. That's great fun.

[22:38] Eila Mell: You know, I haven't seen that. What? Well, they've changed. They've changed that number so much like throughout like tech and things. And I just felt that once we got into costumes, I felt like it was inappropriate for me to go and sit and watch that.

[22:55] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, understood.

[23:13] Nicholas Christopher: But not in detail, like I do now. And also, I have great these really wonderful friends who came over from the USSR back in the 80s. And they've taken me under their wing and talk to me at great length and great detail and been very vulnerable with me about what it was like to live in Russia during that time.

[23:34] Eila Mell: Wow, that's so valuable.

[24:02] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, that's scary.

[24:03] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[24:04] Eila Mell: So your primary scene partner in this show is Lea Michele.

[24:07] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah.

[24:08] Eila Mell: And you know, she comes with her own audience.

[24:11] Nicholas Christopher: Mm hmm.

[24:12] Eila Mell: What's it been like just, you know, being part of her universe in this show?

[24:17] Nicholas Christopher: It's been great. You know, I tell her that because we started this in 2025, I was like, you're the best surprise of 2025. Because for somebody who's been, you know, so famous for so long, right? You know, she really is just a Jersey girl at heart. And she really is like somebody who she's like, very much like a nurturer. I mean, she's a mom of two. And so she's like, always check and see if everybody's all right, or she's just been so wonderful to become friends with.

[24:48] Nicholas Christopher: And then the fandom is just crazy. I mean, whenever she comes out on stage, it's like, yo.

[24:53] Eila Mell: And they haven't even seen the show yet. And you know what I mean? And like, they're clapping that hard for I'm like, yo, just wait.

[25:00] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah.

[25:01] Nicholas Christopher: Two and a half more hours of this.

[25:03] Eila Mell: Right, wait till they hear nobody's side.

[25:07] Nicholas Christopher: And she's consistent. And, you know, and she's there with you. She looks you in your eyes. And like, she did, like, like the three of us really, I think, I really feel like it was meant to be because I, you know, the stakes are so high in this show. It's like it is kind of melodrama if you're heightened, you know, right.

[25:31] Nicholas Christopher: And I don't think I could have, I wouldn't have lasted if it was any other two people for sure.

[25:36] Eila Mell: Yeah, well, she's the real deal. She's been doing this and she's a baby pretty much.

[25:40] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, yeah. But she's still a human being. Sometimes you meet these child stars and you're like, yeah, she's like she or her parents and her husband Zandy, like, everybody around her, including her own will to stay grounded and to stay human being is really beautiful to see.

[25:58] Nicholas Christopher: Because then she can go and blow out, you know, nobody's side and come back and like, you know, play with their kids backstage.

[26:07] Eila Mell: I was looking over just, you know, a few minutes before we got on just to see, make sure I knew your credits. And it seems like you never really had a small part in anything. It seems like you hit the gate running.

[26:20] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, well, you know, I don't know what this this sort of narrative of like, I don't know what I don't know what it is, but I've been working consistently for the past 15 years. Thank God, you know,

[26:31] Nicholas Christopher: it's Yeah, I mean, that is not most people's story. So, you know, I'm sure you feel very fortunate.

[26:37] Nicholas Christopher: Oh, for sure. Yeah. But did you feel a shift in your career from Sweeney Todd? Is that where things kind of changed for you, where you were now, you know, the leading man going forward?

[26:49] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think there's always this sort of, but I felt that shift when I played Collins in Rent Off Broadway. I felt that shift, you know, when that when I was in Miss Saigon, I was playing John, I think there's this sort of like, you know, people either forget or like move on to something else.

[27:07] Nicholas Christopher: Or like, sometimes you just hit a stride, where, thank God, it's like, I've been really lucky that things have kind of come back to back to back, like it has. And I don't think that's really anything to do with me. I think it's just by chance, you know, like, Michael Mayer and the producers of chess are the same director and one of the producers of Little Shop, and they were like, let's see if this guy can play Seymour, you know what I mean?

[27:31] Nicholas Christopher: So I think the luck is, is what shows have been chosen. And I happen to have met those moments. But I think since Sweeney, I kind of reminded people.

[27:42] Eila Mell: And also that you've gotten to do so many different types of characters in such a short window of time. I mean, Jelly's Last Jam and all of this, you know, so I think now people just assume you can do anything.

[27:56] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, I mean, I think I can.

[27:59] Nicholas Christopher: Why not?

[28:00] Nicholas Christopher: Because with like Jelly's, I was like, I was literally playing Sweeney Todd at night and tap dancing during the day to rehearse for Jelly's Last Jam.

[28:09] Eila Mell: Now, did you learn tap for the show? Or were you a dancer before?

[28:14] Nicholas Christopher: Um, I had taken a year of tap classes at Boston Conservatory. So I knew, like, I have a great pullback. My pullback is like, I must say, but in terms of digesting choreography, that is just not had to really work on it for hours and hours.

[28:30] Nicholas Christopher: And Dormesha, our choreographer really helped with that.

[28:35] Nicholas Christopher: And, you know, she was like a great big sister.

[28:38] Nicholas Christopher: Losing patience with me. But then also being encouraging. It was like the exact energy that I needed for that. But then I come home and I'm playing dress-up and I'm wearing wigs and tutus around my neck with my little girls. You know what I mean?

[28:52] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[28:52] Nicholas Christopher: Tap has to be so precise because people can actually hear if you miss a step. It was a couple shows that were a little... You mentioned Miss Saigon, which when I was looking back I was like, wait a minute. I saw him in that. But that part, you know, Jon also, you know, you have an iconic song that you're singing at the top of Act 2, which is just so rich and especially within your voice that the warm tones and all of that that it brings out. It's another one of those pieces though that really bring the audience, make them lean into you.

[29:28] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, that song was amazing because I had heard that song before but I never actually knew what it was about. And then being able to sing about these little mixed kids like half American, half Vietnamese and like, I'm like, I'm half Bermudian, half Bostonian. Wow. I'm singing about myself here. Let's not forget about these. I mean, in a very, very different circle.

[29:50] Eila Mell: Of course.

[29:50] Nicholas Christopher: But like, oh, this guy's fighting for something. Oh, wow. Oh, he was one person in Act 1 and then learned a lesson and comes back in Act 2 and is actually trying to right his own wrongs. Like, how beautiful is that journey as a human being? You don't always get the full arc to portray. You have to kind of do it and let the audience say, oh, well, he would have, you know.

[30:16] Eila Mell: Exactly.

[30:17] Nicholas Christopher: Exactly. As I was doing my research, I read something that was so fascinating that your dad was a town crier.

[30:24] Eila Mell: Oh, he still is.

[30:25] Nicholas Christopher: Oh my gosh. Yeah, and King Charles is going to Bermuda at the end of this month and my dad's part of that whole welcoming ceremony and bringing him around the island. How cool. Yeah, back when Queen Elizabeth came to Bermuda back in the 90s, you know, he was part of that and has pictures with her, you know, the whole thing.

[30:43] Eila Mell: I didn't even realize that that was still a job that people would have.

[30:46] Nicholas Christopher: Wow. Yeah, you know, it's much more of a ceremonial position, but then he also goes and speaks on behalf of Bermuda around the world, the different British territories. He's a fascinating guy, my dad. Do you feel like you got something from him in, you know, to make you a performer because that's a performing job?

[31:05] Nicholas Christopher: Absolutely. Well, he also was an actor and is a singer, has a reggae band in Bermuda as well. Oh cool. So yeah, completely. I mean, I was like four months old when I saw my first musical and he was in it, you know, and I, you know, I don't remember the exact moment, but I can't remember a time that I didn't want to be on stage doing that.

[31:30] Eila Mell: Do your girls show an interest?

[31:32] Nicholas Christopher: It's unbelievable. It is undeniable. Now, I'm not going to force them into it.

[31:39] Eila Mell: Right.

[31:40] Nicholas Christopher: But one day daddy needs to retire. They better be, you know, but they're just so full of life and they're dancing constantly and now, I mean, one's two and one's four and they're like harmonizing with each other and I'm like, wow, I can barely harmonize now. So it's definitely like next level of this bug that they have and it's so exciting to watch, but then I'm holding myself back because I want to encourage, but I don't want to push.

[32:08] Eila Mell: Right. Is it like you and your brother?

[32:10] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah.

[32:11] Eila Mell: That's so sweet.

[32:12] Nicholas Christopher: And my wife's a dancer. She was in In the Heights on Broadway and it's like unbelievable and is like my acting coach and like, you know, she's unbelievable in everything that she does. So the girls have that as well.

[32:29] Eila Mell: And I'm sure you couldn't do what you do as well without knowing that your wife is there behind you.

[32:35] Nicholas Christopher: Oh completely. So you were talking about Sweeney. This is the point. I was eventually going to get to like Sweeney being a turning point for me, not actually being with Jennifer Locke. Christopher was really the turning point for me and my artistry and my humanity and every corner of my life, you know, that's so sweet.

[32:55] Eila Mell: Yeah. So do you kind of have to take turns or who gets to work when because you have young daughters?

[33:00] Nicholas Christopher: Yes, but right now it seems to be my turn just because of, you know, right you can't stop momentum.

[33:07] Eila Mell: Yeah, exactly.

[33:08] Nicholas Christopher: But also my wife was she's danced on Broadway. She's danced on the Grammys and the Oscars. She's danced with like Misty Copeland or her mentors Debbie Allen and you know, she grew up in LA and was like so she feels as though she's and I'm not putting words in her mouth. She's told me this that she sort of exercised that part of her the performance bug and something very, very special would have to come along in order for her to jump back into it. Now. She's doing a lot a whole lot of writing.

[33:43] Nicholas Christopher: She's starting to think about, you know, she doesn't really have the choreography bug that a lot of dancers end up transitioning to be choreographers. But um, so she said she's still figuring it out what exactly she's going to transition to but in the meantime, she's an absolutely insane mother and like yeah, most important job most important for sure.

[34:05] Eila Mell: Are your girls at the show a lot?

[34:08] Nicholas Christopher: No, I don't want them seeing daddy kissing some other lady. But they've come they come backstage a lot and when I when I did Hamilton my four-year-old side, you know, she thought she could talk to me during the performance.

[34:24] Eila Mell: Yeah, he's working.

[34:27] Nicholas Christopher: But yeah, they're very involved in the kind of behind the scenes because I want them to feel at home there too.

[34:32] Eila Mell: That's got to be fun too is that if your kids are backstage and Leah's and I'm sure at you know, like you guys all have kids so it becomes this a different community backstage than then you're sharing on stage. So it's like this full circle community completely completely and I'm a huge Bryce Pinkham fan and I like like big enough to that I like I have trouble really like I just want him to like me.

[35:00] Nicholas Christopher: I don't feel that often. I'm like, okay, take me or leave me but I really want him to like me and his wife Scarlett. I really want her to live. So I like our kids. I'm always bringing up our kids because that's like what we can talk to kids.

[35:13] Eila Mell: Yeah, me too.

[35:15] Nicholas Christopher: You like I just get an invitation one day. Maybe the kids.

[35:19] Eila Mell: Yeah, exactly.

[35:20] Nicholas Christopher: We'll get them together.

[35:22] Eila Mell: Yeah play date.

[35:24] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, exactly. What would be people be surprised to know about chess working on it, but it was just like a really smooth process which you know and other there you always hit bumps in the road with any other show that I've done or like somebody has to walk out of the rehearsal room or like this drama.

[35:44] Eila Mell: There was really low drama with this which was great.

[35:49] Nicholas Christopher: What would be surprising? I mean, I drank a whole lot of vodka gearing up to wait your stand Anatoly.

[35:57] Eila Mell: Yeah, but if you know me that's not too surprising.

[36:01] Nicholas Christopher: You know, Michael Mayer is such a thoughtful director and such a champion of his actors.

[36:06] Eila Mell: Yeah, and such a great collaborator.

[36:08] Nicholas Christopher: What did you learn working with him to trust myself more? You know, sometimes I want to my first impulse is to hit the audience with energy no matter what that energy is just hit him with it and you know, he was the one that was really like just just be and that's that's enough.

[36:29] Eila Mell: Yeah, and that was really awesome and very liberating to feel his support because he's also the great I think the thing about Michael his is like two superpowers is that he has great taste and that he cannot hide his emotions.

[36:46] Nicholas Christopher: So as soon as he's bored as soon as he doesn't like a choice that you make or as soon as you like sort of going off the rails you hear about it.

[36:55] Eila Mell: Yeah, and you don't feel like bad or anything.

[36:58] Nicholas Christopher: He doesn't make anybody never belittles anybody but like, you know, you'll do something else like you'll hear from the back of the house. Oh God. Thank you.

[37:06] Eila Mell: Like that guy was that real?

[37:08] Nicholas Christopher: Who is that? I mean, that again exactly, you know, Freddie and Anatoly are opposites. I think Freddie is like a loose cannon and Anatoly is you know, his power is in his stillness.

[37:21] Eila Mell: Was that something that was ever discussed or did you just sort of find that?

[37:23] Nicholas Christopher: No, we just sort of found that I think that the tension between me sort of being more expressive and having to contain that or Aaron who seems to be much more low-key and sort of have to really express himself in that way lends itself.

[37:41] Nicholas Christopher: Like I said to this beautiful tension of each character where we're both going outside of our comfort zones. And I think it's just been really exciting for both of us to sort of like just be able to watch each other because we don't come in contact that often in the show, especially from my point of view.

[37:59] Nicholas Christopher: I get to watch him and in awe and envy isn't the right word, but like how does he do that? Like how can he exist in the way that he exists and it's yeah, it's just it's really it's really beautiful, you know, and then we have that moment on the on the bench towards the end of the show and it's just all I know is that I just have to go and just listen to him and that is just so such a sigh of relief just to sit.

[38:29] Eila Mell: All I know is like I just got to sit on this bench.

[38:32] Nicholas Christopher: I got to sit here and I got to listen to him because he's gonna bring it every time.

[38:36] Eila Mell: Is it interesting the way that you guys are staged the ensemble really doesn't leave the stage.

[38:40] Nicholas Christopher: So you go to shows or you'll see shows that have like on stage seating or different, you know, seating depending on the theater. So here it's like you guys are surrounded by people watching you. It's almost like you're not in the round but because the ensembles all around you.

[38:59] Eila Mell: Do you feel that that does that change how you are as an actor because you have people all around you watching how you approach it?

[39:05] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, because I can get like a little bit mischievous sometimes and so I'm like not and this isn't all the time, but maybe I'm giving one show to the audience and another show to the ensemble.

[39:17] Eila Mell: I love that right or like, you know, something will happen where I'll try to like, you know, I'll try to stay serious, but sometimes you break and sometimes you laughed and there's nowhere to hide because you turn to like smile or turn to shake it off and there's you know, 20 people sitting there looking right at you as you're starting to like lose it and they know I'll be there because they're a good time and so that they start laughing at you and it just causes this crazy cycle.

[39:50] Nicholas Christopher: It's just got to be the most fun, you know, you in this role is just something very special. I hope I hope everyone goes to see it because you know, it's not going to run forever, but it's going to run for a long time.

[40:02] Eila Mell: I think I hope so knock on wood.

[40:04] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, I think it's really special and we got a really special group of people and that the music and and the laughter and we get to really exercise all different parts of ourselves and and and I really think the audience is enjoying it.

[40:22] Eila Mell: I hope they are and I'm having a great time.

[40:24] Nicholas Christopher: That's awesome. Did you get to meet Benny and Bjorn?

[40:27] Eila Mell: Oh, yeah.

[40:29] Nicholas Christopher: Wow, Benny a little bit more than Bjorn because we were like reworking some of the music and then you know, they were changing keys for certain things and in story wise different things, but he's just so cool.

[40:42] Eila Mell: He's so cool.

[40:43] Nicholas Christopher: Like he's just like everything you want him to be. Yeah, like he could be like much more of a diva, but he's like just soft-spoken and just cool and you know, and it'll be like, you know, say yes to certain ideas of her saying no and you're like, well, there's no arguing with that.

[40:59] Eila Mell: I hope they write more scores because it's yeah, it's incredible what they can do.

[41:04] Nicholas Christopher: It's really crazy.

[41:05] Eila Mell: Oh my gosh. Well, we're keeping you in too long. Thank you so much for joining us.

[41:11] Nicholas Christopher: What a pleasure.

[41:12] Eila Mell: Oh, thank you for having me. This time flew by.

[41:15] Nicholas Christopher: I know.

[41:16] Eila Mell: Well, listen, you'll have to come back.

[41:18] Nicholas Christopher: Anytime.

[41:20] Eila Mell: Yeah. I mean, obviously you fulfilled a lot. You've checked a lot of things off your box, but any dream roles in the back of your mind that you're like, you know what? One day.

[41:27] Nicholas Christopher: Mm-hmm.

[41:28] Eila Mell: Okay.

[41:32] Nicholas Christopher: No, I'll actually I'm working on one right now trying to figure out how that would be possible to do.

[41:38] Eila Mell: Okay, cool.

[41:40] Nicholas Christopher: Do you have producing in mind?

[41:42] Eila Mell: Yes.

[41:43] Nicholas Christopher: I would love to. I want to do I want to do I love theater. So in any way that I can be a part of it, I want to be a part of it and I want to learn everything that I can about it. I'm really passionate about this. Like I'm not doing theater to like, you know, as a stepping stone to somewhere else. It's like, no, I'm a theater actor.

[42:04] Eila Mell: I love theater.

[42:05] Nicholas Christopher: I love being in front of a group of people and there's really nothing else I want to do.

[42:10] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[42:10] Nicholas Christopher: Well, we love that. And yes, bring it to as many people as possible.

[42:15] Eila Mell: Thank you.

[42:16] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, if you haven't been chess, I don't know what you're waiting for. And if you have seen you should go see it again.

[42:21] Eila Mell: Yes, please come back. We're having a good time over there.

[42:24] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, it's just and absolutely just see Nicholas in anything he does because he's so great.

[42:30] Eila Mell: Thank you.

[42:31] Nicholas Christopher: And thanks for taking an interest and thanks for having me like it's so much fun to talk to, you know, my fellow theater nerds.

[42:37] Eila Mell: Yeah, our pleasure. And you know, we're here once you hear your family. So anything we can do, you know to help you as you further along you let us know.

[42:46] Nicholas Christopher: Yeah, we're team Nick now.

[42:48] Eila Mell: All right, great.

[42:49] Nicholas Christopher: I'll be there too.

[42:50] Eila Mell: Wonderful. All right. Well, we will see everyone next time on Behind the Awards.

[42:53] Nicholas Christopher: Bye-bye.