This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Constantine Maroulis: What's up, everybody? You're listening to Behind the Awards. This is your boy Constantine Maroulis. Broadway rules.

[0:06] Constantine Maroulis: Trying to turn that clock off. I ain't paying no attention to it. Turn it off. Turn it off. I have to share this honor with so many people, all the gypsies, the dancers, the choreographers, the prophets, the poets, who are my inspiration. The crews who work behind the scenes invisibly, but without whose craft there's no measure of real success. To everybody that's given me an opportunity to become Debbie Allen that can get things done.

[0:48] Eila Mell: Hello and welcome to Behind the Awards. I'm Eila. As always, I'm joined by Bruce.

[0:56] Bruce Gotlieb: Hello, Eila.

[0:58] Eila Mell: Hey Bruce, how are you today?

[0:59] Bruce Gotlieb: I'm good. I'm always happy to hear Debbie Allen.

[1:04] Eila Mell: Uh, she has such, I don't know, such character to her, like to everything she does, every inflection, every—she's just got it.

[1:13] Bruce Gotlieb: I know. Well, as you know, I recently met her when I was at dinner, remember? I got to meet her. She was with Felicia and Condola Rashad. So the whole family was there. And I mean, she couldn't be more lovely. I've loved her always, ever since Fame and her character Lydia Grant.

[1:31] Eila Mell: I know. Even the movie when she had one line, but it was killer.

[1:37] Bruce Gotlieb: That's all she needed.

[1:38] Eila Mell: I know. She was amazing. So I was lucky to get to see Buena Vista Social Club.

[1:45] Bruce Gotlieb: And you couldn't come.

[1:47] Eila Mell: I was so disappointed.

[1:48] Bruce Gotlieb: I know. So I took our guest, Constantine Maroulis. He was my plus one, and we had a fun time. But I did miss you.

[1:58] Eila Mell: Aww, thank you. So, Buena Vista Social Club. So I'm giving it a positive review for sure. If you are a fan of this music, it's based on an album of the same name and a documentary, also the same name. If you're a fan of this music, you're gonna love the show. The music is great.

[2:14] Bruce Gotlieb: I really didn't know anything about the album. Were you familiar with it?

[2:20] Eila Mell: No, I mean I've heard of it. I heard of the documentary.

[2:22] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[2:23] Eila Mell: Um, I have not, obviously, as you know, had an opportunity to see the show. The pictures I've seen, the little clips, everything seems very vibrant and very, um, you know, like a party almost is the vibe I'm getting from it.

[2:37] Eila Mell: It's—it has that element, but it's a pretty serious story. It's about Cuba at that time and these two real-life women. They sort of, you know, they're successful singers, and they're playing the big venues, Amara and her sister. And um, and Amara discovers this sort of underground club, the Buena Vista Social Club, and it changes her life, and it actually is the catalyst for a break in her relationship with her sister.

[3:08] Bruce Gotlieb: And um, you know, it's a good story. It's if you're looking for lavish sets and costumes, this isn't the show for you. This is told in a much simpler way.

[3:21] Eila Mell: Um, what was interesting to me is that the top of the show and the top of act two both started with just the band playing, and it was just music, and it wasn't part of the story. Because then a narrator comes and tells you, you know, how the show is going to be, and so you know, whatever a narrator does, right?

[3:41] Bruce Gotlieb: Sure.

[3:42] Eila Mell: But it was like these little excerpts that were wraparounds, and that was interesting. I had not seen that done on Broadway before, like a little tiny concert.

[3:51] Bruce Gotlieb: Um, yeah, I think the show is really successfully done. It got great reviews, so that's good. I liked it very much. It's not one of the shows that is staying with me as much as others, but I think that's just personal taste. It's really, it's very well done, and I really did like it.

[4:11] Bruce Gotlieb: There's only so many shows that can be your favorite show.

[4:15] Eila Mell: That's true.

[4:15] Bruce Gotlieb: That's very true.

[4:18] Eila Mell: But I think it's definitely worth seeing. And I think we're gonna see it around Tony time.

[4:23] Bruce Gotlieb: So kudos to see, we'll see. There's, you know, there's a quiet buzz, I would say, for Buena Vista. And it never really has been feverish, but it's also never disappeared.

[4:34] Bruce Gotlieb: So yeah, and it was such a sensation off-Broadway too. We'll see how it gets remembered as we get closer and as more shows continue to open.

[4:44] Eila Mell: Right.

[4:44] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, I think it definitely deserves some nominations. And there are two lead actresses, but that's a tough category, as you all know.

[4:53] Eila Mell: So we'll see.

[4:55] Bruce Gotlieb: We will. All right. Shall we bring out our friend Constantine Maroulis?

[4:59] Eila Mell: I think we have to, yes.

[5:01] Bruce Gotlieb: Let's do it.

[5:02] Eila Mell: All right. We are so excited to welcome Constantine Maroulis to Behind the Awards.

[5:11] Constantine Maroulis: Hello. Wow, thank you for having me. Such an honor.

[5:15] Eila Mell: Thank you so much for joining us. We're thrilled, no doubt. So you're taking a few minutes out from a rehearsal to join us.

[5:21] Constantine Maroulis: Yes.

[5:22] Constantine Maroulis: Yes. Uh, mounting a really cool show called Avalona, right in town, Upper West Side. Really amazing immersive experience by some of the creators of Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

[5:35] Constantine Maroulis: So a very cool experimental concert dance, mythical, mystical piece. Uh, and in this amazing 300-year-old sanctuary, gothic sanctuary, right on 86th Street.

[5:49] Eila Mell: So wow. So when is that starting?

[5:52] Constantine Maroulis: So it's sort of an ongoing thing. We had a mini run a month or so ago and it went really well. So we decided to pop it up a few days a week. Uh, you can go to Avalonaimers.com and check out the schedule.

[6:09] Constantine Maroulis: So should be cool.

[6:10] Eila Mell: Is it open-ended or is there an actual end date?

[6:14] Constantine Maroulis: For now, uh, there is sort of a soft ending. But we'll see. You know, I think it's like this ever-evolving, I don't know, organism Avalona. So we're not sure. It could pop up somewhere else. Who knows?

[6:28] Bruce Gotlieb: Maybe we'll—

[6:28] Constantine Maroulis: That's kind of cool though, because it keeps, you know, I guess like if you're touring, you know, from that perspective, if you're doing something every concert's different, everything, you know, theater's always different depending on the audience. So why not have a show that evolves as you do it?

[6:43] Constantine Maroulis: Absolutely. That's the hope. We're actually putting some changes in for this new run. Dodd is amazing, and we discovered a lot in the last mini run of the show. And um, there are some dates where I won't be there, so someone else will be on. There's some new players. Uh, we're discovering stuff every day. The music is really phenomenal, and uh it's a beautiful piece, you know.

[7:07] Constantine Maroulis: I'm not sure where it goes. If it's sort of like the Cirque du Soleil meets, you know, Jesus Christ Superstar, the thing.

[7:15] Bruce Gotlieb: So wow. Sounds exciting. And when you say immersive, how to what extent is the audience involved in the show?

[7:24] Constantine Maroulis: I mean they're all around us and all—we're all around them. And I think they're really a part of the kind of landscape of the, you know, of this, of our bubble. You know, they're very much a part of our bubble. I'll leave it at that.

[7:42] Eila Mell: Okay. All right. Mystique.

[7:44] Constantine Maroulis: We give them lines. They have lines.

[7:45] Eila Mell: Oh good.

[7:46] Constantine Maroulis: They're belting.

[7:48] Eila Mell: Well that'll keep a lot of people.

[7:50] Constantine Maroulis: If you're not off book by the time the curtain goes up, you're out.

[7:53] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[7:54] Constantine Maroulis: So uh, good times for sure. A lot of incredible people. We lost some people from the last run. Uh, James is joining Pirates, uh, and uh some other people are out and we have some amazing new people in so yeah it's really cool and like this weekend it worked out perfect Thursday and Friday and then I'm away with my band playing some shows and back next week and here we go.

[8:17] Eila Mell: Just keep grinding.

[8:17] Constantine Maroulis: That's perfect then because you know if you're doing something that's ongoing you want to still be able to do other things.

[8:24] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah for sure for sure. Um, been keeping busy you know getting to do a lot of different things, uh a lot of, uh, a lot of almost jobs lately it feels like a lot of almost jobs, uh but that's part of it even at my age, you know.

[8:24] Eila Mell: Right. So the world was introduced to you through American Idol. And um, was that always the dream to be a recording artist?

[8:52] Constantine Maroulis: Oh, great question. Yeah, if you can believe it, it will be twenty years when the show debuts this season since I debuted on the show.

[9:00] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah. Twenty.

[9:01] Eila Mell: Wow.

[9:02] Constantine Maroulis: Uh, and with Carrie Underwood, of course, who won my season. I was a finalist with her in, yeah, 2005, and here we are, and now she's a judge on the show.

[9:10] Eila Mell: So that's right.

[9:12] Constantine Maroulis: Uh, for me before Idol, no, I was in Rent. I was on uh tour with Rent playing Roger. I was always a musical theater kind of rocker, and but I love the classics as well. I had trained at the Boston Conservatory, Berkeley College of Music, all before American Idol and played in bands and auditioned for shows and even worked with a lot of great people like Billy Porter and all them before like what the first stage of Billy Porter like fandom, like late nineties, early two thousands, like Broadway Billy, before he became like the superstar, like you know, they are today.

[9:50] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah, but the first time around, if you remember. And uh, yeah, so I had had a lot of experience, and I think for me the idol thing was it was so new, it was so massive. Um, I just kind of threw myself into it. But I had had a little experience with the Rent world. Like I had gone on one or two of those open calls, if you remember in the late nineties, mid-nineties, they would have these open calls where ten thousand people would show up or something like that in Philly or something. Maybe not ten thousand, but a lot, a lot of freaks.

[10:23] Constantine Maroulis: And so I had had that kind of open call experience, so I just went into it like I need a job, you know.

[10:29] Eila Mell: Yeah, yeah. Well, that worked out.

[10:30] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah. Great platform. I love the show and the experience, and you know, it was just evolving so much at the time, but so many great relationships and friends and networking, and really a wonderful way to be like introduced to I guess a fan base and supporters and the country and all that. So that's where I met the Rock of Ages creators originally.

[10:55] Bruce Gotlieb: So that sort of pushed you to the front of the line musical theater wise.

[11:00] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah, I think you know, with musical theater you can't fake it though, you know. I think at first people they're, you know, so they're gonna star F this show or that show with him or whoever, but you can't fake it. You can't fake eight shows a week and you can't fake really being able to pull this kind of work off, but you know, it was in my bones. But yes, definitely a great opportunity to meet people and to showcase, but um I think we did it the right way.

[11:28] Constantine Maroulis: Like my first show really was The Wedding Singer. I came into The Wedding Singer shortly after they opened, and it was a great show, got reviews, got Tony nominations, but it just didn't really find an audience. I think it was like maybe people just weren't ready for the sort of ironic eighties thing yet, you know.

[11:45] Bruce Gotlieb: Right.

[11:45] Constantine Maroulis: But I think if it came back now, it probably would be all right 'cause I think so. It's such a great show.

[11:50] Bruce Gotlieb: It's a great show.

[11:51] Constantine Maroulis: And I think people at the time were like, it should have been a jukebox, but like looking back, great original songs, yeah, really touching. But they just like any show, they had they just didn't get out the gate the way they wanted to. They had a bit of a different cast in Seattle. So I came in really early, like right after Tones. That doesn't happen, and I replaced an original like principal character, like, or he just kind of sat out for like twelve weeks and we had a great summer on that show.

[12:21] Constantine Maroulis: And that was cool because I was playing Sammy, I was kind of the second kind of lead, you know, comedic guy, you know. I didn't have to carry the show necessarily. It was this wonderful ensemble. So great introduction to work with all those great pros, Amy Spanger, um, and Steven and just so many people that have become friends and huge stars. I mean like Andy Carl and uh David Joseph, like those guys, you know, um Stokey, like amazing ensemble guys that could step out and play leads like no problem.

[12:52] Constantine Maroulis: And so I learned so much. That was a great real like intro. And then came Rock of Ages, you know. I remember Steven Lynch's comedy was so funny, those songs he would do. Oh my gosh, yes. And I think he's still out there touring.

[13:05] Bruce Gotlieb: He was a great casting.

[13:05] Constantine Maroulis: But yeah, he was out a lot and Laura was out a lot and you know, and so there was a lot of people um that got their chance to go on for like, you know, extended periods of time. And it helped I was like really fresh off American Idol so I could kind of carry the—I brought a like a big audience to the show, which was fun. I think it was the first time we got to see that. But they're like, but wait, he's good too so yeah. If you can believe it, that's uh yeah that's like two thousand seven. It's been a long ride for sure.

[13:38] Eila Mell: Yeah. I think people don't realize how long and I think also people forget, you know, obviously American Idol you're you're you do show different things, but you you really you stay true to whatever that lane is most people like you're the rock lane then you stay there. But you know, do your theater experience has given you the opportunity to even do a little like mesh the two because when you did Jekyll and Hyde the tour version, the one that you did with Deborah Cox, there's a little bit change in like some of the orchestrations and I I love those new versions 'cause it helped I think it infused w your style a little bit more than the original piece.

[14:13] Constantine Maroulis: Did you have any like input in that or yeah, well thank you. That's uh that was a wonderful experience as well in my life. I remember I was in Houston uh at the Alley with John Rando and we were doing an all-new version of The Toxic Adventure, which was like this really smart show that ran quickly off-Broadway with Nick Cordero, one of my dear friends, who we lost, you know, of course a few years ago. And we just kind of wanted to revamp it and re-examine what the show could be, and we really found it. We got tremendous reviews out of town, like everyone came down to see it. It was gonna like come to Broadway, like a five-person crazy campy, you know, horror musical with like so much heart, right?

And in the time it was great because we had like the Chris Christie stuff in New Jersey, but now with Trump, it would have just been even crazier. Uh but anyway, as a lot of shows do, uh, it just it just wasn't happening. Like it wasn't taking the next step. So I remember Nick from the Niederlanders always wanted to do Jekyll, Frank and he are so close, Deborah and he uh are so close, we all connected with Jeff. Calhoun directed it, and uh I I I love Frank. He's one of my best friends, but his huge moments, like original moments in the nineties, that sort of missed me some of those big shows all at once, like Civil War and Scarlet, Jekyll and whatnot. So I kind of discovered him later. He wanted to like get a concept album, right?

Like the first thing he's like, we gotta get in the studio, do a concept album. But Deborah and I like didn't even know the songs yet. Like we weren't from we didn't we weren't like living in it. So it's funny that you point that out because really over the course of the tour, as the orchestrations really became part of like you know, the acting and what we were doing, that all evolved so much. But I feel like when I listened to the recording of the concept album, that was before we had even really started rehearsals, you know. So you discover so much more, and a year on the road and then you know, like a summer on Broadway, it you know, evolved so much. But yes, I think that both with Rock of Ages and Jekyll, um, it's a collaboration, you know, for sure. The actors bring so much in the room.

[16:33] Constantine Maroulis: I'm Marjan Nashat, and behind the awards we'll be right back. Circling back to Rock of Ages, we had a wonderful cast, we we experimented, we ad-libbed, we you know, we improvised, we found so much stuff, even from off-Broadway to Broadway. And similar with uh with Jekyll as well. You know, we found a lot of stuff. We thought, you know, some of the resistative was not helping in the storytelling at times, you know. So they were and Frank and Leslie, God rest his soul were very cool and allowed us to you know do more of a revisal than a revival. And uh it was awesome, a lot of fun, and uh yeah, it kicked my butt for sure. If it's not a challenge, what's the point? No, and that's when we did eight everyone did eight shows.

I mean, I did eight shows. That's it. I'm not, you know, taking the matinees off just 'cause I mean if I need to, I will, but now I think more contractually people are doing that, which is totally cool if that's what you want. Right for me, I wanted to be out there unless I really could not be able to do that.

[17:37] Bruce Gotlieb: So Rock of Ages seems to be like right in your sweet spot, especially audience-wise, right? That's what your audience wants from you to a certain extent, the American Idol audience for sure. What was the audience reaction like for you with that show?

[17:50] Constantine Maroulis: Great question, because I I did grow up in that MTV era, right? You know, that whole run home school, see what was gonna be on, what videos, you know. So I I mean, I'm like 10 in the mid-80s when pop is just everywhere and new wave pop like all over MTV, right? From Madonna to uh you know, early U2 and just all the great stuff. Uh rock was there, but not as mainstream. Then comes like the hair metal stuff, but I'm still like a little young for that. Like I I remember um, you know, like poison record was was huge, right? Yeah, and then Bon Jovi was like, whoa, I I grew up in New Jersey. But then by the time I go to high school, that's like grunge takes over, and also like Grateful Dead, and then like Rent not long after that.

So there was like this whole sort of thing happening there. So with Rock of Ages, um, yeah, I always kinda got we would get lost in those music videos, right? So the the the the show was kind of like a big music video, right? Where they have like the boy meets girl, you know, they kind of keep missing each other and all this stuff. It's like a sitcom music video, right? So I think yeah, uh we really broke the mold as to like what a show could be. And yes, it was great to bring audience in to see a Broadway show that maybe had never seen a show before, didn't understand like what it could be. Yes, there were beautiful girls and beautiful guys and roll stuff happening and the songs were great, but there was something else like that was so heartful that could capture great audiences for many years, and yeah, I mean it ran six, seven years on you know, ultimately on Broadway.

It's you know, licensed all over the world um constantly, so wonderful thing to be a part of for sure. But yeah, I it kind of felt like also like I kind of free-fell off American Idol one, right? Even though we all knew Carrie was gonna win. So I had this like underdog thing, I think that people were like so that played into like the Rock of Ages Drew character, which you probably come in thinking I'm gonna play like this rockster. Right. But I really played like the kind of more modest, you know, kind of apple guy. So I think that was the was the winning combination. And that that really was thanks to to Kristen, our director, and Kelly, who bought for me to play Drew, and they wanted me to play Drew, but originally I I was always gonna like I was their Stacy, like they saw me on American Idol, like oh god, we are Stacey Jacks. So it was really the girls that uh were like, trust us, this is the way. And that's what really kind of brought it, you know, to a different level, I think for sure.

[20:40] Bruce Gotlieb: Growing up was musical theater something that you did as a hobby? Do you remember the moment where you were like, this is it? I I need to be on stage?

[20:48] Constantine Maroulis: Oh, yes. It was uh from my very first re uh recollections and memories. Uh, you know, Wizard of Oz, um watching it as a family and just how I don't know, it was just so impactful to me uh as a young young boy, and uh just the whole fantasy of it. Less so with like Disney stuff I didn't really get into in the eighties they didn't really have like Disney channel and all it was more like a nineties kid thing. You know, like all those movies and such but a West Side Story was just the game changer. You know I have an older brother and sister. Um my brother's eleven years older my sister's about nine years older. So they're like much older than me. So the five of us in the house was was rare. But those memories of like us watching once a year Wizard of Oz or West Side Story stayed with me.

Then my brother did it in high school when I was very young and I just remember it like so real to me. So real and then remembering the film I'm really five or six. And so those things connected the rumble and amazing music and born in New York City, you know just you know that introduction the whistle and just I know I forget how magical that movie is unreal. So I have like you know I love um if we were at my house um a lot of posters, you know original movie posters and show posters and stuff so I have some from the film. And of course I'm leaving out the biggest part there are a lot of Greek people in mode. And we're Greek American of course so you know George Shakiris won the Oscar. Yeah.

You know the Graziella is Greek. Her brother is one of sharks. Uh there's there's like three or four Jerome Robbins dancers that were all Greek that like my mother even like Brooklyn so wow. She would point out the Greek. You know, that was like that's like a that's like a Greek thing. Yeah. I don't know. We're so weird. Like like one Greek. Jewish people do it too. Yeah. Like the Hanukkah song is all about who's Jewish. Right, right, right. And so yeah. I think you know, different ethnic groups they like to identify their own. For sure, for sure. So good. I feel better. Uh but yeah, so that was that's kind of part of my little if I do a little cabaret act. That's great. But I had real stage fright, you know, um, as a preteen or even a teenager until you know, high school, even then, like you know, I would like get a role and then I would like freak out and not be able to sing it. I didn't want people to hear how high of a singing voice I had. I guess I would freak out or something.

[23:30] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[23:31] Constantine Maroulis: But by junior year, senior year I was getting like leads in the shows, and we had a very talented group of people that would in my high school and in the area that we do summer shows and we were all into it very, very much. Some really good people came out of my hood.

[23:51] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh really?

[23:52] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah. I won't drop any names. I'll spare well. You know, okay. Well, we only want to concentrate on you anyway.

[24:00] Constantine Maroulis: That's right. Uh how did you overcome the stage fright?

[24:04] Constantine Maroulis: Man, I just think you just gotta keep getting up there. You just gotta keep getting up there. And I think once I started to like sing band as well, like do musical theater, do chorus, played sports, had experiences, you know, deadhead stuff, but then like going to the city to see like Earl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers, all at Roseland in one night in probably nineteen ninety. Wow. So we all like my daughter is now fourteen. When I was fourteen. Right. Like I was taking the train into the city, like quieting our way, going to Bleaker Street, like picking up whippets. Right. Um, I don't even know. Like, thank God she has trouble ordering um It's such a different world in front of me, like at dinner. So uh but no, no, she's a great kid. But yeah, so we were we were doing stuff like that and where we'd see fish in the city or go to wetlands and see shows. So I forget where I was going with this, but the stage fright.

[25:10] Constantine Maroulis: Grunge just play the song. So I think the more I got up there, and then when the girls and the guys like started to like it. Yeah. Like kind of leaning leaning in, then you start to build that yeah confidence. And there's there's something about like stand-up, you know, like stand-up comedy in a way. It's like they can just be rolling. They have like a whole room, you know, and something with the band, the microphone in the stand is like between you, guards you, just allows you to find it.

[25:37] Bruce Gotlieb: So speaking of your daughter, I follow you on Instagram and I suggest that everyone follow you because you have these great videos with your daughter all the time, and it's the sweetest thing.

[25:48] Constantine Maroulis: That's kind of you, thank you. Yeah, she's she's a real Broadway baby. Her mother and I met on on rock. You know, we got pregnant and we were like um and I was, you know, set to go out on the road uh with the show, you know, for like two years for like just a crazy tour. But it all worked out, you know. We uh we were all scared and didn't have all the answers right away. But she's uh she's incredible. You know, my my father got to know her pretty well before he passed, and then you know that's why I wanted to move to New Jersey, leave the city so she could be closer to my mother who we lost to end of last year. Well, it'll be a year this spring, and uh and so she's had a lot of life experiences, yeah. So she's she'll start high school next next uh year, September.

[26:35] Bruce Gotlieb: Wow.

[26:35] Constantine Maroulis: We just picked all her classes. It's and she's going to my old high school.

[26:40] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, okay.

[26:41] Constantine Maroulis: So yeah. Do they still have the same kind of theater department there?

[26:45] Bruce Gotlieb: They do. I mean, this school it's always been top notch, but now it's just like it's like a university. I mean, they have it's wild. It's like very modern and and cool, you know, with great teachers. Uh it's a big public school in North Jersey. Um, but it's top top school and yeah. You know, the theater's still there, but you know, um they have all these support classrooms and tech stuff, an incredible band room, chorus, and amazing new lighting system and but she's uh she's not she's not real passionate about all that, which is cool. But the funny thing is the agent has always loved her. From when she was a little kid, like People Magazine like this, me. They send her, you know, an occasional audition thing. The other day we put something on tape. If she's into it, we do it. It's so funny because it's really the opposite. Usually like you're chasing the agent, right? Like the agent, you know, so but she if she's not passionate about it, you know.

[27:47] Constantine Maroulis: I just don't force it.

[27:49] Bruce Gotlieb: So right.

[27:50] Constantine Maroulis: It can be a hard time.

[27:52] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, right.

[27:54] Constantine Maroulis: But you know, let her do something else. Maybe it would be so funny to pressure her to be in show business.

[28:02] Bruce Gotlieb: It's like the opposite of any parent's dream.

[28:04] Constantine Maroulis: Right.

[28:05] Bruce Gotlieb: You have to do this.

[28:07] Constantine Maroulis: Let me hear you up tempo.

[28:09] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, exactly.

[28:10] Constantine Maroulis: This is a family business.

[28:11] Bruce Gotlieb: Okay, let me hear you sixteen bars.

[28:13] Constantine Maroulis: Call back.

[28:14] Bruce Gotlieb: Let me hear it.

[28:15] Constantine Maroulis: Belting.

[28:16] Bruce Gotlieb: Up tempo.

[28:16] Constantine Maroulis: Let's go.

[28:17] Bruce Gotlieb: No allowance until then.

[28:18] Constantine Maroulis: No allowance.

[28:19] Bruce Gotlieb: Let me hear the dramatic monologue.

[28:21] Constantine Maroulis: Um, classical.

[28:22] Bruce Gotlieb: No, uh, no, we're doing periodic table of science right now instead, which is good.

[28:27] Constantine Maroulis: And she's in all honors classes, which, dude, from this year to next year, it's gonna end sports.

[28:33] Bruce Gotlieb: She plays sports.

[28:34] Constantine Maroulis: It's gonna be a lot.

[28:36] Bruce Gotlieb: She's gonna have, you know, college level workload in a year from now that you know it's gonna be a lot.

[28:42] Constantine Maroulis: I think she can handle them.

[28:44] Bruce Gotlieb: I think.

[28:45] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah, hope.

[28:47] Bruce Gotlieb: They're like, what's you if you su once you lock in this honors course, you can't back out of it though.

[28:52] Constantine Maroulis: Oh, that's the thing.

[28:54] Bruce Gotlieb: And it's like, oh, okay, that's a little scary, but really it's like mafia.

[28:59] Constantine Maroulis: It's real mopped up.

[29:00] Bruce Gotlieb: It's like, no, this is what we're at.

[29:03] Constantine Maroulis: But uh, but yeah, she's good, and her mom is running a great studio right now in North Jersey in Ridgewood, New Jersey called uh the Broadway Originals.

[29:11] Bruce Gotlieb: So she's got a lot of preteens and teenagers in there.

[29:14] Constantine Maroulis: They're doing great musical theater stuff and dance and stuff, so check them out.

[29:18] Bruce Gotlieb: Nice little plug.

[29:20] Constantine Maroulis: Absolutely.

[29:21] Bruce Gotlieb: And yeah.

[29:28] Jay Harrison G: Hi, this is Jay Harrison G. You're listening to Behind the Awards.

[29:32] Bruce Gotlieb: We'll be right back.

[29:35] Bruce Gotlieb: Any dream roles that you haven't had the opportunity that you're like, I gotta grab?

[29:41] Constantine Maroulis: Well, yeah. Um, I mean, Superstar is my favorite game ever.

[29:46] Constantine Maroulis: And you know, of course, when I saw it, uh when I saw it posted about the Hollywood Bowl, I was like, I hit up my agent and I was like, I want this immediately.

[29:56] Constantine Maroulis: And she's like, I think they're just hiring locally and stuff, and it's probably not a lot.

[30:00] Constantine Maroulis: I was like, I don't care, I want it.

[30:03] Constantine Maroulis: And so, you know, Rachel's cast in it, and then uh I pinged Erin last week and she's like, okay, cool.

[30:11] Constantine Maroulis: And then they sent me an audition for a different part, um, which was cool.

[30:16] Constantine Maroulis: And then they're like, but the tape has to can't believe I'm telling you guys this.

[30:19] Constantine Maroulis: This is like some behind the awards type of level stuff.

[30:23] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right.

[30:23] Constantine Maroulis: But they're like, the tape has to be in by Tuesday morning, 10 a.m.

[30:28] Constantine Maroulis: Guess what happened at like 10.01 a.m. yesterday.

[30:30] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh wow.

[30:32] Constantine Maroulis: They announced Cynthia as Jesus.

[30:35] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[30:35] Constantine Maroulis: So I think they wanted to have everything in before that, so it didn't like change like the whole like they wanted to bring in who they wanted to bring in, and then if they don't find it though.

[30:44] Constantine Maroulis: But um, yeah, it's for a different part, not Jesus or Judas.

[30:48] Constantine Maroulis: But I think it's an all female cast now.

[30:50] Constantine Maroulis: Maybe they just decided to go in a different way.

[30:52] Constantine Maroulis: I I'm not sure I don't know that that's true.

[30:54] Constantine Maroulis: Now she was in an all female cast and played Jesus and they did a recording.

[31:01] Constantine Maroulis: So that was part of the kind of like that was kind of part of the breakdown and kind of part of the the the announcement.

[31:08] Constantine Maroulis: But this part is I don't know, maybe maybe I don't know that they had me audition.

[31:14] Constantine Maroulis: So I messaged Sergi, I was like, bruh, let's go.

[31:17] Constantine Maroulis: Let's do it.

[31:17] Constantine Maroulis: Well we're putting it out there into the ether.

[31:19] Constantine Maroulis: So hey, I would love that if it were all female.

[31:22] Constantine Maroulis: I have a feeling that that might the mix the messaging might have gotten potentially mixed in that because she was in an all female version of it and played Jesus, and that was kind of in the rollout, but I'm not sure what they're doing.

[31:34] Constantine Maroulis: But Steven and I, Stephen Aremus and I worked together once, and that was on his first job and my first job.

[31:41] Constantine Maroulis: That was like in nineteen ninety seven.

[31:43] Constantine Maroulis: We did Superstar at the Helen Hayes per Morning Arts Nyak with Billy as Jesus.

[31:50] Constantine Maroulis: It was like the most insane cast.

[31:52] Constantine Maroulis: Emily Skinner, Mary, this guy, uh Drew Servic, who's the greatest ever, was playing Judas, and I was like covering.

[32:00] Constantine Maroulis: Drew went to Europe and played hunchback like right away, right?

[32:03] Constantine Maroulis: He was like the first hunchback in Germany.

[32:05] Constantine Maroulis: And he basically just stayed there, became a huge star in Germany.

[32:09] Constantine Maroulis: But this was like his first job before he left.

[32:12] Constantine Maroulis: And Gordon Greenberg directed and Stephen Aremus did all the arrangements.

[32:17] Constantine Maroulis: They set it in like South Africa during apartheid, and Christ was like this Mandela figure, so it was you know all African American cast.

[32:26] Constantine Maroulis: Anyway, it was amazing.

[32:28] Constantine Maroulis: So I'm like, when I saw Steven, I was like, maybe he's going to bring back some kind of old arrangements he did in the 90s that were sick.

[32:36] Constantine Maroulis: So but yeah, I'm not sure.

[32:38] Constantine Maroulis: I mean, I would love that, but it's for pilot, whatever.

[32:41] Constantine Maroulis: Um, so like, so maybe they're thinking differently with Pilot and the priests and stuff like that.

[32:47] Constantine Maroulis: So but uh here we are.

[32:48] Constantine Maroulis: I want to do it, and like I'm putting it out here.

[32:50] Constantine Maroulis: It's like totally 2025, like like the girls who wrote Bridgerton, right?

[32:55] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right.

[32:56] Constantine Maroulis: That's right.

[32:56] Constantine Maroulis: They composed the whole show on uh on uh on Facebook or whatever.

[33:01] Constantine Maroulis: On MySpace, I think it was.

[33:02] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh my gosh.

[33:03] Constantine Maroulis: That's right.

[33:04] Constantine Maroulis: Wow.

[33:06] Constantine Maroulis: So I was listening to Howard Stern the other day, and I heard them do a whole thing about you.

[33:11] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah, those guys.

[33:13] Constantine Maroulis: Oh my god.

[33:13] Constantine Maroulis: I mean, I worship that show for my whole life, so I was listening to it this morning too, and uh yeah.

[33:19] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah, somehow, I mean, for Howard and I met a long, long time ago with Beth at like a North Shore Animal League thing.

[33:26] Constantine Maroulis: Probably shortly after I came off American Idol.

[33:28] Constantine Maroulis: So it was like a crazy time, but it wasn't like everyone had a phone and everyone was taking pictures all the time.

[33:35] Constantine Maroulis: Like we just weren't doing that.

[33:36] Constantine Maroulis: 2005, 6, 7, you know, when did the smartphone come out?

[33:40] Constantine Maroulis: 2009 or 10.

[33:42] Constantine Maroulis: So we you know so you could like have a little anonymity and like hang out with someone at a little event and there'd be like one photographer there.

[33:49] Constantine Maroulis: And then I met Gary and I would see Gary out a lot and uh we just became friends and my sister-in-law is a big publicist so she has a lot of talent on the show and then I was I recorded some parodies for them over the years.

[34:03] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh how cool.

[34:04] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah, yes I wrote some crazy stuff about Robin, whatever I'll spare you.

[34:08] Constantine Maroulis: Uh they're gross, they're gross.

[34:10] Constantine Maroulis: And uh and then yeah so I think I you know once in a while they mentioned me it was a lot of fun.

[34:17] Constantine Maroulis: He calls me Morales though.

[34:19] Bruce Gotlieb: I know which he knows is not correct.

[34:21] Constantine Maroulis: Well Gary did point it out this time.

[34:24] Constantine Maroulis: He Gary tried to fix it and he still said he's like I think it's Maru.

[34:29] Constantine Maroulis: It's not a hard name.

[34:30] Constantine Maroulis: I know and the funny thing is they were talking about how gross this guy eats salad but my name Maroulis means lettuce or salad or oh how funny.

[34:30] Constantine Maroulis: Family who you know basically grew lettuce Maroulis.

[34:49] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah so that's so funny.

[34:49] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah Howard is the best I I hope he never retires I really do.

[34:53] Constantine Maroulis: It's bringing me a lot of joy still so well don't be jealous but I happen to know underdog in real life.

[35:00] Bruce Gotlieb: Wow, they were talking about her today uh or doing impressions of her or I'm not sure what underdog it is, but uh they were doing an impression of they were talking about vampires and Naskuratu and how she's Frankenstein is gay how can be gay.

[35:23] Constantine Maroulis: They were trying to prove like how Frankenstein and maybe Dracula were gay or something.

[35:27] Bruce Gotlieb: That was awesome.

[35:29] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah, that's how she is in real life, obviously.

[35:31] Constantine Maroulis: I mean you can't fake that.

[35:32] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[35:33] Constantine Maroulis: So how do how do you s how does one come across uh someone like that?

[35:38] Constantine Maroulis: So I have this friend Phil.

[35:39] Constantine Maroulis: I've known him since we were kids, and he's had this public access show since forever.

[35:44] Constantine Maroulis: He's checkerboard Phil.

[35:47] Constantine Maroulis: And he's sort of her handler.

[35:49] Constantine Maroulis: I don't know how he became that.

[35:51] Constantine Maroulis: And I mentioned to him and I thought she was hilarious, and he said, well, we'll have to meet her, and so that's how.

[35:59] Constantine Maroulis: Amazing.

[36:01] Constantine Maroulis: But she's not happy with me.

[36:01] Bruce Gotlieb: Okay, okay.

[36:01] Constantine Maroulis: Because she thought that I would help her bring Vlad the Impaler to the world in a way that you know he hasn't been brought, and you know, obviously it that was not something I wanted to take on.

[36:14] Bruce Gotlieb: That that's what they were talking about today, Vlad the Impaler.

[36:17] Constantine Maroulis: Uh because it would today was a live show, I believe, yeah.

[36:19] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[36:20] Constantine Maroulis: So because it's Wednesday.

[36:21] Bruce Gotlieb: And uh yeah, just the best.

[36:23] Constantine Maroulis: I I have so much other stuff to do and like learn and listen to, but gotta get Howard on car.

[36:31] Constantine Maroulis: I I have a house in New Jersey, I drive it.

[36:33] Constantine Maroulis: So I do I do about, you know, a little Howard, and then I get to some songs or something I have to learn.

[36:39] Constantine Maroulis: And sports too.

[36:40] Constantine Maroulis: I love my sport.

[36:41] Constantine Maroulis: Baseball is about to start.

[36:43] Bruce Gotlieb: I mean, not real, but like we're about 30 days away from you know real baseball starting.

[36:51] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah.

[36:51] Bruce Gotlieb: What's that?

[36:52] Constantine Maroulis: I said pictures and catchers.

[36:54] Bruce Gotlieb: Pictures and catchers have reported, yeah.

[36:55] Constantine Maroulis: They and and a lot most of the team most of the team is uh is there.

[36:58] Constantine Maroulis: Um big Yankees fans.

[37:00] Bruce Gotlieb: So yeah.

[37:01] Constantine Maroulis: Uh it's just the best.

[37:02] Bruce Gotlieb: Do you ever go to Florida to watch them?

[37:05] Constantine Maroulis: No, no.

[37:06] Constantine Maroulis: And I have like pretty great friend, uh, who's a Steinbrenner, but I always feel weird.

[37:11] Constantine Maroulis: I'm like, but that's always been a dream of mine to like go and just hang out for a couple weeks and just like go sit there or watch them train.

[37:20] Bruce Gotlieb: So here's the move.

[37:21] Bruce Gotlieb: You send them this episode when it comes out.

[37:23] Constantine Maroulis: And then they'll know that that's the dream.

[37:25] Constantine Maroulis: They're gonna be like, guys, I have an announcement.

[37:29] Constantine Maroulis: A once sixth place finisher on America Night has decided to come and grace us with his presence for spring training today.

[37:39] Bruce Gotlieb: So guys, you know, lock off your calendar.

[37:42] Bruce Gotlieb: It's gonna be a big day for Yankees.

[37:44] Constantine Maroulis: For big day in Yankee lore for sure.

[37:47] Constantine Maroulis: Um, but no, but they've been good to me.

[37:49] Constantine Maroulis: I've done some some great stuff with the Yankees over the years.

[37:52] Constantine Maroulis: Uh Haley's mom is very involved with their give back uh stuff.

[37:57] Constantine Maroulis: Um I've done the anthem and uh I love the yanks.

[38:00] Constantine Maroulis: I just it's just my blood.

[38:02] Constantine Maroulis: So and baseball's like your best friend, it's on every day.

[38:07] Constantine Maroulis: You know, you can like start it in the car, watch who are at home go cook dinner, do homework, catch the end of the game.

[38:15] Constantine Maroulis: The best.

[38:15] Bruce Gotlieb: It's always on the radio, wherever.

[38:17] Constantine Maroulis: So I hope to be back on the boards uh eventually.

[38:22] Constantine Maroulis: Um, you know, I I was developing a show called Rock and Roll Man about Alan Freed a couple of summers ago we ran off Broadway uh for like fourteen weeks.

[38:31] Constantine Maroulis: You know, got some notices, did some stuff.

[38:33] Bruce Gotlieb: That's it.

[38:33] Constantine Maroulis: Great.

[38:34] Constantine Maroulis: Yeah, you know, it's just tough.

[38:35] Constantine Maroulis: It's tough to get the like those those commercial musicals that run Broadway um that are not going to like big nonprofit type commercial theaters, right?

[38:47] Bruce Gotlieb: It's tough.

[38:48] Constantine Maroulis: Tough to get that.

[38:49] Constantine Maroulis: It's a big show we were doing in a small place.

[38:52] Constantine Maroulis: We're spending a lot of money.

[38:54] Constantine Maroulis: It's like that's not what the gods intended Broadway to.

[39:00] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[39:00] Constantine Maroulis: They they don't use us as your like you know, launching things.

[39:05] Constantine Maroulis: Um we incubate, you know, you know, talent and and shows and and I get that.

[39:05] Constantine Maroulis: I get that.

[39:12] Constantine Maroulis: But um yeah, so there might be a path for that, like to go to London uh next year or something, but I'm gonna be a hundred years old by the time I put you know.

[39:22] Bruce Gotlieb: But it's a great story to tell.

[39:24] Constantine Maroulis: Alan Freed was was an amazing just figure in the the history of rock and paper.

[39:30] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, absolutely.

[39:31] Constantine Maroulis: And I think that people don't know him anymore, so it's good to keep that story out there.

[39:35] Bruce Gotlieb: For sure, for sure.

[39:36] Constantine Maroulis: He had to hide the fact that he was Jewish, he had the you know, he played played black music during segregation on popular radio.

[39:44] Constantine Maroulis: Like he was rebel, you know, incredible guy.

[39:47] Constantine Maroulis: We got to know some of his family and stuff.

[39:49] Constantine Maroulis: And he was gone by like 44 years old.

[39:51] Constantine Maroulis: But uh, but yeah, hopefully one day we'll get it, we'll get it get it going.

[39:55] Constantine Maroulis: It'll be either Avalona the musical on Broadway or we're excited to obviously get people to come down to see your show and see what's going on there.

[40:03] Constantine Maroulis: You know, stuff that's new, different ways of telling stories and uh different ways to stretch, you know, how theater is, I think is important in order for it to evolve and to stay that's a medium that people are gonna continue to go see.

[40:16] Bruce Gotlieb: That's really well put, uh, Bruce, and thank you for that.

[40:19] Constantine Maroulis: And uh yes, uh Avalonaimmersive.com.

[40:23] Constantine Maroulis: That's you know, A-E-A-L-O-N-A-Emmersive.com.

[40:27] Constantine Maroulis: You can go to Constantine Maroulis.com as well.

[40:30] Constantine Maroulis: My tour dates and all my stuff's there.

[40:32] Constantine Maroulis: And uh yeah, there's great tickets available.

[40:35] Constantine Maroulis: Um it's a wonderful experience.

[40:36] Constantine Maroulis: It's 90 straight minutes.

[40:38] Constantine Maroulis: Uh there's like a dance party after and we like out.

[40:42] Constantine Maroulis: Nice.

[40:42] Constantine Maroulis: It's just a vibe like this this sanctuary at night when it's all lit up and you know with the smoke and the lights and the players.

[40:50] Constantine Maroulis: It's like otherworldly in here I'm telling you you know it's not you know we don't have many 300 year old gothic sanctuaries in New York City so for this country for this city that's really old you know so you go to England no big deal.

[41:06] Constantine Maroulis: 300 that's nice you know but uh but here you know it's special so there's a lot of great vibes here and I love the neighborhood.

[41:13] Constantine Maroulis: So a lot going on on the upper west side.

[41:15] Constantine Maroulis: But yeah um come check out the show and uh a lot of fun stuff I I'll be out you know touring with my bands and uh yeah everything on my website.

[41:24] Bruce Gotlieb: Well you're so much fun thank you for joining us and we invite you to come back anytime you like.

[41:24] Bruce Gotlieb: All right well we will see everyone next time on Behind the Awards.

[41:34] Constantine Maroulis: Bye bye.