This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Ricky Rojas: Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer. Jennifer. Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer Lopez.

[0:08] Ricky Rojas: That's it. I can't do it. Change your vowel so it's more like low. Low. Low. Lopez.

[0:17] Ricky Rojas: Jennifer Lopez. Yeah. So many diphthongs. Too many. This is what the whole hour is going to be.

[0:22] Ricky Rojas: This is really great. This is the hour it's going to be. Welcome to Australian Accents with Ricky Rojas. Welcome to Guys Who Like Musicals. Yeah. Welcome to Guys Who Like Musicals.

[0:37] Dan Tracy: Welcome to Guys Who Like Musicals. I can't. I'm not even going to do it. I'm not even going to do it. Welcome to Guys Who Like Musicals.

[0:49] Joe Carroll: Yes. So an actor is saying his lines and then out of nowhere he just starts singing. 5, 6, 7, 8. He's alive with the sound of Jimmy. Don't cry for me.

[1:04] Dan Tracy: Ricky, thank you for being here. We're so thrilled to have Moulin Rouge's own Ricky Rojas here.

[1:21] Joe Carroll: You know, I think we're going to get into all of your credits and stuff, which they're extensive, but I think that people will most likely know you as the mustache twirling Argentinian in Moulin Rouge. And the mustache is gone. I mean, the people can't see you, but the mustache is gone right now.

[1:36] Ricky Rojas: Don't tell them. Don't tell them.

[1:40] Joe Carroll: Well, I don't think that Alex Timbers and Bill Dimash, I don't think they listen to Guys Who Like Musicals. I'm not sure. I don't know. But like they might. They might. But the mustache is gone. Did you just did you shave it because you were sick of it? Is it high maintenance? What's the...

[1:55] Ricky Rojas: Right. Let me tell you the story about the mustache. So my wife doesn't like the mustache. So that's why. Classic. Classic. Simple story. And it went. But it took a while for me to go to let go of it. So I got back home where I am at the moment. And, you know, it stayed with me for a couple of weeks. I was like, I just can't let it go. I couldn't. Yeah. And then I just had to get rid of it. It went.

[2:28] Joe Carroll: Yeah. And then how long does it take you to grow it back?

[2:28] Ricky Rojas: Uh, I'd say a good a solid two months.

[2:35] Joe Carroll: Two months. Okay. Nice and nice. Nice and juicy and and waxy. Do you have to use like mustache?

[2:44] Ricky Rojas: I do. Dick Dastardly from like, what was that? Catch the pigeon.

[2:49] Joe Carroll: Do you ever watch that cartoon? I mean, it's a really old cartoon. I'm showing my age. There was this character in it called Dick Dastardly and he had this mustache that was like so long and like, yeah, mustache with mustache wax.

[3:02] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. Yeah. We need we need we'll get it back. You should you should take it when when you leave Moulin Rouge, you should keep it for a second and try to go in for those characters for like the evil mustache.

[3:10] Ricky Rojas: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That would have been a plan. I mean, Covid not happened.

[3:16] Joe Carroll: Yeah. No. But then I was like, what am I keeping it for? Yeah. I'm just working in the house.

[3:22] Dan Tracy: So we find you we find you in your you were just telling me before we jumped on that that you're redoing you're working on your house. You live in France.

[3:28] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. You and and you're doing you're like your full home renovation. Like, you know, you have a farm and a tractor and a and trees and land. Do you need any help? Perhaps.

[3:41] Joe Carroll: Come over. Can I get on a plane? The more the merrier. There's I can always find you something to do. Trust me.

[3:53] Dan Tracy: So I have a question. What's that commute like? How do you how are you? How what's your time to midtown from France?

[4:06] Ricky Rojas: Oh, you know, if you catch the express, I don't like to time myself, but usually I just go to Uber and he sorts it out.

[4:12] Joe Carroll: Yeah. Right. Right. Right. I'm there like in a jiffy, you know, like when did you move to France?

[4:24] Ricky Rojas: Actually, we after we did with the lovely Joe Carroll, we were in the Boston pre-Broadway run of Moulin Rouge. I got home after that and I was like, I'm on to a good gig here. You know, let's strike while the iron's hot. My wife wasn't happy at work. My wife, Natalie, she worked at a bank in England for many years as a learning consultant. And, you know, she was got tired of the rat race and she was like, I'm not happy. I was like, cool. She's like, what can we do? She's like, let's move to France. I was like, OK, let's do it. It was literally that easy. I kind of just went, OK, let's go. Let's bring it, bring it on. So we put the house on the market and we wanted to be out before the first Brexit date, which was March 19th or something in 2019. So this was like October. We put the house on the market and we were out of England by March the following year.

[5:26] Joe Carroll: Oh, my gosh.

[5:26] Ricky Rojas: Everything in storage, couple of suitcases in the back of the car. We drove around the south of France looking for somewhere to settle. And then we found somewhere, bought a French car, rented somewhere, put Raf in school. And then I went to start rehearsals in New York for Moulin Rouge.

[5:43] Dan Tracy: Oh, my gosh. Do you guys speak French?

[5:45] Ricky Rojas: Oui, je parle un peu de français. Mon accent est très terrible. My accent is really rubbish because I speak Spanish, but I kind of make it up. It's getting better.

[6:02] Joe Carroll: I mean, it's immersion. So when you go to the market and stuff and you're like talking to people in the town that you live in, do you try to speak to them in French or do you?

[6:11] Ricky Rojas: Oh, yeah. You have to. Because over here, there's not that many Anglophones here. There are like a few families and stuff like that. But mostly it's French. It's rural France where it's a big wine region. Chinon is where I'm at. It's really cool.

[6:36] Dan Tracy: Wow.

[6:36] Joe Carroll: Yeah, it'd be like trying to go to Ohio and being like, you know, trying to get them to speak some foreign language. They'd be like, what? No.

[6:45] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. I'm not doing that.

[6:47] Ricky Rojas: We're not going to try to speak French. We speak English.

[6:50] Joe Carroll: Yeah. They kind of just look at you like, you make it. It's a lot of hand gestures and you trying to speak with the right accent. And then they're like, what? And then you speak slowly and they're like, oh, right.

[7:04] Dan Tracy: And Raf is your son. Is the school like at all in English or is it totally French immersion?

[7:10] Ricky Rojas: All French.

[7:11] Joe Carroll: Wow.

[7:11] Ricky Rojas: Full on French.

[7:12] Joe Carroll: That's great.

[7:14] Ricky Rojas: It was rough. It was bumpy for the first year, especially with Covid, because he wasn't getting the social interaction at school that he would have normally got. But now he's like fluent.

[7:27] Joe Carroll: Oh, my gosh.

[7:27] Ricky Rojas: I'm like, damn you. He's really, really good.

[7:31] Joe Carroll: And do you speak Spanish with him too?

[7:34] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. Now he understands more of the Spanish because he couldn't speak Spanish before, but he understands more of it because he speaks French. So, yeah, we'll be a household that speaks three languages.

[7:46] Joe Carroll: That's amazing.

[7:48] Ricky Rojas: That's so cool.

[7:49] Joe Carroll: That's so, you know, it would be I think America would be a better place if more people had that experience of not knowing the language in order to survive. You know, like being in that situation where you have to kind of figure it out.

[8:02] Ricky Rojas: So many people come here and that's how they feel.

[8:04] Ricky Rojas: And we don't have any empathy for that because we have no experience with it.

[8:07] Joe Carroll: Of course.

[8:08] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. As soon as you travel, I think this is how I would fix it. This is how I would fix everything. Right.

[8:13] Ricky Rojas: I would. Number one, I'd legalize weed.

[8:17] Ricky Rojas: Right. If I was the president of America, I'd legalize weed. I'd tax it. Right. Then you'd use that tax. And then I would buy a return international airfare ticket for every child or every person in America up until they're 25.

[8:38] Ricky Rojas: Right. They get one return international ticket and they have to use it. Otherwise, it goes. Right.

[8:47] Ricky Rojas: And then that would change everything because people would see that the world is small.

[8:53] Joe Carroll: Well, they do it with birthright, you know, like in Israel, you know, people go, it's paid for.

[8:57] Ricky Rojas: Is that for real?

[8:59] Joe Carroll: Is that for real?

[9:01] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. Yeah. I don't know exactly who it applies to, but it's like most it's like any number of Jewish young people have a free round trip ticket and a free like trip to Israel, to the homeland.

[9:17] Ricky Rojas: See, yeah, it would change. It would change everything.

[9:20] Ricky Rojas: Like imagine someone from like, I don't know, somewhere that wouldn't normally travel.

[9:27] Joe Carroll: Yeah, we could we could pick on rural Ohio if we're talking about.

[9:29] Ricky Rojas: Oh, I mean, I'm from I'm from Ohio.

[9:31] Joe Carroll: Exactly.

[9:32] Ricky Rojas: Rural Pennsylvania.

[9:33] Joe Carroll: So let's pick on like someone from there that wouldn't necessarily have the opportunity to go. But suddenly they even just going to the airport or leaving, traveling like the whole experience, it's like it makes it so much smaller, you know?

[9:47] Ricky Rojas: Right. Yeah.

[9:48] Joe Carroll: Thanks for coming.

[9:50] Ricky Rojas: You guys are so cool. That's just like such a cool thing to do. You just like we're going to France. I'm unhappy at my job. Fuck it. We're moving to France.

[9:59] Joe Carroll: Like I wouldn't do that.

[10:01] Ricky Rojas: I would.

[10:01] Joe Carroll: Right. Right. This is very fascinating to me. What is that conversation like in your own head as an artist? Were you like, OK, I'm going to give up everything? Or how are you making that work?

[10:12] Ricky Rojas: Like, no, I'm so I feel so tethered to the city.

[10:16] Ricky Rojas: Yeah, well, I was like, obviously, I lived for many years in London and that's where my work base was. But for the last couple of years, I was doing a lot of touring and I was like, you know what? I could still tour and live in France. It's not that far from the UK. Like it's literally an hour flight and it costs, you know, 12 euros a flight.

[10:41] Joe Carroll: Right.

[10:41] Ricky Rojas: Which is nothing to get to Stansted. So I was like, it's so doable. People do it all the time. So we were like, why not? Why not?

[10:50] Ricky Rojas: And at that point, you know, we were like, I mean, we'd thought of moving to France like many years ago when Raph was like three. So it was always there. But, you know, it just it just came at a good time. So we thought, let's just do it. If we don't do it now, we won't do it because the Raph will be too old to him.

[11:08] Joe Carroll: Right.

[11:09] Ricky Rojas: To start over.

[11:11] Joe Carroll: Yeah, right. Well, that's in and around sort of the Moulin Rouge idea. Like you said that, like, you know, Strike While the Iron's Hot, like you had the show, you knew the show was going to be fairly. I mean, we talked about this back in Boston or right before I came to Broadway that you were like you were set for a year. You were going to, like, do it for a year or a little more than maybe go back home. But you knew that that was going to happen.

[11:31] Joe Carroll: And I just I wonder, like, how has that has that plan changed at all? I mean, everything's changed for everybody.

[11:38] Ricky Rojas: Yeah, I mean, I think it's pushed the plan. My original, I mean, like my original original plan, like Moulin Rouge plan, Ricky, number one point. I would have finished up the show in New York last September. I would have come back here and then gone to do it in London. That's what I would have loved to have done. But now the timing doesn't work. Everything's like up in the air. It's like, you know, so I'm heading back to New York. And then that's the plan at the moment. And then, you know, we'll see what happens.

[12:15] Joe Carroll: And then who knows?

[12:17] Ricky Rojas: Yeah.

[12:17] Dan Tracy: Oh, man. Well, I want to get into we'll do a deep dive on Moulin Rouge because I want to talk all about it. But let's just I want to rattle off some of these credits because I want and I also want to talk about these because you've done you did you did the Buddy Holly story. And that was it. Was that your West End debut?

[12:32] Ricky Rojas: Yes, it was.

[12:33] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[12:34] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. So Buddy Holly, Burn the Floor, Moulin Rouge at the Colonial in Boston that we did together, Sister Act, Tonight's the Night, Rod Stewart, Grease, Burn the Floor. Again, you did two different two different iterations of Burn the Floor.

[12:48] Ricky Rojas: Yeah, I did it in in New York and I did it in the West End as well.

[12:51] Joe Carroll: Yeah, because Burn the Floor was your Broadway debut, right?

[12:54] Ricky Rojas: Yeah, that was so funny because Moulin Rouge and Burn the Floor, both 10 years apart, had exactly the same opening date on Broadway.

[13:03] Joe Carroll: Wow, isn't that nuts?

[13:05] Joe Carroll: That is nuts. That's crazy. That's crazy. Now what, the Buddy Holly story, that was like, you are, if anybody has ever seen you on Instagram, I mean, and we spent a lot of time, I wish more time, we would have spent more time doing this, but you're a huge guitar nut. You're a great guitar player. What was that, so the Buddy Holly story, I mean, it's exactly what it sounds like, this, you know, the story of his music and stuff, but what was that like to bring the guitar to your West End debut? I mean, this must have been something that you've done for a long, long time and sort of incorporating music.

[13:46] Ricky Rojas: It was, you know, it was my first show and I did it in Australia first and then from there went to do it in the West End. You know, it was, although I played a bit of guitar, you know, growing up and stuff, I didn't really start playing until I did that show because I was surrounded by so many great musicians. It was an active musician show, so, you know, I was learning how to play the guitar, a little bit of bass, some banjo, like, it was nuts and everyone was super, super talented. So it's, it was, it was, what's the word? It was a dream. It was a dream. It was a dream gig for a kid. And of course, I got to learn about rock and roll and the influence that it had on all music and how it progressed.

And from the Crickets, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, came the Beatles. That's why they called themselves the Beatles, because of the Crickets. It was, you know, things like that. It's just, it was very eye-opening. What kind of music did you love growing up? Were you, were you a rock and roller growing up, or were you more of a musical, like sound, you know, soundtracks, musical theatre?

[15:00] Ricky Rojas: I was more into R&B growing up. I didn't get into musical theatre until quite late on, until I was about, I don't know, 18, 17, 18. But I liked R&B and then, and, you know, salsas and Hispanic music as well, growing up. I used to dance in a Chilean folk group, but you didn't know that.

[15:24] Joe Carroll: Wait, wait, wait. Dude, I've got the hat and everything. Wait, that makes a lot of sense then. It does. Like, as far as, like, you, you, and we can jump into Moulin Rouge, because I know that that's, that's what the, you know, give the people what they want. You, you were always able to hang with Robyn Hurder. And I think that one of the things that people, it would be very intimidating for me, would be walking into a room and seeing Robyn Hurder. And then being like, okay, I got to do, I got to dance next to, you know, the Cassie in A Chorus Line. Like, she's about as Broadway as it gets. So, it's, so with that dancing, the, the, the Spanish influences and the tango and all the Roxanne stuff, like, that's been in your bones.

[16:16] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. It sounds like. Yeah. Like, from, from early on, you know, like, growing up, we always danced with women, you know, in the Chilean culture, we, you know, always. And the folk group really helped that, because, you know, it just, it taught you how to look at a woman when you dance with her. I remember we did this, this dance festival, and they singled that out, out of our group, as opposed to everyone else. It's the way that the men used to look at the women. It was a very distinct way. It's almost like it was, it wasn't, it's not aggressive, but it was like, it's like a flower. You know, very like, you just appreciate all of it. Do you know what I mean?

[17:06] Joe Carroll: Yeah. Sultry.

[17:13] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. In a, in a sense. But also that, like, you, like, you're taking in all of it. You're taking in all of your partner. Like, like, you know, and that's so funny that you say that, because like, I see that, like watching your performance, like watching you dance that way. Like that is, the look is like, oh my God, Ricky, look at me that way. You know, easy, easy, easy. Dan, I haven't seen him in a long time. Okay. Listen, Joe's the only male energy Joe's had for a long time is me. So he's, he's looking for a little change of pace. Talk to a Chilean folk dancer.

[17:52] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. And so did you, so you, did you grow up in Chile?

[17:59] Ricky Rojas: Um, no, I was born in Chile. So the first five years of my life. Yeah. And then, um, yeah, I had my sixth birthday in, in Sydney, Australia.

[18:05] Joe Carroll: Wow. What brought you guys there?

[18:13] Ricky Rojas: Um, my dad was just wanting something different. I think, you know, they weren't happy. Kind of like how me and dad kind of, we're not happy. Let's just move to France. Let's do it. So yeah, they picked up and moved to Australia with three kids. But, um, it was a, my family's got kind of weird history. So we, my parents got married in 1969. Then they immigrated to Australia because my dad used to work for airlines and he worked for Qantas when he got to Australia. And then, um, my brother and sister were born in, uh, Sydney in 1970 and 71. And then they flew back to Chile in 77. I think it was, I'm not sure if it was politically related or anything because of the Pinochet or the Allende government or anything like that. I'm not sure. But, um, I know that my mom missed home. So they went home. And then in 1985, I was born in Chile in 1979. And then we moved back over to Australia in 85.

[19:22] Joe Carroll: Gotcha. Gotcha. And then what was the, like, Australia is known from, for such great theater and theater training. I mean, there's so many great places to train and great theater in Sydney and in Melbourne and all over. Where, where did you, how did, how did that start for you? What was the beginning of your exposure to train, you know, and training and all that stuff?

[19:42] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. I always feel like a bit of a fraud because I didn't do that much training. Um, my sister was the singer as well because I've got a very musical family. My sister was a singer, but she was more into, um, she went more into, uh, songwriting and, you know, be like a, with a publishing house and stuff like that. But, um, she used to sing in, um, I don't know if you've got an equivalent to this in the States, but like in Australia, we have these places called RSL clubs, which are returned servicemen's leagues clubs, like for old veterans and things.

[20:15] Joe Carroll: Kind of like the ESO idea, Joe.

[20:22] Ricky Rojas: It's less popular nowadays, but we do have something that was similar to that, right? VFW halls and stuff. They're kind of like mini casinos, I'd say. Like you could, they've got like little restaurants and they've got like an auditorium with a band and they've got like poker machines and stuff. And, you know, it's, it's quite cool. And lots of towns in Sydney and Melbourne, all over Australia, have these. And they've also got like football clubs, like rugby leagues clubs, you know, which have this kind of similar vibe. So my sister used to do shows in those clubs with, um, you know, she'd take her music along and do like a half an hour spot, sing five songs and give her music to the musos and, um, talk through all her music and do her, her floor show.

And then that would be it. And then we'd do talent quests, which is kind of similar vibe. You know, you could rock up, do three songs, get an appearance fee, and then you might win or whatever. It's, anyway, it's a whole big circuit. So I used to do that, right? So a little, like me doing my floor show, like, like a Vegas kind of vibe.

[21:28] Joe Carroll: What was in the act? Do you remember, like, what were some of your songs that were in that act?

[21:32] Ricky Rojas: Well, I used to lean a lot into like Spanish songs. So I would sing like La Bamba, right? Which is funny, because I ended up doing the musical. I played Richard Valens in the Buddy Holly story. And, um, you know, I sang a lot of Lionel Richie stuff. I love Lionel Richie. And then from there, an agent saw me and put me in a Latin show, which is just specifically Latin. And I used to do shows with like a Brazilian dance company in Sydney, which is really cool. And then, you know, all this time, this is what I used to do, like instead of working at McDonald's or Pizza Hut, this is how I used to make my money when I was at school. And then I was doing drama at school, and I thought, oh, man, I want to, like, I know I can sing a song, right?

But I can't act. Like, I knew I could, like, I could act, but not really. Right. So I thought, what can I do? Right. So I, you know, it was just when the internet was first starting, you know, I Googled and, um, not Google, because ridiculous Google AltaVista. Yahoo. You know, when the screen used to load so slow, it would be like, yeah. I remember Ash Jeeves was the coolest thing ever. I remember being like my dad. My dad was like, we got Ash Jeeves. You open the thing. There's a little guy in the corner. You ask him a question. Butler. How big how big is the is the world? You know, a little like little Joe at the computer. Anyway, I asked Jeeves and I found the ATYP, which was the Australian Theatre for Young People.

And it's kind of like a subsidiary to of the Sydney Theatre Company. It was in the same building just near the Harbour Bridge in Sydney. So I looked and they had musical theatre courses and I was like, all right, cool. So I signed myself up for it. I paid with the money that I've made from all the shows and stuff that I've been doing like on the weekends. And I went and I loved it. I got the bug and they did a production. I got the lead role in that production and I got an agent from that. And, you know, who was in my course was Rebel Wilson, which is wow.

[24:01] Joe Carroll: Yeah. Wow. Yeah. She's done all right.

[24:07] Ricky Rojas: Yeah, she's OK. But she was she was I think at the time she was studying law at university.

[24:13] Joe Carroll: Wow.

[24:17] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. That's what did you ever. So was there ever a feeling of doing something else? Did you ever like as you're like moving through your young life, it was like all music, all performing. Was there any tinge of like, I should have been a farmer or something?

[24:23] Ricky Rojas: Not really, you know. I love it. Really. The only thing, you know, I like filmmaking. So I went to university and did a couple of years of media production. But besides that, I was like, I don't know anything else.

[24:37] Joe Carroll: This is it.

[24:41] Ricky Rojas: This is it. We're talking a little bit about the Moulin Rouge stuff earlier, but can we talk? I want to go through your audition story because it was it was this was very cool. Just knowing like they had an unbelievably difficult time finding anyone to play Santiago, to be the Argentinian.

[24:56] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[25:03] Ricky Rojas: And I just I remember your story just being like one of these kind of West End dreams in a way. Can you tell what was the story? Can you tell us your audition story?

[25:09] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. Right. So I was at home one day and I'll get an email through from my agent who also happens to be my best friend. And he's like, dude, you know, Moulin Rouge is auditioning, sending me up for an audition. I'm like, oh, cool. I always wanted to be on that in that show. If it was ever a musical, you know, I'd love to play the Argentinian. I think I'd, you know, be great. So I looked and I was like, yeah, cool. I'll go to the audition. Great. And then I kept reading and it was like it's opening in Boston. I was like, damn, I thought it was opening in London. Right. And I was like, do I go? Do I not? Do I bother? I was like, nah. I was like, babe, audition for Moulin Rouge. Should I go? Should I bother? She's like, yeah, well, just go. You might not even you're probably not even going to get it. Just go. You haven't seen the casting director in ages. I was like, I was like, yeah, all right. OK, cool. So I went.

[26:10] Ricky Rojas: They'd sent me "Uptown Funk," which was almost going to be in the show, "Bad Romance," and "Chandelier," and some sides. So I was like, all right, cool. I think, you know, my wife's lack of faith, you know, weighing, you know, I think I've got a good chance of this. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna drill, drill it. I'm gonna drill the sides, drill the music and just, you know, put in that extra bit of hard work for it. So, you know, I went, and it was early in the morning, 10 o'clock. I was the first one in and it was just Pippa Alien, who's the casting director in London, a piano player and someone operating a video camera. And I was like, all right, it's one of these then. Okay, cool. No team. Brilliant.

So, you know, I did my stuff. And she was like, I have thanked Pippa to this day, actually, or I can't remember if I have, but I need to thank her because she actually went, you know what, you can do it a bit bigger. Just be bigger. I was like, oh, all right, cool. She saw it before I did. And I was like, all right, cool. So, I did my things like a little bit bigger. And then she was like, yeah, that's great. That's good. I was like, yeah, cool. I kind of felt good. It didn't feel wrong to do it bigger. Yeah, really go for it. Yeah. Because like you've seen, you've obviously been in the show, you know what he's like. He's like, he's almost bordering on like psycho, psychotic. Anyway, I went home, rang up my agent, old school, and I went, yeah, dude, that went all right, cool.

I didn't make you look stupid. Don't worry. It's all good. And then like a week later, maybe four days later, he was like, dude, dude. I was like, what? He's like, they've just availability checked you for the workshop day and the finals for Moulin Rouge. I was like, no way. He's like, yeah, they want to fly to New York. I was like, shit, no way, right? So, I started freaking out. And that was like, of course, they're going to do that, aren't you? Of course, they're going to fly you. I was like, yeah, yeah. I was like, all right, here we go again. Let's do it, right? So, I had to sort out my little Esther travel visa thing, and then they flew me over to New York the next week, I think it was.

And there was a snowstorm. So, it was a bit touch and go whether I was going to get there in time for the audition. So, they flew me early. Anyway, I managed to get there, put me up a nice little hotel around the corner from Ripley Greer Studios. And I went in the next day. And I was like, I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't even been to that rehearsal space before. And I was looking around, you know, and I met someone from casting. And then that's where I met Katie Spellman and Fred. And it was my dance call first. And I did my dance call with Paloma Garcia Lee, who's of West Side Story fame. And that was cool. It wasn't the tango that we know in the show, but it was a choreographed, passionate, throw on the floor kind of, you know, dance, you know, grabbing a hair and, you know, it was a very passionate dance.

So, I did that. And then I met the music team. I met Justin Levine and Matt Stein. And they drilled me, man, on the music. They were super specific with what they wanted. I was just trying to marry what I had in my head and what was in Justin's head. I didn't think Justin liked me, because he was really drilling me. And I was like, all right, he's here to play. Let's go. I'm here to play, too. Let's do it, right?

[30:29] Dan Tracy: Was it mostly "Bad Romance"? Or what was he? Do you remember what he was on you about?

[30:34] Ricky Rojas: It was some "Uptown Funk."

[30:36] Dan Tracy: Okay.

[30:37] Ricky Rojas: Very specific with timing, right?

[30:42] Dan Tracy: Pocket.

[30:42] Ricky Rojas: Energy.

[30:43] Dan Tracy: Right.

[30:44] Ricky Rojas: You know, "Bad Romance" as well. It was a definite vibe of what he was wanting to get, which you can't get from a piano that I rehearsed with or whatever. So, this is the first bit of direction I'm taking for this audition. So, usually you'd get a bit of direction earlier on, if you're in an audition process, but this is like my finals tomorrow. So, I thought, okay, cool. So, you know, he was talking it through me, what he wanted, what he heard in his head. It was very gypsy-like, you know. Right? So, I was like, all right, that vibe. Cool. Anyway, so we did that. It was great. And then I met Alex and Alex Timbers, director. We went through the sides, gave me direction. I can't remember what it was now, but it must've worked because I got the gig.

So, we did that and it was a long day, you know. I was tired. I went back to the hotel, slept, and then I was back in at like 9:30 or 10 o'clock the next morning for the whole process. And, you know, my first time auditioning in New York for something like this, it was nice to see the difference. It's a lot more, it's almost like the stakes are higher in New York than the West End. It's kind of a bit more relaxed in the West End, but in New York, it was a bit more, let's, you know, everyone's ready to play, I think.

[32:17] Joe Carroll: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah.

[32:19] Ricky Rojas: You know, which is the way it should be. You know, everyone's there to work, right? So, they put you in the little holding room, and that's when you start to suss people out. Oh, yeah. And you're like there, and you're like, okay, he could be up there. And they're all looking at you like, who's this fucking guy? Where's he even from? I've never seen this guy in my life. Who's this dude? He's got fucking suitcases, man. I was like, oh, he's got my suitcases there. And they're like, so I met this guy and he was like, hey, how you doing? I can't remember what his name is. But I've met him since, and, you know, we've had a chat about it. And he was like, oh, yeah, cool. And we get talking. He's like, I'm Ricky, you know.

Oh, you're not from here. I was like, no, no, no, I'm from, you know, from overseas. Like, he's like, oh, yeah, I flew in from LA to audition for this. And I was like, oh, cool, cool. He's like, yeah, me too. He's like, where did you fly in from? No, I was like, no, they flew me over from London to audition for this gig. So, yeah, I'm here because they flew me, right? And he was like, oh, okay, cool. So, I was trying to play like some mind games and shit, right? I was like, let's play some mind games. And then, right, I'm there waiting and in through the door walks this Adonis, Hispanic, tanned Latino man dressed in black, right? And I was like, damn it. He comes in like speaking Spanish. He's like, and I was like, yeah, yeah, we're here for the audition, mate. And I was like, and I was like, he's good looking. He's got a good chance. And I thought, and I thought to myself, no, he's not haggard enough. He's not old enough. He's not rough enough, right?

[33:57] Dan Tracy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's not, he's not living a mamacha, like, you know, living on red wine and cigarettes.

[34:08] Ricky Rojas: Yeah, he's not starving. He's eating 3000 calories of clean eating a day.

[34:11] Dan Tracy: That's right.

[34:12] Ricky Rojas: He doesn't even smoke, right? Anyway, so I was like, okay, cool. And then, you know, they call your name or they say they come and get you whatever. So, I did the dance call first, and it was with Sonia. First time I met Sonia Teja, the choreographer. And she was loving it. You know, how vocal she is, Joe. She was like, yes, yes, like, just yelling. And I was like, yes, I'm getting it. I'm like, yes. Right. That was fun. It was a it was a fun, fun dance call. And then I did the, the scenes and the songs all in one hit with everyone in there with cameras and stuff, because they had to send all the video to Australia for the global team to see there. So I did it. And yeah, it went really super well.

And Nick from casting was like, you know, um, couldn't have gone better. Have a safe flight. And then I got an Uber and went back to the when I got my flight from JFK. Flew back. Two days later, they were like, Hugo's like, you've just been offered the job, man. I was like, what? Oh, so that was amazing. And then all hell broke loose because I had to sort out the visa super fast. And I was doing a show in Australia was touring for a month with a with a like a Frankie Valli tribute in Australia. And so we had to sort all that because, you know, equity wanted to see all, you know, programs and all credits and everything else I'd done. And, you know, rightly so. And then I had to get like a visa appointment in Sydney.

And but I was still in in Perth with a show. And then I did the my visa appointment, then my passport had to get sent to Melbourne, where I was going to be with a show. And it was very it was very touch and go like, the stars aligned. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it. Then I went home and three days later, I was in New York.

[36:17] Joe Carroll: Wow. Wow. Yeah, it's like lightning fast. And I mean, it's just what a crazy it's so like, like, what's funny, I think, is like people I imagine think that that is what like the Broadway audition grind is like, all the time. And it's like, that's not that's not true. Like that is that what you were auditioning for, like the Broadway equivalent of a Marvel movie, you know, like you were like, it was as high stakes and as flashy and as, you know, sort of shiny as possible, in a way, you know, in almost all cases, they're like, so yeah, you have a final callback for this thing. And you're like, yeah, cool. Well, I'm in. I'm in San Diego. Oh, okay. So you're gonna fly yourself out here, you're gonna take two days off from your tour to come out here and fly yourself out here on your own dime.

You're gonna set a studio for 12 hours, then you're gonna get in a hotel and do it that you know, fly back to your show, and hopefully you don't miss a show. And you sit in a studio for 12 hours, and then somebody else gets the job anyway. It's usually how that goes. Not that I've had this experience at all. But it's only happened three times.

[37:26] Ricky Rojas: The thing is, I've had that experience in London, like, you know, same thing, you're on tour, like, man, I'm in Sunderland to get to London. That's like, what? Right. Oh, man. Yeah, you know, you do it. And then you're like, oh, someone else has got the gig. Oh, great. Yeah. Right. Right. I could have easily just taken a couple hundred dollars and let them on fire. Yeah. And then you get to do this amazing show and bring it to New York. And you guys are selling a bunch of tickets and, you know, then COVID strikes. And now what's the plan? Do you have any ideas? Are you allowed to tell us?

[38:01] Ricky Rojas: Well, we haven't heard anything yet. You know, I'm hoping that there's a rumor thing that everyone's, you know, kind of Broadway's kicking back up, like, September time, October, like, end of fall. So, we're hoping it's going to be that. I mean, we've got to find out soon, though, for them to open up ticket sales and stuff like that. So, I'm hoping we hear super soon. But the plan is to go back and, you know, and get to it again. I mean, it's we're going to get two opening nights. It's kind of this one's going to be more. It's going to be crazier than the first time we opened, I think.

[38:38] Dan Tracy: Probably. Yeah. With everything we've all been through.

[38:45] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. Yeah. I just think people are just aching for it, you know. So, yeah, it's going to be it's already that shows already a rock a rock concert. It's going to be right. Yeah. Unbelievable. Well, I just I can't I can't wait. I know that we all we all can't wait. You so far in your career so far, what would you say is the greatest challenge of your career so far?

[39:11] Ricky Rojas: Maybe COVID aside.

[39:13] Dan Tracy: Yeah. Apart from the pandemic. Yeah.

[39:16] Ricky Rojas: I would say weathering the tough times and when you're not in a musical or when you don't have a gig, the hustle is hard to find the gigs, to make the work. That's the hard bit, especially if you've got a family. Totally. So what are some things you've done to make that work? You know, doing some work on cruise ships with a friend of mine's got a production company. He's got some great shows. He's doing super, super well. And he's got lots of shows that go out and do fly-ons to cruise ships as guest entertainers and fly-offs. So I do quite a lot of that. And it's mostly that or any gigs that I can pick up here and there, you know, session work. I do quite a bit of nice.

[40:19] Dan Tracy: Yeah. Yeah. Cobbling it together. That's what I mean. Dan and I talk about that all the time.

[40:23] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've been teaching a whole lot since like last September. So that's great.

[40:30] Joe Carroll: Well, that's I mean, like for listeners, you know, we I've Dan and I both teach. But I mean, honestly, Ricky, I want to take a lesson from you. I want a guitar lesson and I want a singing lesson. And then I want a salsa lesson. And I want you to teach me how to look at women.

[40:47] Ricky Rojas: Listen, you do it like this.

[40:53] Joe Carroll: You can't see what he's doing, but he's staring kind of like Dwayne.

[40:57] Dan Tracy: I was just going to say that's pretty, pretty much the best The Rock I've ever seen.

[41:01] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. Yeah. Do you smell what The Rock is cooking? Eyebrow lift is exactly what that looked like.

[41:08] Joe Carroll: Do you smell what Santiago is cooking for you?

[41:14] Ricky Rojas: Is there a book or a resource or a person or?

[41:19] Ricky Rojas: So my dad used to read loads of motivational books as I was growing up. And he was always like, you know, telling me about all these things in these books and stuff. And I was like, okay, cool. It's like the power of positive thinking and all of that stuff. So then he gave me a book called Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. So and that's like, they're all precursors to like Anthony Robbins and like The Secret and all that stuff. So I was like, and this book, it just, it speaks sense. It's so old school and probably, you know, un-PC, you know, and politically incorrect in some bits and very sexist. But it's like, you take from it and appreciate that it was written in a time, you know, way back in the 1940s. But some like the stuff he talks about still very relevant for now and for, you know, having a healthy, you know, mental state, I think, you know, and knowing things get better and to have faith and, you know, and keep plugging on, keep pushing on, you know?

[42:34] Dan Tracy: Yeah, yeah. God, we all need to hear that.

[42:37] Joe Carroll: Yeah, truly.

[42:38] Ricky Rojas: Oh my gosh. I love that. I love that.

[42:41] Joe Carroll: So you grew up not very much a musical theater guy. But what would you call your most influential musical? Like, what was the point where you were like, okay, I dig this. I can do this now.

[42:52] Ricky Rojas: This is gonna sound super weird, but it was Pirates of Penzance.

[43:01] Dan Tracy: I love that.

[43:03] Ricky Rojas: So I did it at high school. And it was before I started at the ATYP. But it was like the first time I was like, I get this. You know, I get it. I get it. I played Frederick. And I didn't play the pirate. I played the Pirate King many years later in London. In the Pirates, but then I was Frederick. And I couldn't sing very high. So I don't think it sounded very good. But like, you know, he's a proper tenor, you know?

[43:36] Dan Tracy: Right. Yeah, yeah.

[43:39] Ricky Rojas: You know, but I gave it my best and I loved it. You know?

[43:41] Joe Carroll: Yeah. That's awesome. Super good. But that's the musical or operetta.

[43:47] Dan Tracy: Yeah. Dan, did you audition for that Pirates of Penzance when they're trying to revive it?

[43:53] Joe Carroll: They were trying to bring it to New York.

[43:56] Dan Tracy: No.

[43:57] Joe Carroll: Like Will Swenson did it.

[44:01] Dan Tracy: I mean, I know they did it at the Muny one year when we were in school. They do it there all the time. But this was like this was probably five years ago and it was like a Gunkwit or theater. The one in the Berkshires. Anyway, I auditioned for Frederick and it was one of the worst auditions that I have ever had, because also like I'm like a baritone who likes to pretend he's a tenor. And so I went in and sang that song and it just did not. It did not work.

[44:33] Ricky Rojas: Oh, is there not one man impressed?

[44:37] Joe Carroll: Yeah. Yeah.

[44:38] Dan Tracy: Yeah. Yeah. It was not not great. But I want to know I want them to like I want a full fledged revival of that. I want like a really big, you know, huge orchestra like give me.

[44:50] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. You know what's cool? The one I did, the one I did was the all male production by Sasha Reagan. And I did it at Wilton Halls in London, which is the oldest music hall in the world, I think. And it was like all the female parts were played by men, countertenors. And it was to this day, up until Moulin Rouge, it was my dad's favorite thing I've ever done.

[45:22] Joe Carroll: Oh, cool.

[45:23] Ricky Rojas: Absolutely not. He was like, mate, bloody beautiful, mate. This production, the voice, the voice, he sings so high, mate. Perfect. I love it, mate. I love it.

[45:38] Dan Tracy: I was like, thanks. Thanks, Dad.

[45:40] Joe Carroll: Yeah. Anything about my performance? No. OK, cool, Dad. Thanks.

[45:46] Ricky Rojas: You know, I didn't get paid much doing it, but it's fine. You know, like it's bigger budget stuff. No. OK, cool. Thanks.

[45:55] Joe Carroll: Oh my God. I love that. And then I asked this question of all of our guests when we get towards the end. It's I call it the unreachable star question, which is kind of the, you know, what do you have pointed, what do you pointed towards on the horizon, like a million, a million years from now, something you want to accomplish, something you want to do?

[46:13] Ricky Rojas: Oh, man, I want to do like a film. I just want to do a film, a good film.

[46:20] Dan Tracy: Yeah.

[46:20] Ricky Rojas: You know, that's not Hollywoody. That's not, you know, I just want a good, I want a good character, something that I can get my teeth into, something that to play it, to surrender to it would scare me. Like, I want that. You know what I mean? Where you're on the edge of like, if I get too far to it, you know, it scares you. If you do it properly, you know.

[46:50] Joe Carroll: Yeah. A hundred percent.

[46:51] Ricky Rojas: That's what I want.

[46:53] Joe Carroll: I love that. I love that. Something super, super artsy, this up in your face. And I think there's a fear about about camera in general, I think, for people who grew up and loved the stage, that like that intimacy of having that thing, that thing just right in your face.

[47:06] Ricky Rojas: Of course.

[47:11] Joe Carroll: Having you go through something, you know.

[47:12] Ricky Rojas: It's very, it's like doing a scene, but someone's like right in front of your face. It's, you know, I think just be real. I think if you're real and you believe it, I think that's, you know, that's the first hurdle. You just have to be real.

[47:27] Joe Carroll: Mm hmm. Yeah. You know, I love that.

[47:30] Ricky Rojas: Actually happening, right? Like, like getting lost, like the fear of getting lost in the thing, the thing being so part of you that you're lost in that moment. And you're like, wait, am I? Who am I? Am I? Am I me? Or am I this character? Is this actually happening? That's what I want.

[47:46] Joe Carroll: That's what I want so bad.

[47:47] Ricky Rojas: Yeah. And I've had that experience like three times.

[47:51] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[47:53] Ricky Rojas: Like individual scenes, like individual moments, you know, and then you're always trying to chase that thing again.

[47:58] Joe Carroll: Exactly. It's such a buzz, man.

[48:00] Ricky Rojas: Yeah.

[48:01] Joe Carroll: It's such a buzz.

[48:03] Ricky Rojas: Absolutely. Absolutely. I want that. I want that for you. I want to see it.

[48:09] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[48:10] Ricky Rojas: I want it for everyone, for all of us.

[48:11] Joe Carroll: Yeah, for sure.

[48:14] Dan Tracy: Where can people see or hear from you, Ricky? Where, where, where are you in the world?

[48:19] Ricky Rojas: Well, you know, Instagram, Instagram, I'm going to start putting, I used to do like Thursday lives when I was in the show, where I used to, I, you know, I like warming up. I warm up with my guitar. I sing for, you know, a good solid 45 minutes, an hour before the show. I thought one day, you know, I'm just going to put it on a live every Thursday and just leave the phone there and see what happens. And, you know, people ended up liking it. And then, you know, everyone would come to my dressing room and say hi. And Aaron Tveit would come in and sing a couple of songs.

[49:00] Ricky Rojas: It's my life.

[49:01] Joe Carroll: Listen, man, this is my time, okay? You're the star of this show.

[49:06] Ricky Rojas: No, we love Aaron on this show. He's a good guy. I'm just teasing him. Step aside.

[49:12] Joe Carroll: The later things to do is tease him.

[49:15] Ricky Rojas: Handsome guys that are that talented and successful, you just have to bring them down. That's why I'm so mean to Joe. I'm surprised I didn't do it on this episode.

[49:21] Dan Tracy: Well, here you are. We're 45 minutes in and you got your first shot in of the episode, my friend.

[49:29] Joe Carroll: Oh my gosh. What are you playing right now, guitar wise? Are you working on any music? You playing anything?

[49:35] Ricky Rojas: You know what? I haven't written anything. I just like to play. I've got, I'm playing my nice guitar. I've got a couple of nice guitars at the moment because they never travel with me. I've got my Guild D40, which is from 1963. It's very old. You'll appreciate this. I've got a Gibson 1968 Blue Ridge, which I fixed up because I fix guitars as well. I did that many years ago. And yeah, just play those.

[49:54] Joe Carroll: Wait, move aside. Let me sing.

[50:11] Joe Carroll: Yeah. Well, so it sounds like just to recap, it sounds like so you're a Luthier. You're refurbishing your house. You've moved to France. You know, like this is I think that, you know, the pandemic, you're certainly being more productive than I am.

[50:30] Ricky Rojas: But you've shaved and regrown mustaches. I love it. And this is catching up with Ricky Rojas.

[50:38] Ricky Rojas: You know, listen, measure twice, cut once. That's the motto for fixing up.

[50:45] Joe Carroll: And then what's the worst that can happen? You just replace it.

[50:48] Ricky Rojas: That's right.

[50:50] Joe Carroll: Unless it's a really antique, like vintage guitar, which you have to be careful with.

[50:56] Ricky Rojas: But hey, most of the time it's not vintage and it's not antique. So it's all good.

[51:01] Dan Tracy: Right. I just love it. I love it.

[51:03] Joe Carroll: Well, Ricky, well, I just I miss you desperately. And we'll be we'll sit that beer culture on 40, 45th or whatever, you know, you know, sooner than we sooner than, you know, the light there's like a light at the end of a tunnel that we're just entering.

[51:22] Ricky Rojas: I can see it. I can see it. And then we'll be back in my dressing room having a whiskey, playing guitar.

[51:29] Joe Carroll: Oh, I miss it so much. My friend, thank you. Stay well.

[51:33] Ricky Rojas: Thank you, Ricky.

[51:38] Dan Tracy: Thank you for listening to Guys Who Like Musicals. We are now part of the Broadway Podcast Network. We are hosted by Dan Tracy. That's you. And Joe Carroll. That's me. We're produced by Ryan Kincaid. And Matthew Mucha is the social content manager. You can find us on Instagram at Guys Who Like Musicals, on Twitter at Musical Guys, or the old fashioned way at www.guyslikemusicals.com. If you'd like a chance to be featured on the Ask the Guys segment of our show, please call 203-900-7990 and leave a message with your question. As always, thanks for listening.