This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Aaron Bartz: Hi, I'm Aaron Bartz. Welcome to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales.

[0:11] Alan Seales: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to an all-new episode of The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and our guest for this episode is Aaron Bartz, who is part of our special Harry Potter and the Cursed Child takeover here on the podcast. There's only a few episodes left. Make sure you rewind a little bit to get all of them and check out the whole podcast takeover. I couldn't be more thrilled to have him on the podcast. He's an actor with serious classical chops. He's got an MFA from Yale, countless regional credits, and a background in Shakespeare that helped pave the way for this Broadway debut in Harry Potter. And it's a role across the globe that fans recognize instantly. Of course, Draco Malfoy. But what makes this conversation extra special is the way that Aaron opens up about his own fatherhood onstage and off and how portraying an adult Draco has given him a fresh perspective on his own legacy and the redemption path that this character goes on. It's actually really cool. But we dive into the physical and technical demands of Cursed Child from fire to flight illusions that everybody seems to enjoy. It's a fascinating look at the magic behind the magic and how he balances it all while commuting in from Connecticut and raising two kids. Don't forget to follow me on social media and go to Patreon or Spotify and check out the video version of this episode. Special thanks to welcometotimesquare.com, the billboard where you can be a star for a day. And everybody, now please enjoy this episode with Aaron Bartz.

[1:51] Alan Seales: Today's guest is an actor known for his work in both classical and contemporary theater with an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. His stage career has taken him from regional productions to television and now to Broadway, where he brings depth and complexity to the role of Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is also his Broadway debut. Aaron Bartz, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[2:10] Aaron Bartz: Thank you so much, Alan. Thanks for having me.

[2:14] Alan Seales: We were just talking right before we started recording about I took my son to prep for this interview, came to see the show, took my 10-year-old, and he's seen tons of musicals, but this is the first straight play I've taken him to see, I think, ever?

[2:29] Aaron Bartz: Ever.

[2:30] Alan Seales: Yeah, actually. And now it's his number one. Just trumped everything else.

[2:35] Aaron Bartz: Well, it's rare. I mean, it's rare to have a straight play that's also a spectacle. Because oftentimes when it's a big, fun show, it's a musical. Because of course it is. But with our show, we don't need to sing. We just do magic instead. So you get all the big spectacle without the singing. So it's a kind of a unique flavor. But also you said that his favorite show before this was Aunt Juliet. So those satisfy very different cravings, I think. So I think they could co-occupy his number one spot and not compete with each other, really.

[3:11] Alan Seales: I get that. And I would agree with that. All right, I'm gonna go back and I will posit to him that he should equally have two buckets and one is the other.

[3:18] Aaron Bartz: Okay. Yes.

[3:23] Alan Seales: Do you get that a lot from kids and even adults that come see the show? Because this is a property that is just known around the world as this behemoth of an IP.

[3:30] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, absolutely. And because our show is so well known, we get a lot of first-time theatergoers, which is really cool. And it's a lot of families' gateway to theater. Because they're aware of Harry Potter. Most of them have seen the films or read the books, and then they get a chance to take a family trip. And what are we going to see? Oh, there's this show. And everyone in the family can have a good time. And so many times at stage door will come out and they'll say, this is my first play ever. This is amazing. This is my first Broadway show ever. And so we get a lot of families coming in that way, which is just a really cool feeling.

[4:13] Alan Seales: Well, for you making now your Broadway debut, having made your Broadway debut in this show, and like I said, you've done TV and you've done regional productions all over the place. But this is a workout, I feel like. Because especially you, you're on stage so much and the illusions don't look easy. Illusions, magics, tricks, what's the word?

[4:33] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, we say illusions. It's the illusions department. So we'll go with illusions.

[4:37] Alan Seales: The ID.

[4:38] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, the ID, yes. And the Ministry of Magic. They work together.

[4:42] Alan Seales: Wait, what is from Severance?

[4:44] Aaron Bartz: Oh, Macro Data Refinement?

[4:46] Alan Seales: No, no, no. What is Burt, Chris Walken, what's he in charge of the operations? It's not...

[4:53] Aaron Bartz: Oh, I don't remember.

[4:54] Alan Seales: Design and some or other anyway. Yeah. So, okay. Anyway, so the illusions department, the ID. But yeah, you guys are, I mean, I'm sure you're sworn to secrecy for all sorts of stuff. What is the legal document that goes on top of your standard contract for this stuff?

[5:11] Aaron Bartz: Well, it's really strange because you're signing your contract and then an owl flies in and drops off this NDA. And then you have to sign it with a quill. You can't sign it with a normal pen.

[5:20] Alan Seales: Right. But go ahead.

[5:29] Aaron Bartz: Well, I was just back to what you were saying about the show. It is, even though it's not a musical, it is still an epic spectacle, like I said. And so there is not exactly what we'd call dancing, but there is movement and choreography. And like you're saying with the illusions, everything's happening right now, right in front of you. There's no screens, no CGI. So it's all human-powered stuff. Right. And so it is a lot. It's a lot on, especially the ensemble and really the entire cast, but it's a big show and doing it eight times a week is an effort. And this show, it used to be two plays before the pandemic, and it was a bit more luxurious. And then during the pandemic, they were somehow, somehow with the use of magic, able to edit this thing and cut it down to just a single performance without losing any of the magic, so to speak. But with that, I mean, all the big things that you see in the show were originally designed to be performed over two shows. So now doing them all in one show is a lot for us.

[6:39] Alan Seales: And you think about, I mean, what we're seeing as the audience and all of you as the actors have to do this and go through everything, but then look at what we don't see the crew and all of the stagehands, all of the people in charge of the illusions, making sure that it has to go clockwork, right? How many levels deep are there in levels of redundancy? So if primary illusion A doesn't work, do you have backups?

[7:08] Aaron Bartz: Oh, many, many backups.

[7:09] Alan Seales: Really?

[7:10] Aaron Bartz: Oh yeah. Yeah. We call them contingencies. So there are contingencies for each illusion. You know, anything that could potentially go sideways has some kind of a what-if scenario that we're ready for. And we rehearse those things too. So yeah, I mean, speaking of rehearsal, that's the other unique thing about this show is almost the entire rehearsal process is spent doing things that you've never done before as an actor. It's learning all the illusions, learning how to fly, learning how to deal with fire, be underwater for several minutes at a time. You know, how do you have the illusion that you're, you know, flying through the air or turning into somebody else? And so most of the time is spent learning how to do all these things that there should be no reason why you should know how to do any of them.

[8:01] Alan Seales: You mean you don't know how to turn into somebody else?

[8:04] Aaron Bartz: You know, I tried.

[8:05] Alan Seales: And I convinced myself.

[8:07] Aaron Bartz: No, that's cool. Again, my son, 10-year-old, he's very logical. And he's one of those kids that has never just gone in a room and imagined everything. He's very just like, here's this, and very practical. And he still can't figure out, he's like, how do they change into other people? That's fascinating. It's blowing my mind.

[8:30] Aaron Bartz: I think 10 is probably the perfect age to come see it.

[8:33] Alan Seales: Yeah, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed it a lot. She's just a little young. We haven't brought her yet for the full show. And we have a one-year-old and a seven-year-old. So I don't think the one-year-old is going to make it. But my daughter will come back and see it. And I think, yeah, 9, 10 is about the right age for that, I think.

[8:48] Aaron Bartz: That's really cool. That's cool. So then before though, before you got onto Broadway, before you did this, and I'm going to come back because I have so many questions about the show.

[8:55] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah.

[8:56] Aaron Bartz: But like, where did you grow up? What got you into theater?

[8:58] Aaron Bartz: I grew up in Montana. I was born and raised in Great Falls, Montana, and went to school at the University of Montana for undergrad. And when I was in high school, in English class, our teacher, we were reading The Taming of the Shrew. And just for fun, he split us up into pairs and had everyone act out a scene from the play. So I did this Kate and Petruchio scene. And afterward, he pulled me aside and he said, have you ever thought about drama or taking a theater class?

[9:27] Alan Seales: And you said, no.

[9:28] Aaron Bartz: No, I was like, ah, never really thought about it. At that time, I was playing football in school.

[9:34] Alan Seales: Really? Wow.

[9:35] Aaron Bartz: And I was kind of a nerd still, but I wasn't into performing. And I thought, well, you know what, I'll see, you know. So my junior year, I enrolled in Drama 1 or whatever it is, you know, in high school.

[9:48] Alan Seales: They had an actual drama class in high school?

[9:50] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, yeah, an actual drama class. And also, my English teacher was also the technical director of the drama program, which is why he had that connection. It was kind of like, oh, Aaron, maybe you should think about that. And so I took drama my junior year and then got an acting scholarship to the University of Montana. And it was off from there.

[10:08] Alan Seales: Really? Like, just straight junior year to senior year getting a scholarship?

[10:12] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, yeah. Just two years of high school.

[10:14] Alan Seales: Wow.

[10:15] Aaron Bartz: Which I actually thought, I mean, at first, I didn't know. I mean, it was kind of like imposter syndrome, even though I didn't know what that was at the time, because so many people who get into this get into it very, very young as children. And even though junior year in high school is still very young, I felt like I was late to the game in a way, but I knew that I was ready to play still. So I was kind of extra motivated to—I felt like I needed to make up for some kind of lost time at this thing. So I really dove into it. You know, all the other classes kind of became a little less important, and it was more about drama and what play are we working on. And then getting to go to the University of Montana, which was—when I was in high school, we took a trip to the university. And so this was—we saw the Montana Repertory Theater put on Death of a Salesman, and it was the first kind of pro theater I had seen. And I sat in the front row, and the entire performance, I was just—my mind was blown. I couldn't believe that there were people—because I'd only seen high schoolers act in plays at this point, but there were adults and kids and people acting together, and the production value was insane, and the costumes were just beautiful. And I was completely transformed, transported to this world. And when it was over, I just—I knew. At that moment, I was like, well, no matter what else happens, I'm coming to the University of Montana. I will work at the Montana Repertory Theater, and that is my goal. And so I knew, even if I were to drop out of high school, I could still go to the University of Montana because of, you know, whatever in-state, whatever it was, I didn't need to work too hard to get to that college. So it was all about getting to the University of Montana then, which I did. And it was such a gem of a program. I felt like it was the best-kept secret in actor training. We covered such a breadth of stuff at such a depth with professors who really cared. And then they did a mid-program review where they would cut people halfway through the program.

[12:18] Alan Seales: So what happened to them? They just went to engineering?

[12:22] Aaron Bartz: So some of them would change from a BFA track to a BA, or some would just, yeah, straight up, just completely shift to a new field altogether.

[12:31] Alan Seales: That's rough.

[12:31] Aaron Bartz: Which is rough. I mean, especially, you know, your sophomore year of undergrad, all of a sudden, you think you're on a path, and then someone says, actually, this may not be for you right now, and then you have to change. Yeah. So that's very stressful. So that was a very stressful time around, they call it mid-program review. But that went well. And then after I graduated, I got my current dream, my then dream job of working with the Montana Repertory Theatre. I played the sheriff, Heck Tate, in To Kill a Mockingbird. And we toured that thing around for nine months around the nation. It was just the absolute best. To graduate underground and go right on the road for nine months was insane, with some of my friends and then professional actors that they had brought in to play the older roles.

[13:20] Alan Seales: How did you get cast in that, though? Did you come to New York and audition, or send in a tape at that point?

[13:24] Aaron Bartz: No, it was because the Montana Repertory Theatre has a relationship with the University of Montana. And so they audition graduating seniors for these touring productions. And they're non-equity actors. And so we were also part of the crew, essentially, as well. So we'd drive the vans and trucks. We'd get to the city. We'd load in the set. And then we'd get to the hotel, change, whatever, come do the show. And then if it was our last show in the city, then we'd break down the set, load up the trucks. So it was crazy. It was crazy intense. But it was just so, so fun. And that play and that novel were so meaningful to me. The man who played Atticus is an actor named Michael McDonald, who lives in Oregon. And he was just incredible. I learned so much from Michael. And he had such integrity. And we had a number of these school performances. We called it The Dirty Bird, because it was a one-hour version of To Kill a Mockingbird. It was essentially like, here are all the characters, and now the trial scene. But we did it at eight in the morning at these schools. And most of us were just in really rough shape that early in the morning. Like, oh, we're doing this Dirty Bird at X high school today. But Michael McDonald showed up every day. And it didn't matter what time of day it was, what theater, if we were in a gymnasium or a 1600-seat house, his performance was so moving and so compelling. And he was so dedicated that it made me so proud to be a part of the show and to see… We'd have talkbacks, and audience members would stick around and just explain what this play meant to them. And it made me just so proud to be an actor. And I felt the real power of storytelling and sharing these experiences communally with people in a room, all breathing the same air and telling the story. And even sharing a story that everyone is familiar with. Still, there was just such a power to it that really, really stuck with me.

[15:27] Alan Seales: So then you're coming out of… You're going to undergrad. You're going on this tour. And then so where does Yale… Why do you decide to keep going? And where does Yale come into it?

[15:31] Aaron Bartz: So after the tour, I moved to New York. Actually, I moved to New York right before the tour, because we had a couple of months, I think, before we started. So I moved out and got an apartment and everything, and then immediately went on the road. And then once the tour was over, I came back to New York and essentially kind of chased Shakespeare auditions around the country. For a while, I was just trying to do as much Shakespeare as I could. Because again, Michael McDonald, who played Atticus, was a big Shakespeare guy. And after we were finishing Mockingbird, he was on his way to Texas to do a production of King Lear. And so I thought to myself, well, this is my next job. So I said, I must be a part of this production. I have to see Michael play King Lear. And if I'm going to see it, I might as well be in it. So I found the director, a man named William Groff. And I wrote him an email and I said, hi, I'm working with Michael McDonald right now on the road on To Kill a Mockingbird. And I know he's coming to see you to do King Lear. And I would like to please audition for the show. And this is my non-equity days, before I had an agent or anything, and I'm advocating for myself, I'm self-submitting to all this stuff. And he wrote me back and he said, thank you, but no. We're hiring local Texas actors for this production. And I wrote back and I said, I understand that. I do not accept that answer. And in fact, I said, William, I said, Michael, I admire him so much. I'll do anything in this play. I said, I will literally do anything. I don't need a line. I just want to be in the show. And he thought, well, I don't know, we don't have a lot of money to pay to fly people and house people. And I said, well, I'll tell you what. I had booked another, I was doing a production of the Scottish play off-off Broadway. I had booked right when I came back to the city. And I said, I'm doing this play. And he was in New York. And I said, come see the play. And so, and then we can talk. And so, he came and saw the play. And I played Malcolm. And then we went for a walk and we talked about the show. And then he took me to Central Park and auditioned me in Central Park for King Lear. And then offered me the job in Central Park. So, then they work it all out. I finally convinced him to hire me. And then, so they send me the offer and they said, okay, Aaron, here's the deal. We can pay you this much. And I said, okay, great. But can I have a little more money? Looking back, which is so crazy, but I had my New York apartment that I had to cover while I was gone. And it was something like they wanted to give me like $300 a week. And I was like, I just can't pay my rent. I was like, can I get like $50 more a week? And I could do this.

[18:18] Alan Seales: We're going to take a quick break for a few commercials.

[18:23] Aaron Bartz: All right, everyone, welcome back to the episode. And it was just so funny because looking back, I'm like, reaching out and like, hire me. And they're like, no, well, please hire me. Come on, I want to be part of this. Oh, no. Okay, well, come see me in this thing. Okay, finally. Okay, we'll hire you. Okay, could I have more money? It just seemed like such a ridiculous thing.

[18:35] Alan Seales: Wow.

[18:36] Aaron Bartz: But it all worked out. They found the money, we did it. And again, Michael McDonald was just incredible. And it was so great to do that. And then I came back to New York again, and I went to Texas Shakespeare Festival and worked with a couple of actors who are currently in grad school at NYU and Yale. And their work was just at a level that was, to me, very clearly above the people who hadn't trained at that level. And I'd been kind of playing with the idea because I had been out of undergrad, like four years at this point, doing regional theater and playing great roles. But I felt like I couldn't really get where I was going by myself anymore. And I needed like the next kind of thing.

[19:21] Alan Seales: There's still non-equity at this point.

[19:22] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, still non-equity. And so I worked with these two guys, and they were both like, hey, audition for the school, the grad school auditions were coming up. And they said, we'll recommend you, we'll put in the good word with the professors. And so I ended up applying to both of those schools and went to the final callback weekends. And then I got the offer for Yale. And at that point, that was a done deal for me, that no matter what else was coming, I was going to be going to Yale School of Drama.

[19:51] Alan Seales: And then did you ask Yale for lower tuition because you had to cover your rent?

[19:54] Aaron Bartz: I said that, you know, that's great, but I have this apartment in New York. It's on 90th and 1st, and it keeps getting more and more expensive.

[20:04] Alan Seales: Oh, so funny. No, I actually got rid of the apartment. And I moved to New Haven, and I still live there.

[20:11] Aaron Bartz: Today?

[20:12] Alan Seales: Yes. Yes, I actually live in Trumbull, Connecticut, but it's very close.

[20:15] Aaron Bartz: You just commute in for the shows?

[20:16] Alan Seales: I do, yes.

[20:17] Aaron Bartz: Oh, that's cool.

[20:18] Alan Seales: My wife, so we met at the University of Montana. And she runs a middle school in New Haven, a theater-based middle school that she designed.

[20:26] Aaron Bartz: Theater-based middle school?

[20:27] Alan Seales: Yes, it's called Atlas.

[20:28] Aaron Bartz: Good, good, good.

[20:29] Alan Seales: So she went to Harvard and designed this middle school all around theater and the theatrical process and how you can dive into different subjects all based around what play you're doing. And then some people in New Haven got word of it and were like, this is a great idea. Let's open this and make it a thing. So we're still in New Haven.

[20:46] Aaron Bartz: That's crazy.

[20:47] Alan Seales: I'll be almost 10 years later now.

[20:49] Aaron Bartz: So cool. And she's inspiring kids at a middle school level with that level of professionalism. I think that's good for her.

[20:56] Aaron Bartz: It's really cool.

[20:59] Alan Seales: We need so many people, young people getting into the arts right now for many, many reasons, but we won't get into because this isn't a political podcast. But as I guess for you, let's see, so you're doing Shakespeare and you're going to Yale like you do and doing your thing. And then where does, I mean, something like Harry Potter, does that fit into what I think Shakespeare, like sonnets and dismember? Obviously, I guess speak out that a little bit too, because this play is hard, like we were talking about at the very beginning, but is it hard in a different way or easier at all? If the end of doing eight shows of Harry Potter, is it different from doing eight shows of the Scottish play?

[21:51] Aaron Bartz: That's a really good question. I think it's more similar than you might think. I consider Shakespeare to be kind of like the Olympics of acting. I think if you can act a Shakespeare play, you can pretty much act anything. And I found that when I was looking at who had been cast in Harry Potter in London and who the current cast they were building, honestly, many, many of the actors have strong classical Shakespeare backgrounds. And I don't think that that's a coincidence. And I was actually doing another Shakespeare play. I was doing a production of, oh, now I'm spacing the name of it. It's Love's Labour's Lost. And I get the audition for Harry Potter, but we're in tech for Love's Labour's Lost, and I can't make the appointment. And so I write my agent. I said, well, I can't, we're in tech and I'm playing the lead and I can't get out of this right now. And they said, well, okay, well, we'll ask casting if they can reschedule. And they came back and they said, well, can you send a self-tape in? And I thought, oh man, this is Broadway, man. No one's going to watch this self-tape. I was like, oh, I was like, okay. Okay, I'll do it. Of course, I'll do it. Because my first thought was, one, this is Broadway, man. No one's going to watch the self-tape. But then my second thought was, you know what? I get to play Draco Malfoy for two to three minutes. They want me to play Draco Malfoy, and they probably will watch it. And so, yeah, this is going to be great, actually. So we got my wife and I said, I need to do this self-tape. It needs to be in tonight. And my daughter's running around upstairs, making all this noise. And we're like, oh, get her to be a little quiet if we can. And this is only my second Broadway audition. And so we shoot the tape, send it in. And then they come back and they're like, oh, we loved it. They wanted to bring me in for a callback. And so at that point, then we started, the other play had finished. And so we started the callback audition process. And then first, I was cast as a swing in the play. So my first year, when I joined the show, I was cast as a swing and I covered like six of the guys, including Draco.

[24:09] Alan Seales: Wow. Did you go on for any?

[24:11] Aaron Bartz: It was insane. I went on for all of them, all the time, all the time. And it was so fun. So in the years past, when people have reached out to me, they've said, well, hey, I got this offer for Harry Potter and I could do this ensemble or this swing thing. And what do you think? And I'm like, look, you swing. Because in our show, first of all, swings are on every night, regardless. You're on stage every night. And two, most nights, you're on doing some track that you cover. And so it was an incredible variety of things that I got to do.

[24:40] Alan Seales: So you don't get bored?

[24:41] Aaron Bartz: No, it's not boring at all. It's so thrilling. And in fact, there would be times where I'd be, they'd say, okay, you're on for X tonight. And I'd get to the theater and they'd say, oh, actually, no, no, something happened. Now you're on for this other part. And it was so fun to be able to be like, yeah, no problem.

[24:56] Alan Seales: You seem like such a mellow guy. Like, yeah, no problem. I got that. But secretly in the back, are you freaking out? Like, oh, no, that's the track I know the least. What am I going to do?

[25:06] Aaron Bartz: No. I mean, I was freaking out in that I was so excited to be the guy to be able to save the day, to fly in and be like, oh, no, oh, no, something happened. Aaron, we need you. Come in and play this thing. Last minute. And I was like, yeah, no problem. But I will say that every swing has I kept a little one of those tiny little like two inch by three inch moleskin notebooks.

[25:28] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah.

[25:28] Aaron Bartz: With little notes on it, you know, and I'd keep it tucked in my sock. So I get, you know, because because so many of the tracks also are very similar. You know, a couple of the tracks I covered were basically they did a lot of the same stuff. It was just mirror imaged, you know, stage right or stage left. And, you know, so that got a little confusing, you know, but to have the little cheat sheet was kind of all the peace of mind that I needed. And then they do such a good job of rehearsing everybody into the show. Like I said, most of the rehearsal is just learning all the illusions and the movement and the counts to things. And so we're very well prepared.

[26:01] Alan Seales: Is there a rehearsal space that has the gear to help you rehearse the illusions or do you have to come into the theater?

[26:06] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, yeah. We have a we're fortunate to have a rehearsal studio in the theater. So upstairs on the third floor, we have a rehearsal studio.

[26:12] Alan Seales: I didn't know that.

[26:15] Aaron Bartz: Yes. And so we have a lot of gear there. We're also depending on what it is, we're able to do it on stage because some things have to be done on stage because for whatever whatever reason they need to happen there, it can't happen anywhere else. So they're very good at rehearsing everybody in. And even if there was something that we weren't quite certain of or didn't feel so comfortable of, if we just ask, then they make time to let us get our hands on it before the show or make sure that we're in a place we feel good about it.

[26:43] Alan Seales: That's really interesting. It seems like the crew and the production staff, too, is very relaxed.

[26:49] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, full stop. They're very relaxed in that they know that tomorrow's, I guess, marketing or tomorrow's ticket sales are not based on the performance from last week, right? Because like Broadway right now, it's so hard to establish yourself if you're not a known IP, if you're not a known show or adapted from something. And so, I mean, again, like we said at the very beginning, this is a show that you don't have to speak English, you don't have to be American, you just know Harry Potter because it's been adapted in so many different ways. And so, yeah, like these people just come and the multiple times I've seen it, just it's incredible the different reactions I see and the different types of people as I'm sitting next to people that are speaking different languages all around me. And it's just incredible. And I'm like, I don't even know if they know English, but they're still here watching the show that is being performed in British English, right? So it's really cool. It's really cool. Have you gotten any really cool feedback from Stage Door or from fan mail or whatever that stands out in that way?

[27:55] Aaron Bartz: Yeah. Well, I mean, like I said before, we get a lot of first-time theatergoers, so that's a lot of the feedback that we get. But also playing a well-known character like Draco or Harry or Hermione or any of these very famous characters, they in themselves have a fan base. Like Draco Malfoy has a fan base. Really?

[28:16] Alan Seales: So I will get fan mail. It's addressed to Aaron, but it's really for Draco. And particular characters, people really resonate with them for different reasons. And people really resonate with Draco and having kind of like a rough childhood and being kind of a bully and in these awful circumstances. And then kind of one of the nice things about our show for me is Draco gets... It's often referred to as a redemption arc, quote unquote. I don't know if I exactly say that, but you get a chance to see more of who he really is inside him and not just when he's being manipulated by his parents or the Death Eaters or all the negative influences in his life. But yes, we get a lot of people at Stage Door and writing to us all the time about how the show is so meaningful and also so spectacular. And of course, everyone asking us how we do all the things, you know? And it's so fun to be on stage and hear the gasps and the oohs and the aahs. And like you're saying, the crew and everyone is so sure and calm and steadfast in their ability. And I know it allows us such great freedom as actors with our imaginations to really invest in this magical world because there's never a doubt in my mind that when I say this fake Latin incantation and swish and flick my wand, something awesome is going to happen. And I know it. And it does. And it makes me really feel like a wizard. And it's so, so fun.

[30:00] Alan Seales: Yeah. One of my favorite scenes, I don't think this is a spoiler. I mean, there's fire in the show. And I was probably a good 75 to 100 feet back. I was on the front row past that first horizontal aisle. And I felt the heat.

[30:15] Aaron Bartz: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[30:16] Alan Seales: In the audience. How are you on stage with that?

[30:20] Aaron Bartz: Oh, it's great.

[30:21] Alan Seales: Really?

[30:21] Aaron Bartz: Yeah. Oh, yeah. We definitely feel the heat too.

[30:24] Alan Seales: Of course. I mean, I guess there's got to be flame retardants on the costumes.

[30:29] Aaron Bartz: Yes. Everything is treated.

[30:32] Alan Seales: And you're just quietly smiling. Can't give it up. Yeah. That's crazy.

[30:36] Aaron Bartz: No. And I love that it wasn't a conversation of, how can we make it look like fire? It was just like, let's just put fire there. And it's a lot. And it's a lot of fire.

[30:49] Alan Seales: It is a lot of fire.

[30:50] Aaron Bartz: It is.

[30:50] Alan Seales: I enjoy this. I was surprised a second ago when you said, well, maybe not surprised, but I guess pleasantly surprised, we'll go with that, to say that Draco has his own fan base. I guess it's like anything. When you get into a show, whether it's a musical, a straight play, or whatever, you're identifying as a fan, you're identifying with the subject matter, wherever it's set, what the message is trying to say, or with a specific character. So I feel like there's probably a lot of adults now who grew up with Harry Potter, like we did, and see themselves in this kid who was like, he was supposed to be bad because that's what was expected of him. But the redemption part of it is that he can still grow up and care about his son. There's still the fatherly, the parental side of this that speaks to so many of us, no matter who you are, where you're from. But then, yeah, the redemption and I guess too, stop me if you've heard this at your Yale training, you play the truth of the character. You're not setting out to be bad this morning, you're just playing their truth.

[32:05] Aaron Bartz: Oh, yeah. Well, it's like that thing you hear where no villain ever thinks they're the villain. They think they're the hero of their own story. And people have such ownership over these characters. Like you're saying this story means so much to people who have grown up with it. And these characters mean so much to people. But those of us that get to play the adult versions of these characters, who are children in the novels and films, are in such a sweet spot for actors because we have such a rich backstory of these people when they were children, through everything we know. But then in the meantime, there's 19 years of other life lived because our story in the play picks up at the epilogue of the films and the books almost 20 years after. So everyone's an adult sending their own kids to Hogwarts now. And so more life has been lived in the time that we don't see than in the time that we knew these characters from ages nine to 18 or however they are. So there's an expectation because people think they know who these characters are also, but there's also a freedom to come at it in your own way because they are 20 years older. Whereas I feel people who are adults in the novels, like let's say Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, those performances are so iconic by those actors that I feel that the actors in our show playing those roles or the audience looks at them with a little bit more kind of a raised eyebrow like, let's see this Professor Snape, because they are 20 years older also, but they're adults still. And so they've presumably, if not changed less, at least developed less. They've gotten a bit older, but people kind of expect them to be the same where those of us who play the characters who are adults now and used to be children have a lot more freedom to do our own thing with it.

[34:04] Alan Seales: Yeah, I can see that. I can totally see that. There's a lot of freedom to, like you said, the 19 years between this, so much stuff has happened because Draco has his own family that he's trying to deal with all the struggles that have come through raising a child and wife. I don't want to give spoilers away in that regard. But the way that you play it, I particularly enjoy because when I was watching it, there was such a level of, again, I go back to realism, but vulnerability, right? Because you're playing this ear guy who loves his wife, loves his kid, wants best for his family, and just people treat him kind of poorly because of a name, right? And 19 years later, you may not be that same person anymore. Draco is not the same person.

[34:51] Aaron Bartz: Absolutely. Yeah, and that's a question of the show too. How do you escape that perception or do you live up to it? Do you try to fight against it or do you ignore it? I mean, I always look at Draco as the opposite of Harry. He's like the bizarro mirror image of Harry. So, Harry is this person who has this shred of darkness in him. He has literally a piece of Voldemort's soul in him, this darkness. And we see it in the books and in the films. It comes out at these times. But every influence in his life is pushing him to the light. Dumbledore and everyone, he's the chosen one. They're bringing him to the light. And Draco is the opposite of that. So, he, at his core, is a very good person. And with the wand chooses the wizard, Draco's wand core is a unicorn hair. And that's on purpose. He has a very pure, good heart in him. Yet, every influence in his life is pushing him down to the dark. And so, they're this kind of mirror image of each other. And it's interesting to see what kind of a parent both Harry and Draco become, where Harry didn't have parents. Draco had parents, but they were arguably not great, at least his father was not great. And so, how does that affect you? And I think it's surprising for people to see the type of dad that Harry is. And I think it's also surprising to see what a good father Draco is. And it's someone who really was affected by their childhood, but wants to be better than they got. But also, Draco's not someone who's able to show his love very easily. Because he never had that modeled for him.

[36:59] Alan Seales: No, he didn't have it modeled. And if it was ever shown, I'm sure it was smashed down. And then there's the expectation. There's always this shadow around him. And in the two-part version, he used to talk about it, about how, I'm always going to be Draco Malfoy, and there's no getting away from that. And people have an opinion of that, and what that means. And I just have to own that.

[37:20] Alan Seales: We'll be right back after this.

[37:23] Aaron Bartz: Hey there, welcome back to the episode. For you, Aaron, in real life, as a dad now of two, I was going to say, how has being Draco, the father Draco, influenced your real life? But also, two-part question to this, is because your kids are so far apart in seven and one, you said, right? So, you kind of get to restart the baby side, the baby parenting?

[37:49] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, that's true.

[37:50] Alan Seales: So, I guess, yeah. So, starting the first part of the question, how has being Draco influenced your real life? And then, have you been doing things differently now with the newborn?

[38:01] Aaron Bartz: Yeah. Well, I will say, fortunately, I have great parents, and I'm very close to them, and they're fantastic. So, I'm more lucky than Draco in that way. But yes, approaching this play as a parent was a big shift for me, because one of the questions in the play is, what are you willing to do for someone you love? For a member of your family or a friend, how far are you willing to go for them? And from the very first moment in our play, that's what we see Draco doing. He's constantly facing his own discomfort, tolerating his own, the things he doesn't want to do for the benefit of his son. In the very first moment you see him in the play, he's asking Harry Potter for a favor, which is the last person in the world that Draco would want to ask for something. But you know what? It's for his son, therefore, he will do it. And that's recurring throughout. And I think that that's just such an interesting lesson to me, because I don't think Draco's parents treated him that way. And so, what is it about him that decided, why didn't he continue the cycle, so to speak? Was it Astoria? Was it his wife who was able to see him for who he was and get him out of that? I think he's a fantastic dad, and I'm wondering how and why. It's so interesting to me.

[39:35] Alan Seales: My interpretation of that, if I were to be asked that question, my answer would be that he saw it modeled through Harry and Harry's friends. Because he was always giving Harry, Hermione, and Ron so much shit, basically because I think he wanted to be like them. Of course. And then to see the parents in this family, and then even without actual parents, you know, Harry lost his parents, but to see the way that his friends' parents took him in as family as well, I think that that would be my answer to this, of why Draco was like, oh, I can do better. This can be better. I don't need to continue this cycle.

[40:19] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, I think you're right. I think that's very smart.

[40:21] Alan Seales: You can go with that. You can take that.

[40:22] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, I'll take that. Thank you.

[40:23] Alan Seales: Good, good, good, good. Do you talk with your cast mates about what it means to continue this legacy of continuing the show on? Because, I mean, everybody still wants more movies, and there's still this Harry Potter world at Universal that just is still going crazy. This is not a property that's going anywhere anytime soon. So do you ever sit down and you're like, guys, we are part of this massive legacy now.

[40:46] Aaron Bartz: Yeah. Well, yeah, it's so exciting. And you have seen, because we did a recast at the end of the year. And so this is our year six cast, which is like 70% new people. It was a big new cast this year. And so, yeah, we're kind of still in that honeymoon phase of, wow, we're at Hogwarts every day. And we have these audiences that are full and excited. And I mean, it is such a gift to be part of the Wizarding World and set a play that has a built-in global fan base. I mean, what a gift. And to have that on an open-ended Broadway run, I mean, it's a unicorn. It just doesn't happen. It doesn't happen.

[41:30] Alan Seales: Yeah. Do you think you'll stick it around for a while?

[41:35] Aaron Bartz: You know, well, I'm fortunate to be in a track where I'm not worried about aging out. I don't have to play a 12-year-old, which is so nice. Although my track is certainly physically demanding, it's not the hardest physical track in the show. So I kind of have a real sweet spot of being really sustainable in this. And so as long as they're happy to have me in it, I mean, I'm living the dream. It's the absolute best job. And you commute from Connecticut, so you don't need to worry about New York rent.

[42:03] Aaron Bartz: Yeah, exactly, yes.

[42:06] Alan Seales: You're good. You're good. This is a little fun question. If there was one spell from the Harry Potter world you could use in real life, which one would you want to do?

[42:16] Aaron Bartz: Oh, that's so funny. We've not had this discussion backstage. I feel like this is a question we should all ask ourselves. So one spell, if I could have one spell in real life. You know, it's not the most exciting maybe, but the first one that comes to mind as an exhausted parent is the Accio spell, where you can just bring anything to you without moving. I think that'd be it, you know, Accio dirty diaper, and it could just fly to my hand. Yeah, so I could hold the baby. I could just summon stuff, you know, use the force basically. That would be nice. Also, let's see, if I could actually apparate and teleport or use the flu network and travel through chimneys and fireplaces, that would be great. That would probably be the one. Honestly, if I could apparate, I don't know if that technically counts as a spell, more like a magical ability maybe, but that's the one.

[43:08] Alan Seales: That's a good one.

[43:09] Aaron Bartz: You know, it cut down on your commute.

[43:11] Alan Seales: Yeah, you could literally live halfway across the world.

[43:14] Aaron Bartz: Anywhere.

[43:15] Alan Seales: And then you just get up and you're like, flu powder, and then you go from Japan to New York and back again. You live in Japan, right? Oh, yeah, that'd be crazy cool. I agree with that. I agree with that. All right, so as we wind down here, we like to play plot in 60 seconds. And this is fun for straight actors because these are all musicals you get to choose from. So I have a list of 16 popular musicals, and you give me a number one through 16 that corresponds to a show on my list, and then you give me the plot in 60 seconds. Do that show. One through 16, which one is it?

[43:47] Aaron Bartz: Eight.

[43:50] Alan Seales: Eight is Rent. Go.

[43:55] Aaron Bartz: In the 1980s, there are a bunch of young folks, and they're feeling like they're not really happy with the way things are going, and they'd like to do things their own way. So they all gather their very few belongings and their guitar, and they squat in some buildings and sing some songs to each other. They also deepen their relationships and come to grips with their health and what it means to be human and mortal and ill. And they all decide that they don't want to have to pay rent. And they all live, if I'm not mistaken, they all live happily ever after.

[44:46] Alan Seales: Close enough.

[44:47] Aaron Bartz: I think that's great.

[44:48] Alan Seales: Close enough. Close enough. We'll go with that. We'll go with that. Yes. All right, so the three standard closing questions. The first one is simply what motivates you?

[44:56] Aaron Bartz: What motivates me is the power of storytelling. I think that storytelling is one of the most fundamental and important things to human culture. And particularly before we were able to write things down, I think that that was the way that we shared information and passed down lessons. And I think it's so fundamental to what it means to be human, tell stories.

[45:20] Alan Seales: All right, what advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[45:23] Aaron Bartz: My advice would be to get involved. If theater is what you want to do, then try and do it. If you have a school program, if you have a community theater program, if you just have a bunch of like-minded friends and a space where you can put on your own show, just try to get involved, because I think that's the way that you learn the most.

[45:45] Alan Seales: I like that. All right, last question, hardest one. If you'd only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what would you see?

[45:52] Aaron Bartz: Oh, no. Oh, no. Okay. Oh, wow. One show for the rest of my life. I think, okay, it's going to be a Shakespeare play, and I think it might be Hamlet.

[46:08] Alan Seales: All right.

[46:09] Aaron Bartz: I think I'm going to say Hamlet. There are a couple others that I want that are really close, but only one forever. I think it's going to be—

[46:16] Alan Seales: Any particular cast or actor?

[46:19] Aaron Bartz: No, no, no particular cast. Really just spending the rest of my life with that text, I think that could be fulfilling.

[46:30] Alan Seales: The Bard, he knows how to write. All right, so where can we find you online on social media? Do you play that game?

[46:35] Aaron Bartz: I'm on Instagram. You can find me at Aaron Bartz, and that's the only social media that I really care to use these days. But yeah, feel free to find me there or at the Lyric Theater on Broadway.

[46:46] Alan Seales: That's right. Right across the street from where we are recording now at the Welcome to Times Square Studio here on 43rd. Yeah, I'm on Instagram threads, TikTok and Facebook. Find me. I don't know what I'm doing. I still, like six years later, I don't know what I'm doing on social media. Leave a rating and a review wherever you're listening. It helps spread the word. Thanks to Jukebox the Ghost for the music you are hearing underneath us right now. And Aaron, thank you so much. This has been incredible.

[47:10] Aaron Bartz: Thank you, Alan. Thanks for having me.