CODA Stage STORY Scott Kearnan [SPIRIT] What is it like to be performing “Cabaret” right now, when so many of its themes feel relevant to our actual political landscape?
Randy Harrison in “Cabaret.”
Saucy “Queer as Folk” star Randy Harrison inhabits infamous gender-bending emcee
Life is a Cabaret, Old Chum Set in Germany as the Nazis rise to power, the liberal decadence embodied by the high-spirited Kit Kat Club is eclipsed by dark forces of anti-Semitism and xenophobia in Kander and Ebb’s classic musical “Cabaret.” Such themes seem especially timely and important in our new Trump era as the national touring company from the Broadway production comes to the Boston Opera House from January 31 through February 12. Out actor and Nashua, New Hampshire native Randy Harrison stars as the infamously gender-bending emcee. Harrison is best known to LGBT audiences for playing blond, fresh-faced artist Justin on Showtime’s drama “Queer as Folk.” Most recently, he had a recurring role on the Golden Globe-winning USA Network hit “Mr. Robot,” and he recently shot a web series he’s shopping around. Before “Cabaret” comes to town, we caught up with the Granite State golden boy about his latest stage work and its parallels to American politics.
[SPIRIT] Between Joel Grey in the film and Alan Cumming on stage, the Emcee has become an iconic character. How would you describe your interpretation of the role? [RANDY HARRISON] It’s in the same vein
as Alan’s, who created the role in this production—so on one hand the role is very specific. But in some ways the role is also a vessel that any actor can fill with themselves. This character always has a strong personal opinion on what’s happening on stage. The emcee is a performer and a comedian, and through him a lot of anger and fear is transformed into satire and commentary. In doing that, you inevitably bring a huge amount of yourself to the role: your own humor, opinions and sexuality.
[SPIRIT] We talk a lot about what actors bring to their roles. Are there ways in which this role has brought something to who you are in real life? [RH] I’m actually kind of shy, and this character has a tremendous amount of confidence that in many ways I had to manufacture. But now I’m aware of that aspect of myself: the ability to step up and own the space and be unapologetic. Playing this role has definitely given me a lot more confidence to play with gender and sexuality.
[RH] It’s been a gift. It feels important to get on stage and be talking about things that are directly happening right now. The day after Election Day, the entire staff was like zombies. It was terrifying. Nobody wanted to get on stage and work. But I found myself feeling so fortunate that I had this immediate vessel to channel this rage and all these complicated emotions in a beautiful way. It’s been scary. In researching the role I read the Isherwood novels that inspired “Cabaret.” The way we had been talking about the Trump campaign was similar to the way people were talking about the Nazi party in those books—at the time, no one was taking them seriously. They were a joke. Then they realized: this is fucking serious. It’s been really horrifying, watching what’s happened in this country and being enmeshed in this parallel political story. [SPIRIT] What did you think of the “Hamilton” cast addressing Mike Pence from the stage? [RH] I was glad it happened. In one sense it was manufactured news, to draw attention away from the fact that at the same time Trump paid off the people suing him for fraud. But at the same time, one of the reasons I became a performer is that I feel like it’s innately political. I did a master class with Tony Kushner at NYU, a summer program, right when “Angels in America” came out. And I remember he said, “Making theater is making art, and art will always be political. Whatever you do has political repercussions.” I feel like an important part of theater and making art is to tell stories in a way where we communicate our political thoughts and, in our way, change hearts and minds. [SPIRIT] “Queer as Folk” was a groundbreaking LGBT show. What do you think of the current representation of LGBT people in the current television landscape? [RH] I think there’s been a lot of progress. I feel like LGBT characters have become very integrated into mainstream television shows. It used to be that so many representations of LGBT characters were borderline offensive. But now so many shows have gay storylines and characters that are smart, well rounded and interesting. [x]
boston.broadway.com