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Broadway Rewind: Rob McClure & Company Arrive on Broadway in CHAPLIN!
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Oct 27, 2022
Today we rewind to 2012, when Chaplin was getting ready to premiere on Broadway. The musical, which played for 135 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, starred Jenn Colella, Christiane Noll, Erin Mackey, Michael McCormick and Rob McClure. From the slums of London to the heights of Hollywood, Chaplin is the showbiz Broadway musical about the silent film legend the world couldn't stop talking about - Charlie Chaplin. The brand new 24-person musical reveals the man behind the legend, the undeniable genius that forever changed the way America went to the movies.
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0:00
Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World
0:03
The new musical Chaplin, which is based on the career of the iconic film star Charlie Chaplin
0:08
will open September 10th at the Barrymore Theatre. It features a score by Christopher Curtis, a book by Thomas Meehan
0:14
and is directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. And they are introducing Rob McClure as the little tramp himself
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And I'm here in the rehearsal studio with the company to bring you a sneak peek
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There's another day in Hollywood Just another name in life Lady Just a new career in Hollywood
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Another star to reach the heights Once you have tasted the sweetness of fame
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Standing on top is the name of the game It's just the way it is in Hollywood
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Good to go City lights, scene 83, take 97 Tell me what attracted you to the musical in the first place
0:56
and why you wanted to direct and choreograph. Right. I actually couldn't think of anything better to do
1:03
or anything more challenging. Imagine the most famous man in the world
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who tells a story without using words. And then I get interested
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As a choreographer, I get interested because I hope that's what I do as a choreographer too
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is that I get to tell a story with no words. And then the challenge of putting words in that person's mouth
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and then the challenge of making that character sing and then the challenge beyond his own movement
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of making that character dance It's challenging. You have an incredible cast led by Rob McClure
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Talk about your leading man. Yeah, so Rob McClure is incredible. He's incredible
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And it was truly love at first sight. There is nothing that man cannot do or will not do
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He and I have this, we share this little secret that in rehearsal we have our T-shirts to say whatever it takes
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And there are imaginary T-shirts. But I'll say, Robbie, how do you feel about running on a table
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If I can make a table spin, you run on the table, right? And he just looks at me and goes like this
2:02
Because he knows. He knows whatever it takes. And he's been like that in every department, with the singing, with the acting
2:09
which is incredible in this show. Act 2 turns much more into a play with music than a musical
2:15
It starts out, the show and the story starts out in London with Vaudeville and Music Hall
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and then goes to Max Sennett in Hollywood with the pies, then transitions to Chaplin Studios
2:25
and his greatest, his heyday of moviemaking. And then, you know, he gets in some trouble
2:30
which is also great fodder for a musical, too. Great, so have some divorces and screw up, please
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It makes for an interesting life and makes for an interesting theatrical story for us to tell
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Tell me what it's been like for you, Thomas, with working on this show. Well, you know, I came into it a little late
2:46
because Chris Curtis, who conceived the whole thing, and sat down, wrote the music, the lyrics, and the book
2:51
and they had the production of Nymph. And I went to see it because Andrew McCardle was in it
2:56
my old friend from Annie. And I suddenly saw, here's a show with a lot of promise
3:02
They do it on the shoestring, but it was really interesting. And Chris asked, would I give him some notes and talk
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And we had lunch, and we talked, and the next thing I knew I was mentoring, sort of
3:14
just for the fun of being involved in a new, different musical
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Gradually I became co-book writer and Chris and I have become great good friends
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We love working together. He's a terrific talent. And so it's been like a nice, fun ride
3:34
Every show is kind of a roller coaster. We're riding right now to Broadway
3:39
which is very exciting. This has been a fun roller coaster ride, right? Yeah, I've had a few that have sort of crashed around me
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haven't we all though. Tell me your journey with this project. What attracted you to want to write
3:51
the musical? I met his son. I met Sidney Chaplin and I talked to him about his dad. It was really
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interesting and he told me about his dad's struggles as a child and what he overcame and
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I thought wow what an interesting story and also the time period you know beginning in London
4:09
through Hollywood 1920s I was like oh that's such a great time period to lend and create music for
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but it started with his son meeting his son Sidney that's how it started
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so when you got into learning about Chaplin what attracted you the most about the man
4:25
I feel, to me what's interesting is how his art how his childhood was reflected
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and almost recreated in his art like in a way I thought that
4:34
he was trying to resolve things in his movies that he didn't resolve
4:39
in his childhood, like in The Kid I mean The Kid is a very biographical film where the tramp finds
4:44
and the little abandoned baby and raises the child as himself. Now, in the end of that film
4:49
the tramp returns that little boy to the mother that abandoned, but that didn't happen in real life with Charlie
4:55
He never was returned to his mother. She abandoned him. So I thought that was interesting. It was almost like he was trying to correct
5:01
what was painful for him in his childhood in his movies, and I think that's something that's really interesting
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All that's full of pictures of the way things used to be
5:24
Salute for your tomorrow, the past is all you see. And where are all the people? Where is my tomorrow
5:40
Where are all the people that want to love me
5:58
You're working with one of the finest director choreographers with Warren Carlyle. Tell me what that experience has been like and tell me about the t-shirts
6:04
Yeah, Warren is an inspiration. He's an inspiration to all of us in his passion for the show, in his passion for the man, Charlie Chaplin
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He is a genius as well, and we all see it. And he and I have a private joke that we're going to get T-shirts made up that just say whatever it takes
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And that's sort of our code word where I'll leave rehearsal at 6
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and I'm about to go three hours of overtime to go to the theater and practice the tightrope walking
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and I'll go, yeah, I'm heading over to the theater now and he blows his eyes and goes
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and I know he means whatever it takes and we know that
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Broadway is a competitive market we know that it's a tough sell to do anything on Broadway
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so we have to do whatever it takes to bring this story to life in a way that will inspire that will entertain and I think Warren has hit the nail on the head He been talking about this awesome triangle in rehearsal of the biographic the cinematic and the theatrical
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And I think that he has nailed that. For instance, in the boxing sequence today, there's a sequence where the biographical with his four marriages
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the cinematic, because it's a nod to one of the greatest comic sequences of all time, the boxing scene from City Lights, and the theatrical, which is inherently theatrical
7:27
that you're using that convention to tell the story of his marriages. Whenever we fall into a pocket of that triangle, the whole room goes, that's the show
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That's where we are. And I think what the show does so beautifully is that it holds up moments of his life and
7:42
moments from his films and allows the audience to see them side by side and opens their eyes
7:48
to where the genius came from. And that is a beautiful thing to experience, nevertheless, to share with the audience
7:58
I've been given a gift in this moment when I discovered the Tramp character
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And as that moment happens, I feel the audience lean in and throw me all of this third-party affection for that guy
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The fact that that can land on me in a Broadway house, eight shows a week, is a huge blessing
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and I don't take it lightly and I feel a responsibility to get it right. Talk about the role that you're playing
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I play Sidney Chaplin, Charlie's older brother, and I'm sort of Mercutio, Tybalt, all rolled into one
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Yeah, it's definitely, I'm the depth of the show, which I like
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What kind of research did you do? Did you just look at the piece or did you read about Sidney
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No, no, tons. Sidney has a biography written by this woman, Lisa Katz
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and it's all about his life. She starts the book with you can't tell the story of Charlie Chaplin without telling the story of Sidney Chaplin, which I love because I'm playing Sidney
8:56
But, you know, he had a really, really full film career, like business management career
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A lot of history was there. And hopefully that translates in the show. So what has it been like working with Warren Carlyle, this incredible visionary director choreographer
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Warren is a dream. Warren is the kindest man. And he makes you feel so safe
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He makes you feel like you can do anything you want to. You can ask any question. No dilemma that's in your head is too small for him
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He has an answer for you. And in the world of musical theater, he makes every story sing
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Everybody feels like they are a part of this story. And with our show, that's important
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And it's all from him. It all comes out of here. So what attracted you originally when you read the musical
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What attracted you to want to do this? Well, I was attracted to the history initially
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And I learned through this process how Hollywood actually got built, how it got made, which was fascinating to me
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But with this show, the process has been sort of threefold. There's a biographical aspect, all the history, and then there's a cinematic aspect with how we weave the films that Chaplin actually made
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And made some of our own into the story. And then there's a musical theater aspect, making everything sing about it
10:09
Just sort of lifts it off the stage. And I fell in love with it
10:13
Did you know about Charlie Chaplin before you started working on this
10:17
No, I've learned a lot. Because now I know that Chaplin, I think he worked on music and movies and all their cool stuff
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What's your favorite part about performing? What is it? Singing, is it the dancing, is it the acting
10:40
Probably the singing. I am very excited. This will be my 13th Broadway show
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It's been a lot, yeah. And a lot of times, you know, I had to pay my dues like everybody else
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but I had some really good parts along the way, and it's been a lot of fun. And this is a very special show
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It's about, I mean, we all think we know Chaplin, but we really don't know Chaplin
11:01
I mean, a lot of people don't, you know. Where he came from, I mean, it's like Dickinsonian, you know
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It's the Industrial Revolution, the orphanages of London, I mean. and to rise where he did to become such an iconic figure in our culture
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I mean, there's not too many people. There's a lot of people that can make you laugh
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but there's very few that can make you cry and laugh at the same time, and he was able to do that
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And I'm very fortunate to play Max Sennett, the man who gave him the opportunity to create on the fly
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which he did brilliantly. And yes, in terms of that, I play a number of different roles in the show
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But that's my main staple, and I feel like it's an important figure in his life
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and it's fun in the show, too. There's some fun stuff that Matt gets to do with Charlie, so it's all great
11:52
Oh, I've had such a blast. It's been so great. I mean, I did a workshop of it earlier this year, and a lot of the people are the same
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especially the creative team, and it's just been awesome. I love everyone involved
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Warren is such a great leader. He's just so positive and warm
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He really creates such a lovely, safe environment for his actors in rehearsal
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Yeah, and Rob is mainly my only scene partner in the show, and I just love him to pieces. I just think he's great
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The first time we met, it was like, we're going to be friends. We're going to be buddies
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Yeah, he's just a wonderful, generous stage partner, and then he's also a really great guy
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Talk about the role. Yeah. Una O'Neill, she was Eugene O'Neill's daughter
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she kind of had a little bit of a crazy upbringing in that he left their family when she was about
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two and she was raised by her mom who was an alcoholic and her brother
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was kind of troubled and so she was also a debutante, she was
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very high society in New York and she was kind of she was used to fame
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and that whole kind of life that Charlie had even though she wasn't an actress
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and so she's so interesting though because despite all of that, she just was so grounded from everything I've learned about her. She just
13:08
she really did her own thing. She was very private. She didn't really buy into any of her
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any of her kind of success or fame or whatever. I think one, because she knew a reality
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which was that her father who was so famous was not so great to her. And I think she was able to
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bring that to Charlie because his life was kind of going sort of chaotic and she was able to bring like this
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sort of rock of like no there's really serious things happening in the world
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and like we're just making movies you know and like there's people starving and I think
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she just had such a world perspective and it was really unique
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I just like I'm always like can I be as cool as her I hope I can the answer what we must remember
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What only love, what only love, what only love can see
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Chaplin Boot Camp. What is that? It is an overwhelming process of trying to attain as many skills as you can
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This is a man who starred, wrote, directed, produced, and wrote the music for all of his films
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It's endless, the skill set. You know, you can't watch a Chaplin movie without seeing him walk into a room and take off his top hat and throw it 30 feet and flips 20 times and lands on a stuffed ostrich's head
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He knew how to do it. He could do it. So every time they would present me with some new crazy skill, I would go, how am I going to do
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And then I'd watch Chaplain and go, he did it. This man did it. He figured it out
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And so they first started talking to me about violin lessons and tightrope lessons and roller skating lessons and voice lessons
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And I'm getting more and more overwhelmed. And as I'm taking a tightrope lesson, I'm thinking, this is crazy
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And then I watch the film The Circus with this wild tightrope sequence
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and then I find this great photography book with pictures of Chaplin tying a rope to two trees
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on the set of the circus and learning there. He wasn't a tightrope artist
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He learned for the film. So in that same spirit, they keep presenting me with things
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and they say, there's going to be a sequence where he plays the violin. Chaplin played the violin
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It was his instrument of choice. It's the instrument he wrote Smile on. And so there I am going
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well, now I have to learn how to play the violin. If he played the violin, I have to learn how to play the violin
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And so attempting to fill his gigantic shoes has been great, great fun
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Okay, so what's been the easiest to learn and what's been the hardest to learn? You know, I think roller skating, I sort of rollerbladed as a kid
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but four wheels are different than the inline. But that sort of athleticism, not falling down, came easy
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Getting that sort of chaplain-esque grace that he looks like he's flying is truly difficult
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The violin is an extraordinarily difficult and aggravating instrument. You can't hide
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If you're nervous, they hear it. It's one of those things that when I met my violin teacher
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this extraordinary woman named Liz Lim Dutton, she turned to me and she said
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well, I've been playing since I was three, so let's see how this goes. I said, okay
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That's one of the first things you do in the show. Yes, yeah. And so I will, you know, we've got about three weeks now until opening night
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I will be spending a lot of it in my apartment playing the violin
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That one's been hard. Tightrope has been really difficult. But, you know, as you settle into each one, you start, okay, okay, here we go, here we go, here we go
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And acquiring the skills becomes, I can't even say the easy part, but it becomes the easy part
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making it look like chaplain doing it is a different skill set altogether he had this
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effortlessness that is just extraordinary he looked like he was an expert at whatever he tried
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and whether he was or not he would fool you into thinking he was um in in his grace in his uh in
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his beautiful sort of comic melancholy uh that would really just bring you in make you lean
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forward and watch every little elegant nuance. That's been the hardest thing. You learn how to roller skate
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you learn how to tightrope, you learn how to sing, you learn how to dance. Now make it all
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look like Chaplin doing it. That's the hardest part by far. What you gonna do
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when it all falls down and where you gonna go from now
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What you gonna do when the party's gone? And who you gonna buy
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What you gonna do when the landlord says, now get yourself out of here
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What you gonna find when you cannot find the town? Remember what you get is what always goes around
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And what you gonna do when it all goes? Here we are
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I don't believe it. A new Broadway show. A new Broadway show. Chaplin. Yes, Chaplin the Musical
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Now, I don't know if you know this, this is my 16th consecutive Broadway season
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16 in a row. Congratulations. They always want me in something. When are they going to figure me out
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Tell me what you love about working on this one. Warren Carlyle has been a friend since the producers
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We did the producers together. he makes it so you want to come into the room and be a part of this because he has such passion
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he takes care of his actors he's he's such a wonderful wonderful friend and i just adore him
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for for giving this to me and letting me do what i do and it's really fantastic and of course
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rob mcclure is phenomenal he's phenomenal and to play his best friend alf reeves to be that close
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with Rob and to just be around him is a joy. You know, I'm friends with Jerry Lewis, Nathan Lane
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these wonderful, great comedians who I've worked with in past shows, and Rob is right up there
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with them. He's that good. He's that good. I love him. This is going to make him, this is a really
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big step for him. It's a major step for him and for the community to see, because we have to tell
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this story. People don't know the story of Charlie Chaplin. I mean, they know his films and
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and his beginnings in London and his mom and his dad and coming over here and in Hollywood and what happens there
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I don't want to tip it because I want you to see the show. It's wonderful to tell this story, and Rob's the perfect one to do that
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And our writers Chris and Tom you need to get a great mix of people and when you get that right mix that what works What attracted you to want to do this To be honest with you I known Rob McClure since he was 19 years old
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And when he played my son in Carousel at the Paper Mill Playhouse
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and I had read an article about him doing this when they did it in La Jolla and was so excited
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And then I got a call that they were interested in having me come in
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and I walked in and there he was. I was like, ah! You know, and I was like, I think I feel like this is supposed to
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and Warren, we were together doing The Baker's Wife up at Goodspeed years ago
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and haven't gotten to work together since and just all kind of felt like it was supposed to happen, so
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It's such a fun role, too. It's beautifully written, right, in the songs? Yeah, yeah
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Yeah, Hannah is a wonderful little butterfly that is constantly always in Charlie's mind
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always his inspiration, always when he's having a difficult moment, mom kind of flutters in, and she's just present
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It's not necessarily not a huge role, but she's very present, and I have found a really interesting journey with this, and I've enjoyed myself a lot
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So what's been the best part of the experience so far with working on this? I would say getting to watch Rob transform
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The first time that I, and I hope everyone does that, the first time that you see him actually turn into the tramp
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which you didn't see today, the actual transformation, you just, you can't help it
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The way it's orchestrated, this whole thing is like, and you just get this giddy, wonderful experience
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It's exciting. Welcome to Anna Hopper's Fight Night in Hollywood. In this corner, the aging featherweight Charlie Chaplin
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And in this corner, the lovely young lightweight, Alfred Harris. Oh, Harris lands a heartbiting Chaplin's jaw on a little jack-white pet
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Oh, and now Milton's mad. She wants his match, rolls rolls, an apology
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And most of all, a $100,000 settlement. Oh, she gets it. The winner by knockout, Alice
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Talk about what you do in the show. I'm playing Hedda Hopper, the gossip columnist
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She was the star of her own nationally broadcast radio show, Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
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And I'm playing the villain this time around. I've never played the villain, so I'm really excited at the opportunity to play the villain
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So what is it like playing one of the most famous villains? Because I'm sure there was some great research on Hedda Hopper out there and books
23:39
Oh, sure. Absolutely. Yeah, there's tons on her. You know, she wasn't very liked by a lot of her colleagues, but she was by some
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She was like best friends with Lucille Ball. And, you know, she ingratiated herself with a lot of Hollywood
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And then she would spill all their secrets. So sometimes they would get angry with her
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She had a house in Hollywood called the House that Fear Built
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because that's how she made her living. It's been exciting. It's just been lovely to research such an icon
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And tell me what it's been like working on this with Warren Carlyle. Warren and I go way back
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Warren and I did Slut the musical off-Broadway like 10 years ago, a bit ago
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right out of Urban Cowboy. I met Warren to do that. He was the choreographer
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And so we've been in love for quite some time. and watching him grow as an artist and as a person has just been tremendous
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He fills the room with love and respect and gratitude, and we start from there, and so we'll do anything that he asks of us
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and his vision is crystal clear. So the combination of all of those things makes magic
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And what you love about the musical itself? There's so many things
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You know, Charlie Chaplin's such an icon and somebody to be revered
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that just celebrating him is enough to do the show. Rob McClure's performance is reason enough to do this show
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Warren's vision and what he has created is enough. The music, the sets, the costumes
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It's going to be a cinematic, gorgeous event. There are many, many reasons to be excited to do this show
25:15
Tell me what it's been like working on it all over again. Yeah, every time we revisit it, I learn a lot of new things
25:21
And it's endlessly fascinating. The man and his life is endlessly fascinating
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And the further I dive, the more there is to find. And I think we're at a wonderful place
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I can't wait for Broadway to see it. I can't wait for Broadway to be able to share in the celebration of that man's life
25:42
We have been celebrating for a long time. And now it's time to get other people to the party
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And it's a beautiful life filled with extraordinary highs and lows. and it's I think people are going to come expecting to laugh which they will I don't
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think they'll come expecting to be profoundly moved and I know I am I know I am I know and
26:05
and when I I'll never watch a chaplain movie the same way and and if I can if we can inspire
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people to go home and have a little chaplain YouTube marathon that I will consider that such
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a great reward you know I know there was a little boy who came and saw it in La Jolla
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it's 13 year old kid who came up to me and said I don't know anything about Charlie Chaplin but
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the show was really great I said oh that's sweet thank you the following Friday he came back with
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10 of his friends and they had rented 10 Chaplin films for his birthday party and were seeing the
26:37
show and then going home and sleeping over the whole weekend and watching Charlie Chaplin movies
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if we can be remotely responsible for reintroducing this man to generations who
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know him in generations who don't, I mean, that is a huge gift to me and to them
26:51
That is, it's overwhelming in the best sense of the word. And you will love him
27:30
By the tip of his hat And that's just how we will show him
27:36
The world's bound to love him
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