In the Shoes of...Brad Oscar

In the third installment of my "In the Shoes of..." series, which previously featured Sean MacLaughlin, and J. Fred Shiffman, I recently caught up with our upcoming Helen Hayes Awards host, and nominee for Best Actor in a Resident Musical, Brad Oscar.
I had the pleasure of meeting Brad for the first time at the Helen Hayes auction, this past Fall. We sat next to each other, and as they served legumes and bits of this and that...we confessed to each other that we shared the eating habits of a 10 year old boy...(Chicken, Pizza, Pasta, Burgers). I got SO drunk on the wine, because I only ate a few pieces of strange bread.
I knew we would be friends from that night on.
We had a blast throughout Damn Yankees at Arena Stage. He and I frequently joked about all sorts of things backstage. Brad is the kind of man who when he is laughing, you can't help but laugh too.
Here is our chat...

SGS-How did you get your start in show business?

BO- My first professional gig was in 1977 when I auditioned and was chosen to be a "correspondent" for a weekly local show on Channel 4, NBC, called "The New Place". I did movie reviews and entertainment related stories for the younger demographic, being all of 12 myself. I got my AFTRA card, and my first paycheck.

SGS- Do you remember going to see much DC theatre growing up? If so, what?

BO- TONS. My parents loved the theater, so the exposure was there early on. One of the first productions I saw was "Raisin" at Arena. And then, through friends, my parents got to know the head usher at the Opera House, and from then on, we got walked in to anything playing there. I saw so much, many shows more than once. I loved seeing tryouts, how they would work and change a show to try to make it better. It usually didn't work. I refer to "Platinum", "Carmelina", "Oh, Brother!", "Rex". But there was also "42nd Street", "Sophisticated Ladies", and many more that did succeed. I'll never forget seeing "Amadeus" tryout at the National, an amazing production. And when "Sweeney Todd" began it's tour at the KC, I saw it once a week for the entire run. Oh, and yes, I'm gay.

SGS- What actors inspired you growing up?

BO- So many. Both on stage and screen. I can't even begin to single out, and I don't have one or two favorites like most people seem to. And then there were the adults I worked with as a child, some of whom inspired me greatly.

SGS- What took you to NYC, and how did you get started there?

BO- I had visited the city often from the age of 13 on, with my family and later on my own, and I always knew I wanted to live there, after college. And I got started waiting tables.

SGS- Tell me a little about working on The Producers. You started as Franz
Liebkind, and ended up as Max Bialystock...how long were you involved with
the show?

BO- I was involved from the start, though cast only two weeks before rehearsals began. Originally I was a swing, because I covered 7 people, but when I took over as Franz, I only continued to cover Max, and was a second cover for Roger DeBris (I never went on for Roger).


SGS- Which was your preferred role?

BO- Well, Franz is a blast, but Max is the shit. I mean, you can't ask for anything more in a character man role. And they won't let me play Mame.


SGS- Tell me about your ground-breaking performance as Motel the Tailor in
Fiddler on the Roof at the JCC...

BO- Yes, legend has it that in the summer of 1977, I sang onstage for the first time, did my first full musical at the JCC in Rockville. They still talk about it. How I "unbalanced" the show, as it should be about Tevye, not Motel.

SGS- SO we just closed Damn Yankees about a month ago...how has life,
post-Yankees been treating you?



BO- Just lovely, thanks. For the first time in a long time (like 10 years), I am unemployed, auditioning, and really appreciating the down time. Seeing friends and getting back and forth to DC for Panda visits and such. I feel like the next chapter of my professional life (which is so personal anyway) has begun, after 5 years with The Producers, and the 5 before that pretty much with Jekyll & Hyde.

SGS- What was, for you, the best part of the process of Damn Yankees? (
besides our "Joe...there's been an accident" moments in vom 4)?

BO- I LOVED being back in the rehearsal room. The whole exploration thing, especially with Molly who aces it. All the possibilities, the questions, the unknown, working with new actors, some with large nipples, it was really a great process. And then, it was so wonderful to play a delicious role that didn't bust my ass 8 times a week!


SGS- What would one find you doing on any typical given afternoon?

BO- It would depend if I was working or not. If so, ideally, going to the gym (I can hear the peals of laughter...), deciding what to eat for dinner, as I like to eat by 5, and showering. If I'm not working, there is no typical afternoon.

SGS- What fills your time when theatre is not doing so?


BO- I'm a sports whore. So I love watching (even better, going to) football, baseball and sometimes basketball. And yes, I'm still gay.


SGS- After seeing so many shows at Arena growing up, how was it to return to
DC to do a show there?


BO- Fantastic, and very special. I have wanted for so long to work in DC, and missed out years ago when I left the Aspects of Love tour, and then the OTHER national company of The Producers played the KC. But it was even sweeter to do it at Arena, as it was a place I respected and admired so.



SGS- What's in the pipeline for you?

BO- I am hopefully going to the Cape Playhouse on Cape Cod in June to do a PLAY! Very excited about that, to get back "on to text" and have that process.

SGS- What makes you mad?

BO- Hate, indifference, Bush, most reality shows.

SGS- What makes you happy?


BO- Love, opportunity, candy corn.


SGS- You and I share similar eating habits...a fact that we both happily
discovered at the Helen Hayes Auction...would you like to share with the
class? (PS-I was SO damn hungry after that dinner at the Auction...I think I
ate 2 hard rolls, and that was about it. The wine didn't help)..

BO- Stephen, the chicken was fine, even I ate it. Yes, I still have many of the eating habits of a 5 year old, but my primary issue is fish. I do not eat from the sea, and if pressed, will claim that I will die if I eat it. That's when it helps to be in the theater.


SGS-When does The Producers movie come out on DVD...soon, right? Oh, PS
folks, Brad is a taxi driver in the film...unfair? Yes, but a sad reality of
Hollywood...


BO- I think it's out in May. I will have to see it again, as it was impossible to be objective the first time. I still can't believe what a bomb it was.


SGS- Top 5 movies...

BO- In no particular order, Willy Wonka, Heaven Can Wait (1978), Arthur, Reds, and, of course, Mommie Dearest.


SGS- Favorite music?


BO- I'm a musicals whore. And jazz, smooth jazz.


SGS- Favorite actors...

BO- Albert Finney, Ian McKellan, Oliver Platt, Matt Bogart...

SGS- Actresses?


BO- Meryl Streep, Blythe Danner, Patricia Clarkson, and others I will think of after I've sent this and say "Shit, I forgot Chita Rivera!" or whoever.


SGS- Last time you considered a life in the clergy versus being an actor...

BO- Um, never.

SGS- Last thing that stopped you in your tracks...


BO- Being asked about a life in the clergy.


SGS- Advice to anyone starting out in this scary business....


BO- Stay in the moment, force perspective, and remember that life is about more than your chosen profession.

Thanks, Brad. I can't wait to see you at the Helen's.
Luv,
SGS