INTERVIEW: Michael Urie reflects on his new life of not watching live theater
Photo: The new soap opera podcast, As the Curtain Rises, features the talents of many theater stars, including Michael Urie. Photo courtesy of the Broadway Podcast Network / Provided by press rep with permission.
For fans of the New York theater scene, Michael Urie is a well-known name. The star of Torch Song and Grand Horizons on Broadway, among other productions, Urie has become an in-demand theater actor who has also earned notoriety in TV and film, most memorably in Ugly Betty and Younger.
To keep busy during these historic pandemic times, Urie has taken his talents to the Broadway Podcast Network, where he appears in what is being billed as Broadway’s first digital soap opera. The actor joins other theater stars like Alex Brightman, James Monroe Inglehart, Lesli Margherita, Ashley Park, Lillias White and George Salazar, among others. The show is called As the Curtain Rises, and it’s penned by Dori Berinstein and Mark Peikert. The podcast promises plenty of drama, both on stage and behind the scenes.
Recently Urie exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about his part in the soap opera and what he thinks of these COVID times. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How did you get attached to this soap opera / podcast project? What do you like about the writing of this piece?
The writing of this piece was two parts theater insider, one part soap opera aficionado and a heavy pour of snark. Delicious.
Was it more difficult to find your character being that the recording was done remotely, and this is ultimately an audio project?
I was lucky — all of my scenes were with Ashley Park, who I adore and share a kinship and would join a cult with. Plus, we were on Zoom while recording the entire series, so I could always see the other actors, which made it a lot easier to react and pace.
How much has your professional life been disrupted by the pandemic?
The pause of theater has not only put a hold or obstruction on so many projects I was doing or hoping to do, it’s eliminated my number one favorite hobby, pastime and social activity: watching theater.
Do you feel that New York theater will ever be the same again?
Actually, yes. It will be different for a while, and eventually the thins that have changed will feel like the norm. And then we won’t even notice. Maybe I’m crazy, but that’s what I think will happen.
Besides this podcast, what are you doing to stay creative?
I’ve done some other fun online gigs, directing Zoom readings, acting in some theater hybrids, and [I’ve been] lucky enough to get some TV and film work this fall. Have a few more tricks up my sleeve before this thing is over, and of course I’m counting the minutes till I can get back onstage in front of an audience.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Broadway Podcast Network presents As the Curtain Rises, featuring Michael Urie and a cast of theater stars. Click here for more information.
