INTERVIEW: Drew Lachey is welcoming everyone to Cincinnati

Photo: A Chorus Line at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park stars Drew Lachey and Shiloh Goodin. Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park / Provided by Richard Hillman PR with permission.

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There’s a great deal of buzz surrounding the arts scene in Cincinnati, and Drew Lachey, one quarter of the popular boy band 98 Degrees, is helping to spread the news. Lachey, who also appeared on TV’s Dancing With the Stars, is currently starring in a revival of A Chorus Line at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, which recently opened its brand-new theater complex. Performances of the classic musical continue through April 15.

For Lachey, the chance to perform the role of Zach in the musical is something of a homecoming.

“Moved back here a little over 10 years ago, so it’s my first time in my career that I’ve actually been able to go to work and sleep in my own bed at night, which is a nice change of pace,” said Lachey, who is a Cincinnati native and current resident. “Anybody that’s a performer and has auditioned and gone through the process of auditioning has a special place in their heart for A Chorus Line. There was a lot of other reasons [I wanted to do the show]. Obviously this is one of the shows that was coming out when I was starting to understand what musical theater was. I was exposed to the movie first, the whole Michael Douglas sitting in the back row of the theater, smoking a cigarette. It was a great show. I’ve wanted to work at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for a long time. Growing up here, I’ve always appreciated and respected the quality of performances they put on and the caliber of talent they bring in, and then the fact that they were putting their own unique spin on the show made it that much more intriguing.”

The show, originally conceived, directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, features direction by Blake Robison and new choreography by Alex Sanchez. For Lachey, his challenge has been trying to put an original spin on the iconic role of Zach.

“That’s been the balancing act that I’ve been trying to find,” he said. “I don’t just want to be the creepy voice in the back of the theater that’s just being mean to everybody up on stage. I’m trying to bring some humanity to him, the complexities of his relationship with Cassie [Shiloh Goodin]. And Blake, the artistic director at Playhouse, has done a fantastic job of giving us freedom to explore who the characters are and how they relate to each other. It’s ever-changing. All right, we’ll try something one day. Ooh, that felt good, or that felt bad and kind of adjust. Like I said, we’ve had the freedom to kind of explore who they are and how they interact with each other.”

No matter what Lachey is performing in — whether it’s a 98 Degrees concert or a performance of A Chorus Line — he tries to focus on storytelling and presenting his art from a theatrical point of view.

“So, in a lot of respects there are similarities, but there’s definitely a different muscle that you’re flexing when you’re doing a boy band concert than when you’re doing Tony Award-winning shows or Pulitzer Prize-winning shows,” Lachey said with a laugh. “It’s a little different.”

His journey with A Chorus Line began with 10 days of rehearsal in New York City, and then the company moved to Cincinnati. In the rehearsal room, the ensemble talked about how Bennett’s show is still relevant in 2023. The auditioning process is still under scrutiny in the arts world, and actors are constantly considering their “mortality as a performer,” as Lachey put it.

“When does that curtain close?” Lachey asked. “The insecurities, the power struggle between casting and the performers … the inner-workings, the dynamics between the people are still very much the same.”

Lachey is happy to showcase his beloved city for a crowd of theatergoers both from the local metropolitan area and farther afield. He believes the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is a preeminent regional theater in the United States, and he’s hoping the opening of the new theater complex will attract even more visitors.

“There is a lot of buzz around the city about the theater reopening and this being the first show,” he said. “There are billboards all over the city. Everywhere I go out, and people are like, ‘Oh, I see you are doing A Chorus Line. We’re excited. We’re trying to get tickets.’ So, there is a lot of buzz, and I do take a lot of pride in that, not only in bringing whatever positivity I can for the show, but also in being an ambassador for the city for the cast and making sure they have a good time and they understand how great Cincinnati is as well. And then when they go back to New York, they’re like, ‘Oh, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park was awesome.’ … I’ve really grown to love doing theater and being a part of a cast and an ensemble, so I’m just trying to soak it all in at the same time.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

A Chorus Line, featuring Drew Lachey as Zach, continues through April 15 at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Click here for more information and tickets.