INTERVIEW: Studio 54 comes to life in ‘This Ain’t No Disco’
Photo: Eddie Cooper stars in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere production of This Ain’t Disco, a new show looking back at the days of Studio 54, currently playing at the Linda Gross Theater in New York City. Photo courtesy of Ben Arons / Provided by BBB with permission.
The trippy days of famed club Studio 54 are remembered in the new musical This Ain’t No Disco, currently playing at the Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater in New York City. The limited engagement, running through Aug. 12, is set in Studio 54 and other music and art venues of the Big Apple, circa 1979.
The musical comes courtesy of Stephen Trask (creator of Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Peter Yanowitz (The Wallflowers), and both men also perform in the show, which is directed by Darko Tresnjak (Broadway’s Anastasia).
A pivotal role in the musical is that of The D.A., or the district attorney of New York City, who apparently was a frequent presence at Studio 54. The role is brought to life each night by Eddie Cooper.
“About a year and a half ago roundabouts, I was asked to do a reading,” Cooper said in a recent phone interview. “The Atlantic Theater was doing a reading of This Ain’t No Disco, and I did that. And I played the same role, and fast forward to now, a new director has signed on. Darko signed on to do it, so I had to come in and audition for the part again. But I came in and auditioned and booked it.”
That long journey of auditions paid off. Cooper reports that it’s a joy playing The D.A. at each performance. He has a show-stopping number, and he’s surrounded by incredibly talented and fun people. Joining him on stage is a large cast consisting of Krystina Alabado, Cameron Amandus, Will Connolly, Tony D’Alelio, Lulu Fall, Hannah Florence, Chilina Kennedy, Peter Laprade, John-Michael Lyles, Krystal Mackie, Trevor McQueen, Nicole Medoro, Ian Paget, Theo Stockman, Samantha Marie Ware and Antonio Watson.
“It’s really special, too, because both of the writers are playing in the show with us, so we get to perform it with them, which is extra cool,” Cooper said.
The actor, who has appeared in Encore! Off Center productions of Assassins, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater and Little Shop of Horrors, views The D.A. as a charismatic person who sees an opportunity in the local New York City music scene and runs with it.
“I kind of looked to Roy Cohn as an inspiration for the character,” Cooper said. “He doesn’t necessarily personally believe in what he’s preaching, but he knows what he is preaching will further his career. So he does it, and it works.”
As far as researching New York City in the 1970s, Cooper looked at archival photographs of the Studio 54 scene, which was a wild and memorable time for many celebrities, dancers and cultural figures. The club, located on West 54th Street, had people dancing to the new beats of the day and gained notoriety for its long lines on the sidewalk, drug use and who’s who of clientele.
“Honestly, I just kind of approached it as really looking at the character and what this guy wants,” Cooper said of his research. “It was more about that than reading up a lot on the period itself.”
The highlight for Cooper has to be his big number, which is sung atop a large scaffolding set.
“Our set is incredible, and I get to sing the song up on the scaffolding,” he said. “And lots of it, I’m hanging out over the scaffolding. It’s a lot of preparation with [thoughts of], ‘OK, I’m singing this part now, and I have to mark with my eyes where I’m going to grab and hold on to before I launch my body over the rest of my cast, and try not to fall and sing the song at the same time.’”
It’s an exhausting number in a demanding show, but Cooper has found a way to stay energetic for each of the eight shows per week.
“I think with this show, at least for me, it takes a little while to learn how you’re going to do this show in a healthy, sustainable way,” he said. “Lots of times, for me, I have to catch myself when I’m saying, ‘You know what, I’m over-singing this. I don’t need to go there when I’m singing this because I have to do this eight shows a week, or whatever.’ You have to learn how to do it sustainably, and sometimes that takes a little while. With this show, the energy is so high. The default sometimes is over-reach, but you have to kind of [say] I don’t have to do that. I have to find where I can have those moments. It’s more exciting when you earn those moments, instead of the whole song just being screaming at people.”
Cooper grew up in the theater world. His father is an actor, and a sizable portion of Cooper’s childhood was spent on tour in regional theaters. He was told that his father actually had to leave rehearsal for a Broadway show because Cooper’s mother had gone into labor with him.
“So I’ve grown up in the theater,” he said. “When I used to go and watch my dad in shows, my first question was always, ‘Can I go on the stage?’ I always wanted to go on the stage. It’s just something that I’ve always known that I was going to do. There was never another option for me.”
He added: “I feel very lucky. I consider myself a character actor. There’s no rhyme or reason for the kinds of roles that I go in for. I’ve gotten to play gangsters. I’ve gotten to play carnivorous plants. I’m playing the district attorney of New York City right now, and I just love that. I wouldn’t change that for anything else. I love the crazy menagerie that I get to play because it’s exciting.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
This Ain’t No Disco, an Atlantic Theater Company production, is currently running through Aug. 12 at the Linda Gross Theater on West 20th Street in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
