Corbin Bleu Talks Broadway’s "The Great Gatsby," His Olivier Nomination, And The Pre-Show Ritual He Never Skips

Corbin Bleu has played galore memorable roles successful his career, and Nick Carraway successful The Great Gatsby is nary exception.

Did you turn up speechmaking The Great Gatsby? How did your position connected Nick alteration from speechmaking the caller to playing him connected stage?

Corbin: I archetypal work Gatsby successful mediate school, and it had such an interaction connected maine that it became my favourite book. I told capable radical it was my favourite that I was really fixed an archetypal work transcript arsenic a acquisition for my 18th birthday. I inactive person it to this day, and it’s 1 of my treasures.

I deliberation what archetypal attracted maine to the book, and what attracts astir people, is the glitz and the glam and the intrigue of Jay Gatsby. Everybody wants to beryllium Gatsby; his beingness is thing that radical are truthful enthralled by — fame, power, wealth. As I work the publication aboriginal arsenic an adult, I truly picked up connected the themes of classism and the information that it is precise overmuch a cautionary tale.

The full publication is told from Nick's perspective, which made maine deliberation astir the Hamilton adage: "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" Gatsby’s communicative is what it is due to the fact that it’s Nick’s position of him being truthful great.

So now, getting to play Nick, I emotion being capable to spell connected his journey.

Congratulations connected your Olivier nomination! What did that designation mean to you, particularly for this role?

Corbin: Thank you. I'm truthful honored. I've been successful this manufacture for a precise agelong time. I started professionally arsenic a kid actor, and I've present been moving connected Broadway for much than 15 years.

My pursuit has ever been prioritized by respect implicit popularity. To beryllium nominated for this grant feels similar a turning constituent successful my career, and I'm truthful blessed and excited.

You archetypal portrayed Nick successful the West End earlier Broadway. What’s the biggest quality betwixt performing successful London and New York?

Corbin: (Laughs) I deliberation the astir contiguous reply is the assemblage response. We're conscionable precise different. They are conscionable arsenic invested retired there, but we are a lot louder present successful the States.

It's truthful absorbing getting to bash The Great Gatsby some successful London and New York. The aforesaid moments play out, and you tin perceive the assemblage responses and however they differ. An illustration is the archetypal clip that Nick and Jordan buss successful the show. In New York, there's ever applause, and whooping and hollering successful the mediate of that. When 2 characters that you've been wanting and vying for yet get together, it conscionable elicits this audible response.

It's overmuch quieter successful London. When I archetypal came there, I felt similar a large American, adjacent conscionable going into a java store and asking a question astir the menu. I recovered myself adjusting and adapting implicit the clip that I was determination to beryllium a spot softer. You yet get utilized to it and, if anything, travel to admit it, due to the fact that the assemblage is truly listening.

Speaking of amusive moments successful the show, is determination a circumstantial fig you find yourself anticipating each night?

Corbin: I person 2 answers to that. "My Green Light" [performed by Gatsby and Daisy] is conscionable truthful damn pretty. It's specified a beauteous song, and I truly bash emotion listening to that.

Nick's communicative has truthful overmuch imaginable astatine the beginning, and the opening number, "Roaring On," is his astir breathtaking and optimistic constituent successful the show. I emotion getting to bash that fig and inviting the assemblage into the satellite of our show.

When I'm connected stage, and I'm opening to archer the story, the ensemble ends up close down me. It's shocking for me, and I crook astir and wholly look distant from the audience. Now I'm staring astatine the ensemble, and it's specified a chill infinitesimal to conscionable beryllium an assemblage subordinate connected the stage.

Nick, Daisy, and Gatsby person specified beardown chemistry. When you started rehearsals with Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney, erstwhile did you truly consciousness that dynamic click?

Corbin: Back erstwhile I did the amusement successful London, I was originating the relation there. I got to beryllium successful the rehearsal country with each the actors passim the full process, gathering the amusement from the crushed up. What I've ne'er experienced, until now, is originating a role, past going backmost into the aforesaid amusement and replacing.

When you replace, your rehearsal clip is overmuch shorter, and you don't really get to rehearse with everyone. You enactment with either a creation skipper oregon a swing, and they play aggregate parts — you truly lone get 1 oregon 2 rehearsals with different people, and past you're on.

I was fortunate capable not to beryllium unsocial successful joining the formed successful this iteration. It's me, Reeve, and John Behlmann, our Tom. The 3 of america got to beryllium successful the rehearsal country together, and physique our rapport and our chemistry.

I didn't truly get to enactment with Eva overmuch beforehand, speech from a fewer precise abbreviated rehearsals. What is truthful fascinating astir that process is that Eva and my cadence, our rhythms, are benignant of built connected signifier successful beforehand of audiences. That makes it exciting, and it's been truly large to enactment with her.

Performing connected Broadway is 1 of the hardest jobs mentally, vocally, and physically. What benignant of regular bash you person to enactment successful shape?

Corbin: I emotion what I do. I'm truthful fortunate that I get to bash this arsenic a profession, and due to the fact that of that love, I instrumentality it precise seriously. Things similar my slumber docket and my nutrient intake are truthful important. I navigator 90% of my meals due to the fact that I privation to cognize what I'm eating — truthful it's similar a dainty erstwhile I spell retired and devour thing else.

I lone portion water, and beverage oregon java successful the morning. I don't truly portion immoderate sodas, and I don't portion alcohol. I thin to unrecorded much of a "monk" life. (Laughs) I truly do.

Being capable to execute astatine my highest relies connected the clip I'm not connected stage. The moments I'm connected signifier are lone arsenic bully arsenic the moments extracurricular of it.

Do you person immoderate amusive pre-show rituals earlier you deed the stage?

Corbin: I bash person a pre-show ritual, and I started this backmost erstwhile I did Godspell. I privation I could retrieve however I adjacent archetypal got introduced to this, but I devour a Granny Smith pome earlier every show. It has to beryllium a Granny Smith. It has to person that tartness.

There is thing astir the signifier and the wound of the pome that is simply a large reminder of vocal placement and lifting your brushed palate. It's a cleanable vigor boost that doesn't person a crash. It conscionable gets maine revved up and acceptable to go.

A instrumentality really crocheted a Granny Smith pome for me, and present I ever person that successful my dressing room.

Finally, you've played truthful galore iconic roles, some successful movie and successful the theater. What does playing Nick mean to you astatine this constituent successful your career?

Corbin: Ah, wow. Prior to Gatsby, I did a drawstring of shows that person been precise large creation roles. I deliberation that's great, due to the fact that I'm astatine the constituent successful my beingness wherever I'm inactive susceptible of doing those. However, Nick is truthful antithetic from immoderate different relation that I've done before. 

When I took connected the role, I was thinking, "What makes him basal out?" I consciousness similar it is his quality to genuinely perceive and beryllium present. He is the audience's eyes. If the assemblage is capable to link with him, they truly tin consciousness this travel and this thrust that helium is connected from opening to end.

Initially, going into it, I was disquieted that I wasn't going to bring capable to the role. To really person an Olivier nomination, I truly consciousness similar it's specified a beauteous constituent successful my career. I'm precise proud, and I'm grateful to person the accidental to play Nick.