Actor Adam Chanler-Berat chatted about starring in the Off-Broadway show “The Jonathan Larson Project,” which is being performed at the Orpheum Theatre in New York.
What drew you to “The Jonathan Larson Project”?
Like so many other musical theater nerds (I’m including myself in that illustrious bunch), Jonathan Larson’s work was deeply formative in my upbringing. I jumped at the opportunity to showcase more of his brilliance with this incredible team and cast.
What do you love most about your character?
I appreciate the way Jonathan’s material grapples with the real struggles of an artist in these times. How do we create in the face of personal, social, and political chaos?
How do we continue to make things when society doesn’t value our work? How do we not give into cynicism and utter despair?
What did this show teach you about yourself?
This show has reminded me that people have been writing through, creating through absolutely hopeless times before. That fascism has always been lurking in the shadows of American democracy.
That art and connection remain the antidote to dark forces of gravity. And that I can survive a 90-minute, entirely sung-through musical.
How does it feel to be an actor in the digital age? (Now with streaming, technology, and social media being so prevalent)
I don’t understand social media. I feel less and less like I know how to engage with a system that doesn’t support nuanced conversation or three-dimensional depictions of life.
I feel more and more disengaged from the “connection” it provides. Also, I wish the streaming services would pay actors/performers a fair wage for their work.
How was your experience doing “Rent” Off Broadway?
Doing “Rent” Off-Broadway was a dream come true. To be able to engage with that iconic work with Michael Greif (who was re-investigating it himself) was an absolute thrill. I still have dreams of being onstage in that production.
What is your advice for young and emerging actors?
On top of working your craft, fill up your life-cup. Go to museums, travel, spend time with your family, fall in love, get your heart broken, do things that scare you. It will inform the work in ways you can’t plan for.
What does the word success mean to you? (My favorite question)
Success means working on creatively fulfilling things and making a decent living doing them. Success means working in equitable, joyous spaces with people that I love.
What would you like to tell our readers about “The Jonathan Larson Project”? (What’s the one thing you want them to get out of it)
I want your readers to come to the show and take from it whatever it stirs up in them!
Whether that’s the nostalgia of a different era, or the way in which that era speaks to where we are now, or just the escape of listening to bravely earnest, joyous musical theater songs for 90 minutes.
To learn more about the Off-Broadway play “The Jonathan Larson Project,” check out its official homepage.
For more information on actor and singer Adam Chanler-Berat, follow him on Instagram.
