The prospect of ever performing on Broadway had rarely crossed U.K.-based actor Jack Wolfe’s mind. That is, until he was performing Next to Normal with theater veteran and current Ragtime star Caissie Levy.
“London represented such a dream destination, so New York wasn’t even something I could dream about,” he says. “Being in my twenties, doing Next to Normal in the West End, and then working with Caissie and having conversations with her about, like, ‘Would you ever want to come to New York?’ It really planted the seed for what would become my dream. So, I can’t really believe I’m here in the dressing room on Broadway at the Walter Kerr.”
Wolfe has had quite the year in the theater world. After he completed his run as Gabe Goodman in the West End premiere of Next to Normal last fall, the filmed version was released on PBS in May, launching the show and Wolfe into global notoriety. “I sometimes have to take myself out of the picture to be able to enjoy it, because I look at myself and cringe the whole time and judge all of my choices,” he says.
Now, he has made the leap to New York for his Broadway debut as Orpheus in the fan-favorite musical Hadestown at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Broadway Direct caught up with Wolfe to discuss his take on Orpheus, the ever-growing relationship between theater and social media, and the dream roles he hopes to take on.
How did playing Orpheus in Hadestown come your way?
I, like so many of the Hadestown family, I think, came to it via the concept album and the Off-Broadway album. Through sort of other means, I’ve become quite good friends with [the musical’s songwriter and book writer] Anaïs Mitchell, which is a crazy thing to say! We had some amazing conversations about music and musical influences, and she was helping me with a different sort of project that I’m working on. And the conversation [of playing Orpheus] came up. I was terrified to tell her how much of a fan of the show I was. I’m over the moon that I get to make my Broadway debut in a show that means so much to me and a show that I believe in — the ethos of it.
You’ve been in the show for over a month now. Have you already felt your relationship with Orpheus grow and evolve?
I came to the show with preconceived ideas of the point of view I wanted to put on Orpheus and the spin I wanted to try, but ultimately, like any work when you’re on stage, our job is to be present and to be able to work with whatever we’re working with that night. And it’s been so changeable and it’s been so exciting and songs that I was terrified of in rehearsals — not doing them justice — have become my favorite numbers to do in the show now. I feel us getting stronger and I feel it getting more dangerous, more exciting, more playful every show we do. So, I have no idea where we’ll be in a couple of months, but I’m excited to find out.
What were those songs that scared you before?
It’s really hard when you’re playing a role where there’s gonna be a huge amount of comparison on how you sing something. It’s quite scary and quite exposing. That was something I was afraid of, and “Epic II” specifically was something I was having a bit of a hard time trying to find out the right sound for the scene. But now I love that moment on stage and it feels scary in really good way.
If I’m allowed to say — relatively controversial maybe — but I guess Hadestown is one of those shows where, as a performer inside it, unfortunately, you’re gonna see your performance! [Laughs.] Like, as soon as you finish it and open up any social media app, I will see: My algorithm, which thinks I’m a Hadestown fan, will send me videos of me singing the songs, and I will pull it apart technically in my head and be like, “Oh my god!” That’s a tough relationship to try and work out.
How do you grapple with that relationship between theater and social media, especially in this day and age where clips, both official and unofficial, are out there?
I get sort of afraid of social media. It’s a toughie because, growing up, my access to shows a lot of the time were through maybe unofficial videos of people that I loved. The hard thing to sort of come up against is that theater is a live art form and you’re meant to be in the room experiencing that and it’s never gonna translate that way. The performance that we’re giving is for that exact night, that exact moment. It isn’t something necessarily to go down in history as our interpretation of the role forever.
I think if these clips inspire people to come and see the show and experience it live, that’s amazing. Anything other than that can be a bit scary sometimes. Especially because all the Orpheuses — we’re all friends! We all know each other very well! [Laughs.]
You also mentioned coming in with a certain point of view. Could you share what that was? What was your way into Orpheus?
There are some things I’ll keep to myself because there’s a lot that is open to interpretation. I love to let the audience decide whether or not I’m doing something.
One of my first ideas in rehearsals was that we know that “Epic III” is a very high-stakes moment for Orpheus. What if “Epic I” was also quite a high-stakes moment for Orpheus? What if there was a touch of hesitation to take the guitar from Hermes, a lack of confidence maybe in performing in front of his friends at the bar? Maybe this is an Orpheus who is a poet and is a songwriter, but not a performer, somebody who’s confident in his skills, somebody who thinks he’s going to change the world. I like the idea of a boy who has been touched by the gods, who is, through no want of his own, a conduit through which change is going to happen, but he isn’t ready to take it all on. He just happens to be the vessel.
So much of Orpheus’s journey involves Eurydice, played by Morgan Dudley. How did you two first meet and what’s it been like building that relationship on and off stage?
When I was getting to rehearsals, I was stoked to meet everyone, and also incredibly shy and nervous and didn’t know what to do. Turns out that Morgan and I had both had the exact same idea to invite each other for a brunch or a coffee to have an Orpheus-and-Eurydice meeting, but we were both too nervous to press Send. It ended up happening at this little brunch place in Hell’s Kitchen, and it was like I’d known her for my whole life. We actually spent most of the time not talking about Hadestown and just, like, being best pals. She’s responsible for introducing me to all of my new favorite American snacks. She’s one of the most present and incredible actors I’ve worked with. She was sort of born for this, and every single night I just feel so lucky that I get to do it with her because it makes me want to be better as Orpheus for her and to support what she’s doing because I think she is really incredible in the role. Sorry, that’s very serious and earnest.
Touching on your previous musical, it’s been over a year now since you played your last performance in Next to Normal in London. Was letting go of Gabe hard to do? And is that a role you still hope to revisit someday?
I think at the time my body thanked me. I remember the last night of Next Normal in the West End feeling like, “I don’t think I have another one.” I remember us having this big hug backstage because, when we would finish at any night of Next to Normal, all six of us ran into the greenroom and threw ourselves in this big group hug. That was a big tradition we had. And I remember the last one, us all just exhausted. Crying. And it didn’t feel like we don’t get to see each other tomorrow. It just felt like, wow, like we need a little break. But I never want to let go of it. I loved it so much. And hey, if they called me tomorrow and said, “Do you want to play Gabe again?” I could not turn that down.
You’ve mentioned both Gabe and Orpheus were dream roles of yours. What other roles in theater would you like to manifest for yourself, whether it’s in the near future or way down the road?
I’ve been lucky to tackle some of them. And Moritz [in Spring Awakening] was a huge one before. I want to play something people might not expect, that’s what I’m really interested in now, and maybe something new. Way down the line, Floyd Collins is my favorite show of all time. I wonder if there’s something like that for me in the future, if I get to take on one of those roles. And maybe George in Sunday Park With George. I’m a huge Sondheim fan. There are limited roles for boys like me in his canon right now, but give me a year or two, and maybe there’s time for a couple of Sondheim shows.
You can catch Wolfe as Orpheus in Hadestown, now playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
