Anthony Rapp is a theater legend in many circles, having brought the Broadway hit Rent to life in the '90s. He later reprised the role of Mark Cohen on tour and in the film version.
He revived Charlie Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown with Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway.
In addition, Rapp has a long resume in movies as well with hits like A Beautiful Mind and Twister among them.
The Illinois native now plays the part of Lucas in the show If/Then. The story follows a woman named Elizabeth Vaughan in New York City who takes two different choices in life and where those paths lead her. The show brings Rapp back to his roots in Chicago for a short run. Windy City Times called him to talk about his life in theater over the years.
Windy City Times: Hi, Anthony. Nice to see you are returning to Illinois. This is your birthplace?
Anthony Rapp: I was born in Chicago and grew up in Joliet.
WCT: Did you always love theater?
AR: Yes, I started when I was little kid. My mother was a nurse and I started off doing a show at summer camp where she worked. I was six years old the first summer that we went there. I just auditioned for the show and I loved it.
When I came back to Joliet, I started doing more community theater. There was a director who encouraged my mom to take me to Chicago to get professional work. We just went from there.
I grew up in showbiz but I didn't have a stage mother. We were all very naïve about everything. We put one foot in front of the other and did our best to work.
WCT: Did you work at a lot of theaters in Chicago?
AR: I didn't work at a lot of theaters in Chicago. My first professional job was as an understudy in A Christmas Carol. My first equity job was right after that. It was the first national tour of Evita and it was happening in Chicago. This was a sit down production. In the original production there were four kids and I auditioned to replace one of the kids. I did that for about six months.
WCT: Was A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre?
AR: Yes. I didn't work at the Goodman again until 1988 when I was in high school, where I did a John Guare play called Landscape of the Body that Robert Falls directed.
WCT: How did Rent happen?
AR: The first thing I did was in the fall of 1994. When I first auditioned, all I knew about it was that it was a workshop and a 10-performance production. It was just like any other audition. I was working at Starbucks at the time. Even though I had been working since I was a kid, I was in a bit of a slow period.
We did the 10 performance workshops; then it turned into something really great after that, obviously.
A year later, we did the off-Broadway production, then the Broadway production.
WCT: After performing the role so [often], was it weird to see the part played by other actors?
AR: It was a little weird at first, but it has been 20 years, so I have seen a lot of people play the role now. It is not so weird anymore. There are times when I am really happy with what they are doing and there are times that I want to punch them!
WCT: There is a big anniversary coming up.
AR: This is the 20th anniversary of the opening night on Broadway.
WCT: Did Idina Menzel lead you over to If/Then?
AR: It was the writers of If/Then that also wrote Next to Normal in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, so we became friends and I was a part of all that. They wrote this part for me. Idina was certainly part of what attracted me to it, but she wasn't the only thing.
WCT: Are you only touring selected cities?
AR: No, Idina did only the first 14 weeks but I am doing the whole thing.
WCT: Talk about the performer that will play Elizabeth in Chicago.
AR: Her name is Jackie Burns, who was Idina's standby in New York. She has a lot of experience with the show over the years we have been doing it. She's fantastic. She's just not a household name the way Idina is.
WCT: Describe your character and the show If/Then.
AR: It is about a woman named Elizabeth, who is played by Jackie now—created by Idina Menzel—who has gone through an unhappy marriage. She comes back to New York to start her life over. On the first day she comes back, she either goes with her new friend Kate or with her old friend, my character, who's name is Lucas, in very small decisions to spend time with one or the other. Her whole life hinges on that one day and one decision. It follows both tracks of her life and jumps back and forth. My character is greatly affected by the changes in her life, so it is also about the ripple effects we have on one another.
WCT: It sounds like the Gwyneth Paltrow movie Sliding Doors, where her life splits in two.
AR: I never saw that movie, but apparently that is an apt comparison in terms of that structure.
WCT: Since the character Lucas was written for you, is he similar to you?
AR: What is similar is that we are both pretty similarly minded and passionate about what we believe in. I think Lucas is a little more neurotic than I tend to be and a little less happy. I certainly have moments where I can be unhappy about things, but he is a little more pessimistic in his personal life than I am. What links us [are] intelligence and passion for the causes that we believe in.
When you have a part written for you, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is like you. It just means that you have quality in your performing that resonate well with what the writers have in mind.
WCT: Do you like the traveling with a touring show?
AR: Yes, it is fun. I have done it before. I like it every few years. There are some people who are nonstop on the road. I wouldn't want to do that.
I travel a lot for other projects, so I am used to being on the road and not being home. I like to have a balance where I can spend chunks of time at home and chunks traveling.
WCT: You must have a ton of theater fans. Do they ever chase you down the street?
AR: They don't usually chase me down the street but when I do get recognized, people are generally very respectful. I am proud of the work I have done, so I don't mind being recognized. There are times when I am in mid-bite at a restaurant and they ask to take a picture, where I say, "Please let me finish eating!"
Other than that, I have been very fortunate to be appreciated for the work I have done.
WCT: You have some movies coming out this year?
AR: I did a couple of low-budget films this past summer. With independent films, it takes a while to see light of day sometimes. I think both are still being edited and scored. I am hopeful that they will get to see the light of day eventually. I still haven't seen them myself. I have seen stills, but not the finished product. They were really good experiences to work on and really good roles.
You never know how a film is going to turn out but I am proud of them. They are both queer-themed and have interesting stories to tell about the LGBT experience. One is called Dreamland and the other is Modern Love. Those are the working title names, though. I haven't heard anything differently yet, if the titles will be changed.
WCT: Are there queer themes in If/Then?
AR: Yes. My character is bisexual and Kate is a lesbian. She is involved with a woman. So I would say those are two pretty queer things!
Check out If/Then before it splits out of town at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Feb. 23-March 6 with tickets at www.BroadwayInChicago.com .
