One of the brightest musicals of all time, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, follows the trials and tribulations of Joseph, Israel's favorite son.
Two past American Idol stars head the cast on this current touring show, with husband-and-wife team Diana DeGarmo as the narrator and Ace Young as Joseph.
Out gay actor William Thomas Evans plays dual roles of Jacob and Potiphar as he brings Broadway experience from Camelot, The Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities.
Windy City Times talked with Evans after the show debuted in Chicago on a brief two-week stop in the Windy City.
Windy City Times: Hi, Bill. How was playing WhirlyBall against the cast of Motown the Musical last night?
William Thomas Evans: It was fun. Only three people from Motown came. It was just us and our crew so they wound up playing on both teams. I had never heard of it. That thing is a great invention!
WCT: It is better after a few drinks. First off, are you openly gay?
William Thomas Evans: I am gay. I have never mentioned it in an article before but I don't really care.
WCT: Well, now you are coming out publicly for the first time. I thought when your bio read "This is for Rick" that he is your partner.
William Thomas Evans: No; Rick is my stepdad who just passed away. My mom lost my dad at 25 and now Rick just passed away.
WCT: I am sorry to hear that. So tell me more about you. Did you always want to do musicals growing up?
William Thomas Evans: No, I didn't. I went to Bowdoin College in Maine to be a doctor. I was a biochemistry major. I decided I wanted to do something in the arts so I got into the Columbia Film School as a film editor. Before that I was in my first musical in my hometown of D.C. When I got Tony in West Side Story I was bitten by the bug. I started acting from then on.
WCT: You are a Jersey boy?
William Thomas Evans: I am from Allentown, Penn., then lived in northern Virginia my whole life. When I moved to New York in 1991 I lived all over the area then eventually bought a place in Jersey.
WCT: Do like being on the road?
William Thomas Evans: I love being on the road. I toured a long time ago with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Camelot with Robert Goulet for the 1993 revival. I did the pre-Broadway version of Jekyll & Hyde, after that My Fair Lady then I did eight years with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular playing Santa Claus.
WCT: Did you come here with Radio City?
William Thomas Evans: I did one of the years here at the Rosemont Theatre.
WCT: How was being in Hairspray the Musical?
William Thomas Evans: I had a blast playing Edna. She's delightful. She's loud, brassy and has a heart of gold. I enjoyed playing her and did it in the three different productions.
WCT: What is more taxing to dress up as Edna in Hairspray or Jacob in Joseph?
William Thomas Evans: Definitely Edna, although I have a lot of stuff on with the beard, hair, mustache and the eyebrows.
WCT: How do you switch into another role in the same show?
William Thomas Evans: The trick is switching from Jacob after "One More Angel" into Potiphar. That change is only a minute. I have three people there helping me on the change. I take the wig off right away then start the makeup. I just make it onstage at the right second. If something goes wrong then I won't make it out on time.
WCT: That is making me nervous just thinking about it!
William Thomas Evans: It is crazy when you see a show and how smooth it looks. It is so orchestrated and chaotic backstage. There are so many quick changes happening. It is kind of wild back there.
WCT: I love the behind-the-scenes. What is your approach on the character of Potiphar?
William Thomas Evans: I like to base the characters I play on different people. He is a mixture of Sting's uncle in Dune the movie. He was a portly man who could float named Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. He's a little weird.
WCT: How fun is that apron you get to wear?
William Thomas Evans: That came up in rehearsal. We all had a blast and we kept it in.
WCT: I liked this show much better than Cats.
William Thomas Evans: We get the same reaction everywhere we go. Audiences love the show. It is fun and uplifting. You don't have to do a lot of thinking and just be entertained.
We definitely have eye candy, both male and female.
WCT: I noticed. That Joseph has some abs.
William Thomas Evans: He works out, like, three hours a day. With the 11 or so brothers we have everything covered. Our women are great-looking.
WCT: Ace and Diana are so sweet.
William Thomas Evans: I think they are delightful. Ace personifies Joseph. He has that million-dollar smile and is so nice to everybody. He's generous to people. I think that is what Joseph is. I can't get enough of Diana. Her voice is outstanding. She is one of those old fashion true belters and I love it. They are newlyweds and getting to travel the country starring in a musical together. How great is that?
Paul Castree, who plays Simeon, was in 9 to 5 with her and from Chicago.
WCT: Are the tattoos of that one cast member painted on?
William Thomas Evans: He has one tattoo on his arm already but there are some additions to it that make it the Egyptian eye. I am sure there are more tattoos around.
WCT: It is fun to watch for the tattoos.
William Thomas Evans: I haven't really inspected everybody but there are some good tattoos.
WCT: The curtain call is one of the best I have ever seen.
William Thomas Evans: Oh the megamix? I think Joseph can be done without an intermission and no megamix if you want to. I think it is better with an intermission.
Our megamix is shorter than some but I love it. The song that Diana and Ace sing before the megamix starts they came up with on their own and I think it's a beautiful way to start the megamix.
WCT: It's not a long show for people to sit through.
William Thomas Evans: It's two hours. Next I will be cursed with a show that is three hours. Once again I am wearing yak hair. Before I wore it for Santa Claus and now I am wearing it for Joseph on my beard.
WCT: Is the yak hair hot?
William Thomas Evans: Yak hair is very hot! I wear human hair everywhere else for Jacob but the beard part is yak. I guess it keeps the color better. It is a little itchy but at least he was a cute yak.
WCT: We went to a good cause. [Both laugh.] After the show the cast did a nice fundraiser for Chicago House.
William Thomas Evans: I think it happens all over the country with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Money is shelled out locally into different organizations. It is Chicago House here. In the fall it is a Gypsy of the year competition for three days of performances. One year Marine Jahan, who played the dance double in Flashdance, did a take off of that where she did the same dance from the movie and I was in a scene with her.
In the spring they do an Easter bonnet hat where people can do something inspired by their show or something very chic. It is too bad we don't get to participate in the Easter bonnet since it is just companies in New York.
WCT: Where are you off to next?
William Thomas Evans: We go to Tulsa, Okla., then St. Louis and the all over California. We have a summer break then head back at it in September. We are booked through April of 2015.
WCT: What do you have going on after that?
William Thomas Evans: I have a series on Amazon Prime called Alpha House. It is the first foray into television for them, like Netflix did House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. It is starring John Goodman and created by Garry Trudeau. There are 11 episodes and I am in four of them.
WCT: Congrats on that. What is your character like?
William Thomas Evans: I play Sen. Lemar Farkus. He's a republican, right wing blowhard who loves to sing every once in a while.
WCT: You can't get away from the singing.
William Thomas Evans: I break into song sometimes and hopefully it is hilarious. John Goodman is hysterical. In one of the episodes I am at a prayer brunch with Wanda Sykes, Cynthia Nixon and Amy Sedaris, and four of the main characters are all sitting around a table in prayer. Some funny things happen and maybe I sing...
WCT: I bet you do! You have to keep me posted when you are back in Chicago.
William Thomas Evans: I have been here many times with Camelot, Jekyll, and Radio City. I think Chicago has the best looking men in the country!
WCT: I agree about Midwestern men and very nice.
William Thomas Evans: Yes, very nice. I opened a theater in Saugatuck, Mich., called the Mason Street Warehouse. Saugatuck is like our Fire Island and a lot of fun!
Bill and the gang take the coat back on the road after March 30 so be sure and purchase tickets today at www.BroadwayInChicago.com before it leaves the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
